It started on Bumble in June 2024. Ed was in Hawaii for his Navy Reserve Annual Training, and Mia was in Las Vegas celebrating her 35th birthday — two totally different places, but somehow the timing worked out anyway.

The app matched them with a prompt Ed picked: "What's one song you hope you never have to hear again?" Mia's answer was short and to the point: "Any rap songs." Ed then replied to her, and that was it — a dumb prompt turned into a conversation, and the conversation turned into something neither was expecting.

Their first date was June 16, 2024, at Chapin Family Vineyards — though it didn't start on time. Mia was running late, and Ed's aggressive punctuality caused him to wait it out by the entrance long enough that one of the employees apparently thought he might be homeless. Once Mia showed up, though, things just clicked. They wandered from Chapin over to Somerset Vineyards, and by the end of it, what was supposed to be a first meeting already felt like something more.

The more they talked, the more they realized how close their lives had already been without them knowing it. Ed had started his first government contracting job in Norco back in January 2020, working there until COVID sent him remote. Around that same time, Mia's family sold their house in Chino Hills and moved to Eastvale — just about 4 miles away, less than 15 minutes from where Ed had been working. Even after both ended up in Temecula years later, they were still living less than 15 minutes apart. They had apparently been circling each other for a while — the timing just finally caught up.

From there, things moved with an ease that felt less like effort and more like confirmation. They found that they wanted the same things — same values, same vision for a future together — and in February 2025 they moved into a cozy two-bedroom townhome in Murrieta, starting their first real chapter under one roof.

In March 2026, they took Mia's first big international trip together, to Japan. Standing in the gardens at Osaka Castle, surrounded by all that history and quiet, Ed asked, and Mia said yes — turning an already unforgettable trip into the one they will always come back to.

From a random Bumble prompt to a proposal abroad — their story has been about timing, faith, a lot of laughing, and love that just kept showing up. Now they are looking forward to what’s next: careers, a home of their own, and a family to fill it with.