Ben and Cynthia met on a dating app (Hinge) in the middle of the pandemic. Cynthia happened to be visiting a girlfriend in Ben’s area, and the app matched us based on location. We quickly exchanged some banter over chores and such… and set a lunch date for Memorial Day since we both had the day off work. We met for lunch at The Vine in Tempe, and hit it off! Our lunch date turned into the whole rest of the day, after which Ben drove Cynthia home. Upon arrival in the parking lot, Cynthia glanced over at her car, realizing the trunk had popped open at some point. “OH NO! MY APOCALYPSE BOX!” she said, hoping her emergency kit would still be inside the trunk. Luckily, nothing was missing, but Ben says this is the moment he knew we were a good fit for each other. Our days evolved into spending every possible moment together pretty quickly… and pandemic era restrictions on being in public fostered our relationship into staying home with each other most days, having date nights at home, and spending our time alone, together.

After skipping lunch and a long day at work, Cynthia got home hangry… knowing we had a fridge full of Thanksgiving ingredients that were not to be eaten. Ben met Cynthia at the door to console her hanger… then said “I think this’ll cheer you up.” He got down on one knee and asked “Will you marry me?” Cynthia could barely contain her excitement and blurted out “YES!” immediately. We enjoyed the moment, then quickly called our parents to announce the news! Our families would be all together for Thanksgiving in a few days, but we didn’t want to wait to share our excitement.