One fateful Hinge connection finally turned into something real when Nate asked Roxanne to join him for dinner at the Amber Ox in Williamsburg. They often joke about how the restaurant kicked them out after about an hour and a half (even with a reservation and plates of food on the table). Roxanne felt they weren’t done yet and asked Nate to continue their evening at Precarious Beer Project just down the street. At the end of the night, Nate made sure to get Roxanne’s phone number (and never log into Hinge again) so the dates would continue.

Nate asked Roxanne to dinner at one of the area’s best local steakhouses, Schlesinger’s. It was here he asked her if she would be his girlfriend. With a mouth full of filet and pinot noir, she avidly said yes.

Nate had his own townhouse in Yorktown he loved very much. Roxanne had been in the process of building her own townhouse for almost a year when they met. Once it was completed, Roxanne moved in and asked Nate if he’d like to move in too. He sold his first house and moved in a few months later. More importantly than gaining a new address, Nate became a live-in cat parent to Roxanne’s precious boys Poe and Neptune.

Roxanne and Nate planned a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii over the winter. They planned on treating it as a celebration of one year together. On their first full day in paradise, they swam with turtles in the resort lagoon, swam in every pool on the property, ate a perfect beachfront dinner, and ventured to a small black sand beach. On this beach, Nate got down on one knee and proposed. Never one for surprises, Roxanne was bewildered but thrilled. She, of course, said yes. A bystander captured photos of the moment, and they are forever grateful (even with the horrifyingly bright yellow towels by their side).