Yep, we’re a COVID couple. After matching on *two separate* apps, Michael gave in and suggested a first date. Together we planned a coffee date…at a closed cafe. With independently packed thermoses of coffee, we sat at the outdoor tables of the Beanery Cafe at UConn. We lost track of time in conversation and have never stopped talking since.

After a few dates, we officially joined COVID bubbles (the pandemic equivalent of Facebook official) on August 1st, 2020. Michael took a job in Rhode Island and Becca soon followed, commuting to UConn on a hybrid schedule. After finishing her PhD on April 1st (no joke!), Becca landed a job in Massachusetts and Michael followed suit. We moved to Westborough, MA for less than a year before haphazardly entering into the house search process. Blessed with a great realtor and lucky timing, we closed on a home in Grafton, MA in January 2023. By the early summer, Michael started assistant coaching for a local football team. In August 2023, we welcomed a happy and bouncy puppy into our family — Finley “Fin” James-Smith Buonocore. We know life is never perfect, but we feel like we’re living the dream.