We met on a night out with old friends. Taylor was out with her college girlfriends, and Jeff was out with his grade school buddies. Neither of us would normally have ended up at the bar we were at that night, but somehow we both got dragged there and were introduced on the dance floor. When a song Taylor loved came on, she turned to Jeff to dance—and from that moment on, everything changed.
Since the day we met on August 20, 2022, we haven't gone a single day without talking.
At the time, Taylor was living in Florida and was only in Chicago for the summer. She was supposed to move back just a week later, but after meeting Jeff, she extended her stay so we could spend more time together. We filled that extra week with rooftop pizza deliveries, date nights downtown, Cubs games, architecture boat cruises, summer sunsets, and evening walks along the Riverwalk.
Even though neither of us expected the relationship to continue once Taylor left, we kept talking every day and quickly fell in love. Taylor came back to Chicago as often as she could, and Jeff made trips to Florida. By December 2022, it was official—we knew we didn't want to do life without each other.
What followed was months of long distance, frequent flights, and making the most of every moment we had together—until Taylor officially moved back to Chicago at the end of April 2023. Once we were finally in the same city, life only got sweeter. In July 2023, we added one more to the mix and got our puppy Larry, who we firmly believe is the best puppy to ever exist. In March 2024, we bought our first home together and began building a life side by side.
Along the way, life has brought unexpected challenges, but each one has only strengthened the foundation we've built together. Through every season, we've learned to lean on one another, laugh through the hard moments, grow together, and move through life as true partners. We know that no matter what life brings, we are always better together.
