We first met while working for Royal Caribbean cruises, performing in Cats (the musical). During our rehearsal process in Miami, we were casual friends and castmates (though Yardén admits she did have a secret crush on Ollie 🤫), but by the time we boarded the Oasis of the Seas, it had grown into more. We spent our 7 month contract exploring gorgeous European cities, before sadly returning home and entering our current long distance relationship (as Ollie is British and Yardén is American) 🌎

It’s truly hard to pick just one. But our most magical day was when we got engaged. Ollie visited Yardén in NYC with the plan to propose. Yardén, who can see through almost anything, had absolutely no idea. We had a lovely brunch and Ollie insisted on going for a walk in Central Park. By our favorite little lake area with turtles swimming around, Ollie asked Yardén to marry him. It was a moment we will never forget.

As a long-distance couple, we will soon have to deal with immigration expenses. Much of this money would go towards the cost of getting Ollie a green card and relocating him to NYC, which we hope to do after our courthouse wedding in October. Whatever remains after we would love to use for our small family wedding celebration in Cornwall, where Ollie’s family lives, and to give back to Ollie’s parents and Yardén’s mother and grandmother, without whom neither of us would be where we are today.