How We Met: Our Story of Love and First Moments

Our modern romance began with an Instagram DM from Bryan.

But the story starts a little earlier: my mom had mentioned Bryan to me. She said he was the son of a close friend, had a strong faith, ran track and cross country at UVA, raced as a professional cyclist, and liked to cook. That combination sounded intriguing. My mom also mentioned he was five years older and lived in Virginia, so I assumed we’d never meet.

Still curious, I looked him up on Instagram and discovered he was already following me. I followed back and that was the end of it—until a few weeks later when Bryan sent a witty DM asking about hanging out in Raleigh while he was in town. We met briefly for something that definitely wasn’t a date. He reached out again on a later visit, but it didn’t work out.

I kept seeing his posts about cycling and cooking, and a few months later I messaged to see if he wanted to hang out over Thanksgiving break. For our first real date he planned a morning of rock climbing and even brought homemade kombucha.

First impressions: he was cute, thoughtful, and a good planner. Also: he makes kombucha and shaves his legs for cycling—quirks I found amusing. A few days later we went for a jog and ended up running ten miles while talking nonstop. Unbeknownst to me, Bryan was coming off an injury and had only planned for a short run.

We wondered how a relationship would work with 3.5 hours between us, but after a great third date we started talking every day. A few weeks later Bryan visited Winston-Salem and ended up staying far longer than he anticipated. We spent long nights talking and bonded over our shared faith and loves for activity, hospitality, travel, running, coffee, and good food.

A week later we made it official. For the next year and a half we commuted between Winston-Salem, NC and Charlottesville, VA. Today, Bryan is my favorite travel companion, fixer, running buddy, supporter of my ideas, spreadsheet whiz, calm in a crisis, and my best friend.

When my parents moved to Raleigh in 2017, my mom quickly took an interest in my dating life again. She kept telling me about girls she thought I’d like, and when she realized a friend’s daughter shared interests in cooking, running, and faith, she decided to reach out about Olivia.

I was in Raleigh visiting family when I sent Olivia a casual DM asking if she wanted ice cream. She was leaving town the next morning and couldn’t meet, but our moms didn’t let the opportunity fade. Through a few family conversations we ended up meeting for ice cream together—an outing our dads paid for and one that was far from the romantic setup I had imagined.

I don’t remember many details from that ice cream meet-up, mainly our dads steering the conversation. On the car ride home both our moms asked what we thought of the other, and we both joked that while we weren’t sure, the other’s dad seemed very nice.

That meeting didn’t lead to much at first, but we stayed in touch via Instagram. Then, over Thanksgiving when I was home, Olivia asked if I still wanted to hang out—and promised no parents would be involved. I was game for an adventure.

We spent a day rock climbing and later went for a long run in Umstead State Park. From that point on, things took off.

Despite a slow start, every day since that rock-climbing date has been a joy. We’ve taken spontaneous trips to visit family, shared coffee dates, practiced cooking and photography together, and enjoyed plenty of outdoor adventures—sometimes where Olivia realizes the “nature walk” is a steep hike or where my favorite sports involve full-speed descents and trees.

Olivia is always up for whatever I suggest. Her adventurous spirit is matched by her beauty, devotion to Jesus and others, hospitality, kitchen skills, contagious joy, and a memory that never fails to amaze me. I’m excited for all the adventures ahead.