In May of 2017 - Kaylie waltzed onto an airplane after having too much coffee with some high kicks and ended up ripping her pants. Thankfully Ichiro found this incredibly memorable and charming. During that three day work trip they spent some time together in Austin, Texas visiting the state capital and then kept running into each other over the subsequent year and a half: in airports, hotels, and even on the subway. Fall of 2018 while Kaylie was running the NYC marathon she decided to go to Tokyo alone. She texted Ichiro for recommendations and then they finally spent some intentional and not accidental time together when she returned. It's a hot debate when their first date was but either way Kaylie moved in with Ichiro after four months of dating which included a trip to Punxsutawney for Groundhog Day, hiking Machu Picchu and a broken thumb. Kaylie continued to leave Ichiro for long period of time over the next few years to go study far away in Italy and Vermont, but always magically came back. Ichiro popped the question on Halloween 2021 and never looked back.