It all started on Kelly’s first day of her senior year at Salisbury University in August 2016. She got a text from her longtime friend, Chris Heckhaus, that he wanted to take his new roommate to a house party. It turned out, his roommate was Ryan. At first, Kelly thought Ryan was some new pretty boy on campus so she didn’t pay any mind to him. However, a few weeks into the semester and after many lunches in Commons with Chris and Ryan, Kelly started to think there was something special about Ryan (but don’t get it twisted – she never acted on it). It may have had to do with the fact they both grew up with miniature poodles or that no matter how good looking he was (and knew it), he was the biggest dork at heart. Kelly and Ryan quickly became best friends and did everything together on and off campus, to the point where everyone thought there was a little something more than friendship going on. Nope – just friends. Kelly graduated that year and Ryan still had one more year at Salisbury to go. They stayed in touch every day and Kelly visited him and her other friends on weekends here and there with her new puppy, Sammy. It wasn’t until the night Ryan graduated that Kelly finally realized she had to make her move (yes, she made the first move). In the middle of the Seacrets dance floor, they shared their first kiss and the rest was history. Ryan spent that summer living in Ocean City, MD and Kelly visited almost every weekend. Their first date was at BJ’s on the Water (now Saltwater 75), Ryan asked to be “official” at Fishtales on June 20, 2018, and they said “I love you” for the first time at Seacrets (full circle moment some would say). After that summer, Ryan moved in with his Uncle Tom and Aunt Karen in Baltimore, MD and Kelly was applying to nursing schools. Once Kelly got into nursing school, Ryan decided to move down to Florida with his parents. For the next two years, Ryan and Kelly crushed long distance with many long weekends spent together in Maryland and Florida. Fast forward to January 2021, Ryan and Kelly moved into their first apartment together in Columbia, MD so he could advance in his wonderful career and Kelly could start her dream as a trauma nurse in Baltimore, MD. Between 2021 and 2023, Ryan and Kelly fell more in love with each other every day with countless adventures and Netflix binges on the couch with their Sammy boy. Finally, on July 9, 2023, Ryan got down on one knee and popped the question overlooking the Aruba waters with their loved ones watching from a distance. They are so excited to start their forever and cannot wait for the big day!