We met at the end of 2017 in Huntington Beach, CA through mutual friends. In early 2018, Serena moved to Huntington Beach and our story began. Love was in the air on our first solo date at Cucina Alessa. After that we enjoyed lots of beach days, friend gatherings, family trips and lots of adventures in between. We began to share a home in 2019 and adopted our precious pup Yeti. The ring was burning a hole in Derek's pocket, and so we finally got engaged on September 10, 2022!