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It all started on Facebook. Despite going to the same high school, attending at the same time and having 80+ mutual Facebook friends, we never met in real life. During the pandemic, Andrea would occasionally check in with friends who she’d hadn’t seen post on social media in a while. Nelson was at the top of the list. After a few friendly messages, Andrea announced that she was driving to DC to escape Detroit and visit her DMV best friends. Nelson set up a lovely date on an outdoor restaurant patio. The two walked and talked for hours. She was only supposed to be in DC for a weekend. However, she kept extending her visit because spending more time with Nelson seemed like the much better idea. After a few pandemic flights back and forth, it was evident that there was something beautiful happening. And so it was.

Eventually, Andrea moved to the DMV. Andrea and Nelson lived separately and enjoyed finally dating each other in the same area for the first time. No flights involved, just lots of traffic on I-395. Finally, after almost 2 years, they decided to move in and see how that would go. Spoiler: it’s been great.

In December 2023, Nelson told Andrea to take some time off in January 2024. They were talking about a trip, so there was no spidey senses tingling. After a few weeks, Nelson spilled the beans and told Andrea they were going to her favorite city, Amsterdam. Andrea was SO excited because she’d been wanting to go back since 2016. Unbeknownst to Andrea, Nelson had already planned and chatted with Andrea’s bffs about the upcoming proposal. And on January 20th, Nelson proposed to Andrea at same canal that was in the painting Nelson had given her 2 Christmases ago. Talk about a full circle moment! Andrea said yes! through a whole bunch of tears. It was easily the best day of Andrea’s life….until October 12th, 2025. That’s where you come in.