On March 30, 2019 our story began. Zhaneé was visiting Harrisonburg, VA for the weekend and her best friend invited her out to eat at Jalapeños with her then boyfriend and his best friend . There Russell and Zhaneé meet for the first time. Although things started off slow at the restaurant because they were complete strangers, by the end of the weekend they knew this could be something special. The couple exchanged numbers and texted from time to time but things did not pick up until Zhaneé graduated from George Mason University. Over the course of the summer of 2019 Zhaneé and Russell continued to get to know each other and spend time together. By the end of the summer Zhaneé let Russell know she would be moving to West Virginia to obtain her masters degree. Unsure of the future of their friendship Russell reassured her he would be apart of her life and promised to be at her graduation 2 years later.

Fast forward to September 28th, 2019, Russell officially asked Zhaneé to be his girlfriend while visiting West Virginia for the weekend. Russell asked Zhaneé to be his girlfriend by creating a scavenger hunt around the apartment that ended with the question “Will you be my girlfriend?”. Through out the 2 years Zhaneé lived in WV, Russell would make the 5 hour drive to see her every month (with the exception of 6 months in 2020 due to Covid). In May of 2021, Russell came to attend Zhaneé’s graduation ceremony just like he had promised almost 2 years ago.

After graduation, Zhaneé moved to Newport News, VA. The couple would continue to be in a long distance relationship until the Summer of 2022, when Russell moved to Suffolk, VA. After 4 years of dating, on December 30, 2023, Russell asked Zhaneé to spend the rest of her life with him. Zhaneé of course said yes and the couple is looking forward to the day they get to say “I Do”!!