Chris and Andi met in 2019 while they were both living in Southeastern Virginia. Andi was pursuing her doctoral degree in Kinesiology online while working as a Professor at Radford University. Chris was living in Fancy Gap, VA, working as a software developer, building apps as a private contractor, and working on establishing his own software business. Like many modern romances, they met online and bonded quickly over shared intellectual interests, including science, education, politics, and exercise. After a month of getting to know each other, they met for a first date at Brick House Pizza in Radford, VA. The conversation flowed, and it proved to be a good first meeting, prompting them to put their puzzle-solving skills to the test at an Escape Room event in town afterward. With only 3 seconds to spare, they made it out of the escape room and smiled, agreeing that a second date would be in their future. However, the real test of their relationship came when they introduced their dogs, Bella and Parker, to each other. Luckily, the dogs quickly bonded as a pack, and the couple continued dating, growing more in love as they met their respective families and shared holiday memories with them.

Over the course of the next couple of years, the couple endured both milestones and challenges. Chris and Andi worked together to renovate Andi’s home in Wilmington, NC, for sale, a testament to their ability to work as a team. Chris got to meet her Wilmington friends and enjoyed exploring the area where she lived before they met. A couple of months later, the Covid pandemic forced them to have more date nights at home. This allowed them to spend a lot of quality time together, enhancing their cooking and baking skills, and visiting their favorite cheese consultant on their weekly trips to the local grocery store. Andi learned about Chris’ fierce attention to detail and precision during a virtual Wine and Design painting party. Chris got to be a model for instructional videos for Andi’s class since students had online classes during the pandemic. After the gathering restrictions were lifted, Andi eventually got to meet Chris’ other family, the Ridzo CrossFit members. They welcomed her into their group at one of their Saturday brunch gatherings after class.

After Andi graduated with her doctoral degree, she took another teaching job at Ohio University in Athens, OH. Chris moved to North Carolina to expand his business and be closer to his gym community. They both remained committed to their long-distance relationship over the next 4 years, navigating multiple moves and new job responsibilities for both of them.

After years of living long-distance, Andi and Chris decided to make some life changes to bring them back together. Andi took a teaching job back at Radford University, and they decided to buy a house in the area. Have you ever bought a house without setting foot in it first?? Well, there must be a lot of trust in each other to take such a leap of faith… haha. Due to timing conflicts with living in different states, they worked with a realtor to explore housing in the area. They moved into their new home in Christiansburg, VA, at the end of June 2025, just before a well-deserved vacation to Rhode Island to visit family and celebrate the 4th of July holiday.

Chris was born in New England, and this was the second time they had visited the area together. Since Chris’ birthday is on July 5th, Andi had secretly planned a special day with his immediate family, enjoying lunch on the pier and a sightseeing boat ride around Newport on July 3rd. The immediate family was in on the secret, with the decoy story that they were meeting to take some family photos in the afternoon. Chris was absolutely surprised, and everyone enjoyed celebrating America’s Independence on the water near properties of the rich and famous, such as The Kennedys, The Vanderbilts, and of course, Taylor Swift.

But Chris was confused… “Are we not taking pictures anymore?” He really wanted to take family pictures after the boating day, but Andi suggested they could get some the next day, on July 4th, with everyone at the family gathering. Chris panicked on the way back to their hotel. Little did Andi know that he was planning something special during the previously planned “family picture” activity. Chris called his mom for advice. He needed her help to take pictures of the couple before sunset. Andi reluctantly agreed to get dressed up again and head out to meet his mom and step-dad for pictures. Chris had picked out an open area in Narragansett, close to the shoreline, to take the pictures. As they drove up to the site, traffic was backed up with hundreds of people walking with folding chairs and coolers towards Chris’ selected destination. It dawned on them that everyone was walking toward the beach to see the fireworks scheduled that evening. Chris had to scramble for a Plan C, since Plan A and now Plan B had been upended. His mom suggested another familiar site just down the road called “Hazard Rock”. This is a public access point to the water, a favorite tourist spot. So, the four of them cascaded down a rocky, steep path toward the large rocks, Andi in a long, flowing linen dress and wedge heels. Andi was focused on not falling and questioning the extreme measures they were taking to get a few nice pictures. Once they reached one of the large flat rocks, Chris turned around and said…. “Andrea… Andrea…..” grabbing her hand to get her focused attention. In front of his mom and step-dad (and the tourists fishing on the rocks), Chris got down on one knee and asked Andi to marry him. Andi finally connected the dots to what was happening and why he was insistent all day long about getting pictures. She started to cry and said, “Of course!... I mean…. Yes!” They celebrated together and spent the next couple of days sharing the news with friends and family, reliving the moments and laughing about their efforts to “one-up” each other with secret plans and surprise gifts. They celebrated the holiday in Rhode Island and then headed back to their new home in Virginia as a newly engaged couple.