Our Love Story
Mackenzie and Chelsea had tried online dating and they both went on some pretty bad dates. Eventually, they both deleted their dating apps. Mackenzie focused on his new job at UCLA and Chelsea focused on graduating from Occidental College. They decided to give online dating apps one more shot and matched with each other. They had their first date at a French restaurant in Los Angeles on June 16th, 2018. They instantly clicked, and more than three hours later the owner of the restaurant kindly gave them dessert and informed them that the restaurant was closed.
One year later, they moved in together at their first apartment in Los Angeles. They adopted their beloved cat Thomas O’Malley (the Alley cat) in October 2019. Their small 600 sq foot apartment became their new office together during the 2020 pandemic. They got a COVID kitten in 2020 and named him Finn Leo. Thomas took in Finn as his little brother and they quickly became a bonded pair to the delight of the couple. Chelsea and Mackenzie enjoyed going to concerts and camping trips with their friends in the endless summer weather of Los Angeles.
Over a summer brunch, the couple decided they wanted a change in careers and change of pace from big city life. They decided to move to Portland, Oregon before the end of the year. A couple months later, they also decided they wanted to get engaged before their big move. So, Mackenzie proposed to Chelsea on October 22, 2022 by waking her up with their custom made engagement rings on the collars of their beloved cats. Obviously, she said yes. They got engaged and began their new adventure in Portland; Mackenzie began a bartending job at a local brew pub (how Portland of him) and Chelsea continued her work in homelessness services with a local government job.
Chelsea’s new job in government gave her some cushy health benefits and Mackenzie’s bartending job gave him none. Chelsea could only add Mackenzie to her plan if they were married, but they wanted to wait to be settled in their new city before having a wedding. Their solution: get a wedding certificate. They’re not the most traditional couple, so who cares if the legal marriage comes before the wedding? So they signed the papers in January 2024 and decided it would be their “marriage paperwork day” and that their actual wedding would be June of 2025. While they have not yet said their vows, Mackenzie is well known for gushing about his “wife” to his coworkers.
