FOLLOWING COLLEGE, MIKE SPENT A DECADE IN ATLANTA, WHERE HE NOW ADMITS HE WAS MOSTLY CONSUMED BY WORK. HOWEVER, IN 2021, HE SOUGHT A CHANGE AND DESIRED TO BE CLOSER TO HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY, PROMPTING A MOVE TO THE WASHINGTON DC AREA. THE TRANSITION WAS NOT SMOOTH, BUT AFTER TWO YEARS, MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS AT ONLINE DATING AND THREE DIFFERENT APARTMENTS, THINGS BEGAN TO IMPROVE. ON THE EVENING OF SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2023, AT 9:46 PM, MIKE DECIDED TO TEXT ANDREA FOR THE FIRST TIME AFTER THEY FOUND EACH OTHER ONLINE. DURING THEIR FIRST TEXT EXCHANGE, ANDREA MENTIONED SHE WAS EXHAUSTED FROM ATTENDING A WASHINGTON WIZARDS BASKETBALL GAME THE PREVIOUS NIGHT, WHICH MIKE THOUGHT WAS “COOL”. HE SHARED PICTURES OF HIS BEST FRIEND, HIS DOG GABE. ANDREA MENTIONED THAT SHE WORKED IN THE MEDICAL FIELD, AND MIKE RESPONDED BY TELLING HER THAT HE ALSO WORKED IN HEALTHCARE AND SOLD INSURANCE. ANDREA'S RESPONSE WAS, "I HATE INSURANCE". ANDREA DESCRIBED HERSELF FROM A PLACE LIKE MIAMI AND CHALLENGED MIKE TO GUESS HER HOMETOWN. THEY TEXTED BACK AND FORTH FOR HOURS, AND MIKE WOULD STILL BE GUESSING TODAY, AS BOLIVIA WAS NOT ON HIS RADAR.

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AFTER A FEW DATES, ANDREA, NEVER ONE TO BEAT AROUND THE BUSH, SUGGESTED THAT MIKE JOIN HER FOR A TRIP TO MEXICO FOLLOWING HER GIRLS' TRIP. IT WAS TIME TO SEE IF THEY COULD TRULY GET ALONG. WHEN MIKE ASKED IF HE SHOULD BOOK A ONE-WAY TICKET, ANDREA'S RESPONSE WAS SIMPLY A THUMBS-UP EMOJI. AT THIS POINT, MIKE WAS INTO ANDREA AND DECIDED TO MAKE THE TRIP. ALTHOUGH FILLED WITH EXCITEMENT AND NERVES, HE QUICKLY SETTLED IN AFTER A TWO-HOUR TAXI RIDE WITH ANDREA FOLLOWED BY AN HOUR FAIRY RIDE TO HOLBOX ISLAND WHERE MIKE HAD NO HOTEL BOOKED! IT WAS A WONDERFUL TRIP FILLED WITH LAUGHTER, GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER, AND TESTING THEIR COMPATIBILITY. MIKE ALSO REALIZED HE NEEDED TO LEARN ANOTHER LANGUAGE.

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UPON LEAVING THE AIRPORT, MIKE CALLED HIS BEST FRIENDS, EXCLAIMING, "I SERIOUSLY MIGHT HAVE JUST FOUND THE RIGHT ONE". OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS, THEIR RELATIONSHIP EVOLVED. MIKE CHERISHED ANDREA'S SUPPORTIVE AND CARING PERSONALITY, AND HE WAS INTRODUCED TO A NEW CULTURE, EVEN VISITING BOLIVIA. DESPITE THEIR DIFFERENT HOBBIES—MIKE ENJOYING RELAXATION AND FOOTBALL, WHILE ANDREA PREFERRED BEING ACTIVE—IT WAS THE LITTLE THINGS THAT MATTERED MOST. ANDREA HAD TRULY BECOME MIKE'S BEST FRIEND, AND HE LOOKED FORWARD TO DINNERS WITH ANDREA AND HER DAUGHTERS, NAE AND TESSA.​

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ONE EVENING, WHILE ANDREA WAS IN THE BASEMENT, NAE AND TESSA APPROACHED MIKE AND ASKED, "ARE YOU GOING TO MARRY OUR MOM?" MIKE WAS OVERJOYED BUT MAINTAINED HIS COMPOSURE, FEELING EVEN BETTER WHEN THE GIRLS ADDED, "WE THINK YOU SHOULD". MIKE AND ANDREA EVENTUALLY SETTLED DOWN TOGETHER, MOVING IN TOGETHER IN EARLY 2025. MIKE IS THRILLED TO SPEND THE REST OF HIS LIFE WITH ANDREA, CONTINUING TO WRITE THEIR STORY.