In the fall of 2020, on a game day at Auburn University, a mutual friend arranged for Hayden and Caroline to cross paths. Caroline arrived at an Auburn tailgate that Hayden was also attending, where a friendly cornhole matchup and the usual game-day energy set the scene. Amid the competition and excitement, Hayden and Caroline met for the first time.

That year, Caroline had stepped away from social media, completely unaware that Hayden had found her on Instagram and sent a follow request. His request sat there for nearly two weeks, unnoticed, while he waited to see if it would ever be accepted.

In the meantime, Caroline was wondering why he had not reached out. Caroline finally logged back in and realized he’d been trying to reach her.

Hayden finally asked Caroline out on their first date, which included carving pumpkins and eating Mexican food. From there, everything else fell into place.