Connect How did your love story begin?

Technically we met in middle school math class, after a test neither of us did well on. Emma cheered Rainey up with a cafeteria cookie. Six years later on June 30th, 2015 (a few days after marriage equality was made law), Emma slid into Rainey’s twitter DMs. We stargazed at Pluto’s heart through a telescope on our first date and quickly realized we had something special. Finding a wife wasn’t the goal but almost 10 years later we couldn’t be happier.

What is your favorite memory you've shared as a couple?

After we both graduated undergraduate college, we backpacked across Europe for a little over 2 months. We had been long distance for 3 years and it was the most time we had spent together at that point. Traveling together can teach you a lot about the other person, and we learned we were an amazing team regardless of the situation. We spent our 3 years anniversary in Paris, talking about our plans for the future and how quickly we could move in together once we got back to the US.

What would you do with $20,000?

We are about to go on our honeymoon to celebrate 1 year of being married and 10 years together overall. We would love to be able to travel Europe again, this time not on a hostel backpacking budget. Any money leftover would be put towards building a family together. Queer parents have extra barriers to starting a family, and one of them is the financial barrier of family planning. Having something set aside to help offset those costs would make family planning significantly easier.