The relationship began the way all fairytale romances do–scrolling through Hinge. In late winter of 2024, Zoë first came across Shaunna’s brilliant smile and endearing sense of humor between long rehearsals for Gypsy at Stageworks Theatre. Shaunna, starstruck by Zoë’s blue eyes and artistic sensibility, had just been accepted into her PsyD program. Schedules kept their romance confined to text for close to a month, but that wasn’t enough to keep these lovebirds apart. As fate (or the algorithm) would have it, this match soon became a steadily-burning flame, with sweet good morning texts and captivating voice recordings until the stars aligned for a first date at El Tiempo Cantina in Vintage Park, for which Zoë was embarrassingly late. In lieu of flowers, Shaunna offered Zoë a vintage Shakespeare book, and from then on, they knew they were done swiping. After a whirlwind of fun dates around Houston: including rock climbing, trivia nights, and sharing favorite movies; they officially began their relationship on March 26, 2024. Each “monthiversary” was celebrated with a date as the pair explored their shared city. They traveled to Austin, enjoyed family dinners in the Woodlands, and saw plenty of shows. In spite of the indomitable hour-long commute (nevermind the traffic!) between the apartments of these star-crossed lovers, they made it work, and did quite a lot of driving to each other as a result. But Fate fell in their favor when the arrival of Hurricane Beryl meant Shaunna’s apartment lost power for over a week, providing the perfect excuse to test-run cohabitation. In October 2024, they moved to West U (Shaunna officially, and Zoë not-so-officially) in an apartment they affectionately nicknamed “The Workaround” to avoid any and all U-Haul allegations.

In March 2025 while visiting Austin, Shaunna asked Zoë’s parents for their blessing, which she received in abundance. The next month, Zoë asked for Shaunna’s parents’ blessing prior to a family dinner, and was met with equal enthusiasm.

As summer approached, Shaunna suggested to Zoë that they plan a girls trip to Galveston with several of their dearest friends. Zoë, not one to do things in half-measures, planned a three-day itinerary complete with color schemes and dress codes. Unbeknownst to her, the real planning was being done in a group chat called “Work,” which Zoë was not a part of. Shaunna made sure Zoë was up to date on her nail appointments and none-the-wiser for several months, which proved challenging. They had a blast exploring and shopping through Galveston. At dinner the night of the proposal, Shaunna suggested a “high maintenance” car and a “low maintenance” car take separate trips to the beach so the high maintenance car would have time to primp for photos. Zoë was frustrated that the high maintenance car was taking such a long time to get ready, but learned later that she was being delayed (via secret group chat) for proposal setup. On Zoë’s suggestion, they decided to capture prank proposal pictures to reveal a Smirnoff Ice instead of a ring. Much to Zoë’s surprise, Shaunna led her to a blanket complete with champagne, pictures from each month of their relationship, and corresponding notes recounting their adventures, embedded with lyrics and quotes from their favorite plays, musicals, and songs. The next day, they drove to the Woodlands for a surprise engagement party with both families to share in the excitement, joy, and tears with the people closest to them.

The happy couple had this to share with their loved ones:

From the very beginning of our relationship to the chapter on which we are about to embark, we have been uplifted by the support of our friends and family. We are truly blessed to have so many people celebrating our love, and we are so ecstatic to step into this next season of life with all of you by our side. Your love, encouragement, and presence mean the world to us and we can’t wait to make memories together on our wedding day and beyond.

With love,

The soon-to-be Purtells,

Zoë and Shaunna