Spring 2016: A mutual friend asked Katie if she wanted to be set up for the sorority formal with Ricky and she said no. Then he showed up with a different sorority sister directly after running a full marathon and Katie realized she messed up. Fall 2016: Katie went with said mutual friend to Ricky’s fraternity house to use the bathroom during a tailgate and he invited the mutual friend to a party that night … Ricky hoped Katie would come with the friend even though he thought Katie was out of his league. Katie went to the party. December 4, 2016: There was a Christmas party that Katie asked a different boy to go to. The other boy went home early to study. Katie and Ricky ended up hitting it off that night and kept in contact ever since.

In the summer of 2018, Katie moved home to Nashville to begin her 3 year doctoral program in physical therapy at Tennessee State University. Ricky stayed in Knoxville for another year to finish his electrical engineering degree before beginning his career in the army. Ricky was stationed in Fort Knox (Kentucky), Fort Sill (Oklahoma), deployment to Kuwait, and Fort Bliss (El Paso, TX) within those next 2 years. To say it was hard was an understatement, but the best way to sum it up is: Inconveniently the most effective way to find out if you really love each other. Distance is not for the fearful, it is for the bold. It’s for those who are willing to spend a lot of time alone in exchange for a little time with the one they love. It’s for those knowing a good thing when they see it, even if they don’t see it nearly enough.

Ricky and Katie have been talking about their plans to get married for years now, but were waiting until it made sense for them. They wanted to spend their first year of marriage together instead of apart. Ricky bought the ring, with the help of Katie’s sister, prior to Katie moving in with him in El Paso, TX in May 2021. Ricky hid the ring inside his desktop computer, a place he knew Katie would never go near. They planned a trip to Charleston, SC with some friends in July 2021. Katie knew that there was a chance he’d propose on the trip and ended up finding the ring box in Ricky’s shoe, but didn’t look at the ring. July 6, 2021: Katie was finishing showering and getting dressed while Ricky was waiting in the kitchen with the ring in his pocket. Katie came to the kitchen NOT dressed and her hair in a towel searching for chips and queso. Ricky somehow convinced Katie to step away from the snack and finish getting dressed without her noticing the box in his pocket. Later, Ricky was sitting on the porch by himself and Katie decided to go check on him. Ricky asked Katie if she thought their friends were watching through the window and she said “maybe” so they decided to go back inside. As they were walking inside, Ricky got down on one knee and asked Katie to marry him…finally. Katie took the ring from the box and put it on her finger to which Ricky responded, “I’m happy you did that because I had no idea what finger it was supposed to go on!”