Well to begin, we have to travel back approximately 14 years ago when Tony and I met in Mr. Robertsons biology class to set the stage for what has come to be. Long story short, he was my first crush, one that faded fast and now is a memory I look back on fondly. The rest of high school, he was just a kid I knew and heard about when the rumor mill made its rounds.

Flash forward, post graduation, and post his first year of college, we met again. This time was again just a flash in the pan, and we went our separate ways for about 6 years.

Randomly on a September afternoon, Tony DM'ed me on Instagram "apologizing" for what happened between us all those years ago and I couldn't for the life of me figure out what he was referencing. I searched back through my memory files and remembered we had both "ghosted" each other after that rendezvous 6 years prior and he felt bad. Me, on the other hand, had forgotten all about it.

This was the start of our chapter that I would lovingly title our own personal rom com! A year of being "just friends" , pretending we didn't get jealous of the other getting attention , and a denial of the feelings that were so blatantly obvious to everyone around us.

However, there was a moment when I knew 3 weeks into us spending time together that he was "THE ONE!" I was going through something deeply personal and he showed up for me in a time when he didn't have the emotional space to do so. I left his dads house, was crying in the car, and then out of nowhere I stopped and audibly said "I am going to marry him one day." I didn't tell a soul for months because I knew it sounded absolutely crazy, it sounded crazy even to my own ears. Turns out, my intuition was right. It's true what they say, when you know, you know.

We got to know each other without the expectations that come in a new relationship. We talked everyday, to the point that I could pinpoint within a half hour window when Tony would Facetime me every single night. We went to 6 concerts, one that encompassed a road trip to LA, and another that involved a turnaround flight to Denver.

We came up with every excuse in the book as to why we weren't a good fit but came up with every reason to hang out with each other. I conveniently left my boots at his house and always forgot to grab them, and he didn't mention it more than twice.

The biggest hangup, Tony had decided to move to Nashville and I was fully in the throes of starting my business. That was his dream, and I was living one of mine. He didn't want to ask me to change my whole life if it wasn't for real. We both had been through a lot and didn't want to start another relationship if it wasn't heading toward marriage.

I finally started to realize that if we weren't going to act on our feelings, I was going to have to separate myself before he made the big move to save myself inevitable heartbreak. So I did, and within two weeks, Tony made a move and asked me to move across the country with him. I said yes and the rest is history.

Our story is untraditional, messy, and a twist on the age old tale of friends to lovers. A true testament that love will find you when its meant for you. We found each other when we least expected it but when we most needed it. The foundation of friendship has set us up for a lifetime of love.