about
Our Love Story
❤️
first date
Social media was a "no" for Telayah, but New York was getting stale. After a late night push from a friend to "just get on an app for one night," Telayah met John. John saw the match – and it was like rekindling an old friendship. Telayah said: "Why, not? Let's meet up."
The date was set: Madison Square Park. John was nervous, arrived early and sat on a bench reading. Telayah, of course, was running late.
She saw John and thought: "Wow, that book better not be a prop."
John's first reaction: "Oh, she's in a blazer. I'm underdressed."
Hi, hello. Yes, thanks for meeting up.
30 minutes in, Telayah knew. It felt like the leap was purposeful because from that moment, she couldn't imagine her life without John. And even after a long goodbye, John texted Telayah on the train ride home – and starting cooking an excuse to see her the next day.
first i love you
Not everything was easy about their early years together. The world shut down. They were separated from friends and family, but more than willing to continue something good in isolation. So much of their time together was spent ... well, just together. Early days were occupied with long sometimes 10-mile walks around New York. Inside, they would talk, laugh, cry, listen to music, spend hours gaming, and it seemed as if time froze – the world was hard, but being together was so easy.
And as the world slowly started to open up, so did they. On the steps of John's Bushwick apartment, Telayah leaped again: "I love you."
And holding her breath she heard, "I love you, too."
first forever
So many beautiful ups; plenty of difficult downs. And after 5 years of doing life together, John and Telayah turned to each other during a warm afternoon on their porch in North Carolina and agreed: Nothing's guaranteed, other than the love they shared. So John booked a trip to CDMX and Puerto Vallarta. And at sunset, on a pier extending into the Pacific Ocean, they asked each other to be their forever.
John and Telayah both said yes.
And then hit the pool under the moonlight, knowing the best days of their lives were yet to come.
