We met the way all gays meet—online. (Tinder to be precise.) We immediately bonded over our mutual love of Star Wars and politics and our shared hatred of ketchup. In January 2020 we had our first date in Saint Paul, Minnesota. After a dinner at Punch Pizza that went so well that neither of us wanted the night to end, we strolled up and down Grand Avenue and ogled each other over drinks at Emmett’s Pub. That winter included several other magical dates in the Twin Cities, like ice skating in downtown Saint Paul, Valentine’s Day at Can Can Wonderland, long walks along the Mississippi, and late nights watching The Mandalorian.

The pandemic was our first big challenge. Lockdowns, social distancing, and Austin’s forced move home to Nebraska in April kept us apart at a critical time in our early relationship. We stayed in touch with virtual dates, but at times we both worried the distance might be too much to overcome. But when Austin returned to Minnesota that fall (with a new furry friend named Malcolm in tow) to finish his senior year at our shared alma mater Macalester College, we picked up right where we left off. Noah was wary of Malcolm at first, but he valiantly fought his allergies and quickly became a certified cat-lover. (A little Zyrtec helped.) In the months that followed, we went from “seeing each other” to boyfriends; we said, “I love you,” for the first time; we went on our first big adventure together—to Alaska!—and we met each other’s families.

In the summer of 2021, Austin graduated from Macalester, Noah began a job at the US Agency for International Development, or USAID, and we both decided to move to Washington, DC. Austin interned for a DC-area political magazine and Noah began working in-person at the USAID headquarters. In DC, we made new friends and reunited with old ones from Macalester and Noah’s time in the Peace Corps. Austin started off in a little studio in Columbia Heights where he grew to love all the food options available in DC’s most diverse neighborhood. Noah lived in a group house of former Peace Corps volunteers not far away in the Shaw neighborhood. By the spring of 2022, we were ready to take the next step in our relationship and move in together. We found a cute English basement apartment in Columbia Heights, where we live now. That fall, we also adopted another furry friend named Bella from the shelter.

Over the last three years together, Austin has written for several DC political news organizations and started working for an antitrust think tank. Noah enrolled in and finished a master’s in humanitarian action program, and his work for USAID has taken him to Poland, Turkiye, Armenia, and on several long deployments in Ukraine. (Austin calls these his “army wife phases.”) After Noah returned from his most recent deployment in May 2024, we recognized our commitment to each other by registering as domestic partners with the Government of the District of Columbia. We spend our time trying new restaurants, visiting the historical cities along the East Coast, and burning the midnight oil playing Baldur’s Gate 3 together. Our travels have taken us all across the country, as well as England, Poland, France, and Mexico.

We got engaged on June 20, 2024, during a weekend trip to the Twin Cities. After recreating our first date— dinner at Punch Pizza, a long walk down Grand Avenue, and a couple of pints at Emmett’s Public House—Austin proposed to Noah in the same spot where we had our first kiss. Our next stop is celebrating our love with you on June 21, 2025, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the city where it all began.