Dean and Randi met in 2015 while in college. Dean was attending CSU, Monterey Bay, while Randi was attending UC San Diego. Randi was in Monterey visiting a friend and was introduced to Dean. Randi had been talking with her friend about Dean for a few weeks, and the first time they hung out she was very nervous and didn't talk to him much. During another visit to Monterey, Randi ran into Dean at a party and this time they hit it off. It didn't take much for them to realize how much they had in common and how much they liked each other. After heading back to San Diego, Randi and Dean started planning the next time they could see each other. Within a month, they were a couple. However, this relationship didn't last long. A little over a year later Randi was graduating college and planned to move back to Colorado. Although they went their separate ways, Dean and Randi remained friends. After college, Randi became a summer camp counselor and they became pen pals sending letters to each other. They would also talk on the phone regularly. While both had other relationships they found time for each other as friends. In April 2019, three years after their break up, Dean moved to Arkansas to be closer to family. Randi had just been asked by a friend to be in her wedding which was to take place in November 2019 in Arkansas. Since they were still friends, Randi asked Dean to be his date at the wedding. Come November Randi and Dean both realized they were still in love with each other and decided to get back together after the wedding. Although they would have loved to be close to each other, Dean just moved to Arkansas and Randi had been accepted to a nursing school in Colorado that was set to start in May of 2020. They were back in a long-distance relationship with Dean making trips to see Randi. Luckily, because of COVID, flights were very cheap. After graduating from school in August 2021, Randi moved to Arkansas and moved in with Dean. Though the adjustment from a long distance to living together was not always easy, Dean and Randi pushed through some differences and grew stronger together. In February 2023, Dean proposed to Randi in a hotel room after getting back from a Moulin Rouge Broadway Musical in Fayetteville. After many conversations, they decided to elope. They found a photographer and set a date for June 27, 2023. They planned a private ceremony in the Colorado Mountains just outside the small town of Ouray. They invited only their parents to grab drinks with them after the ceremony. As much as they would have loved to have a big wedding with all of their friends and family, a small elopement felt more true to who they are and they are extremely grateful for all the love and support on their decision.