Ashley & Naman

Like many couples these days, Ashley and I met online. It was 2020, the world was upside down, and we both happened to be on OkCupid.

Ashley was interested in my powerlifting, and liked that I cooked and gamed. I liked, well, just about everything about her. What started as casual messages quickly turned into the kind of texting where you check your phone too often, and a few months in we both knew this was something worth meeting in person for.

Our first date was a hike at Roswell Mill Waterfall. We both loved nature, and it was peak COVID, so the outdoors felt safest anyway. Despite warning her that I'm usually late, I was so eager to meet Ashley I showed up early so I could make a good impression. Meanwhile Ashley was at the nearby Michael's and figured she had plenty of time to kill.

She did not, but after a phone call and a frantic drive over to the park, she profusely apologized, and we went on a wonderful hike by the river. Afterward, we still wanted to keep hanging out, so we grabbed lunch at one of my favorite BBQ spots.

I'd love to say the rest is history, but that would gloss over all the wonderful things we've done together in the last six years. We've become homeowners and furbaby parents, traveled together across the country and the world, and ticked off a handful of US national parks in some incredible trips.

We've also learned that good relationships take real work, and choosing each other, again and again, has been the easiest decision we've ever made.