Coming from her home in Spain, Marta arrived in Dallas in early August and, when asked to go two-stepping with a friend a few weeks later, she went. As a Spaniard in a new place, she decided that when in Texas, she’ll do what the Texans do. To Marta’s surprise, she enjoyed two-stepping and met new friends each time she went. She danced with Tyler three weeks in a row. The third time they danced together Tyler asked Marta for her phone number—the key to getting to know her more. And, they did get to know each other more. The next day Marta experienced her first Major League baseball game with Tyler and a few friends. More outings followed and, of course, they still two-stepped together most weekends. A long walk around downtown in mid-October deepens their interest in each other and what a relationship might entail. Tyler invited Marta to his company’s Christmas dinner—their first official date. After that evening, Tyler and Marta had a few conversations to clarify how they were feeling about each other and the relationship. These conversations helped them take the next step to commit to each other as boyfriend and girlfriend. This was exciting but came at a tricky time because, just a week later, Marta headed to Spain for a month. The first month of dating was with an ocean between them.

After the happy reunion in January, Marta and Tyler spent the first few months of the year exploring Dallas, meeting each other’s friends, and discovering new things about each other. Tyler introduced Marta to his family in Dallas. For his birthday, Marta surprised Tyler with tickets to a Mavericks basketball game, and as time went by their interest in each other deepened. They learned the truth of the saying distance makes the heart grow fonder because after the pandemic hit, they saw each other sporadically throughout April and May. Once case numbers went down and it felt safe to travel in June, they took a trip to Tyler’s hometown in Illinois. Marta left the South and saw small-town America for the first time. These months continued with conversations about the relationship, which helped solidify their commitment to each other, and they both started to see a real possibility of a life together. With conversations of marriage underway, they decided they wanted to start pre-martial counseling. Their sessions with their counselor Monica and her husband Danny gave them continued confidence that a lifelong commitment was for them. Marta began to anticipate a proposal and Tyler began to plan. On December 6th, Marta and Tyler went on a double date with friends. After a sushi dinner, the four of them went to a park in Addison that Marta and Tyler had explored a year earlier. The park had a brilliant Christmas light display and as Marta and Tyler posed for a picture with the lights, Tyler got down on one knee and asked Marta to marry him. She quickly answered, “Yes!” and Tyler popped an engagement ring on her finger. 364 days after becoming boyfriend and girlfriend they became each other’s fiancé.

Marta and Tyler are now busy planning for their wedding and preparing for married life. They are excited to officially become the Sizemores and two-step into this next chapter of life together.