2015, the year of Cookie Lyon's empire and deciding if a dress was blue and black or white and gold. Naya and James were introduced through his cousin and her sorority sister, Jasmine Dean. Naya was entering her junior year of college while James had just transferred to Arizona State University. After seeing her in a picture, James asked Jasmine to work her magic. Jasmine asked Naya if she could show James around Tempe in preparation for the school year. They met in the parking lot of the Gateway Apartments, and the connection was immediate. They spent the morning exploring Tempe landmarks and hiking "A" mountain together. After working up a hunger they stopped at another Tempe landmark, Cane's Chicken. Knowing they did not want the day to end, they found more adventures and spent the day playing cards, board games, and getting to know each other. A friendship grew from there, and by the end of the semester, they were an item.

2 years into their relationship they were thriving and more in love with each other than the day before. They could see a future forming with each other that exceeded expectations, but there was a large elephant in the room (Delta Pun)…Dental School. Naya had taken the year off to relax and prepare to apply to Dental School. They finally had the time they always wanted with each other, they went on trips and had many dates that teased what life could look like. Then a melancholy morning came when she received acceptance letters from schools across the nation! He was proud and yet sad, and she was excited but scared. 4 years in another state seemed like a lifetime. They enjoyed the last embers of summer together, and in the fall she was on a one-way flight to San Francisco.

James was in his senior year of college and had plans of moving to San Francisco after graduation to get his Master's in Public Administration, with the added benefit of being closer to Naya. She had finally started to settle into San Francisco, and it looked like they would get a chance to start their lives together. Secretly he had been working and saving for two years to buy her a ring, and he thought graduation would be the perfect opportunity to propose. Two months before, graduation he received an opportunity from Arizona State to have his Masters paid for through a fellowship with ASU. After a long discussion, they decided it would be best for him to stay to finish school, and together they would move to where she got accepted into orthodontic residency. He knew even more after that conversation that he wanted to marry her. After inviting her family and friends, he surprised her at the graduation with a ring and a smile.... she said YES.

After a long wait, Naya and James will finally be joined in marriage on October 9th, 2021 never to be parted again, and you are welcomed to witness their union where Chapter 1 of Johnsonly Ever After begins.