Sam and Nicki met in 8th grade Spanish class when Nicki moved to Gurnee. They became friends during their sophomore year of high school because they sat near each other in chemistry and Spanish class. They ate lunch together every day in the cafeteria, and at some point, became more than friends. Eventually, they got into an argument (as teenagers do) and stopped talking to each other.

They each went off and did different things after high school, although they thought of each other from time to time. In 2019, Nicki and Sam matched on Tinder and decided to go on a coffee date to catch up. Coffee turned into lunch, which turned into drinks, which turned into dinner - it turned out there was a lot of catching up to do.

Covid started shortly after their renewed relationship, which made things difficult, but Nicki and Sam managed to spend a lot of time together walking through forest preserves and going on drives. Nicki started PA school and Sam moved to Milwaukee in 2020 to finish his associates degree online. After finishing his associates, Sam transferred to SIU Carbondale and they continued their long distance relationship while Nicki finished up PA school.

Long distance, although tough at times, proved to be no hurdle to the relationship - Nicki moved to Eau Claire, WI for work while Sam finished his bachelors degree in Forestry. Sam graduated in 2023 and began working as a wildland firefighter in Colorado during April of 2024, making the distance even further.

In August of 2024, Sam initiated a new chapter in the relationship by proposing to Nicki in Telluride, CO while she was visiting him. Currently, Nicki is living and working in Atlanta and Sam is splitting his time between Colorado during fire season and Atlanta in the off season.

They are excited and extremely grateful to be joined on the next part of their journey by all of the special people who are part of their lives!