It all started with a little luck and a whole lot of silver and black.

In October 2017, Lydia won tickets to a Raiders game in a raffle—something she figured would just be a fun day trip with friends. So she and her crew packed into a car and made their way down to Oakland, hyped to experience some true tailgating and the infamous Raider Nation energy.

Little did she know, fate had its own playbook.

Sitting just behind Lydia and her friends was Arthur and his friend Tovo, who clearly didn’t come just to sit still. At some point during the game, he started dancing next to them, and pretty soon, everyone was laughing, vibing, and having the kind of fun you don’t forget. By the end of the game, they all felt like old friends.

As they were leaving, Arthur said, “If y’all ever come back to the Bay, hit me up!” Lydia’s guy friend tried to grab his Instagram—but his phone had died. So he turned to Lydia and said, “Get his IG.” She did. No big deal.

What followed was a year of casual social media friendship: likes here, a comment there, the occasional story reply. Nothing serious.

Then, in November 2018, the Camp Fire broke out near Lydia’s hometown. She shared haunting videos of the smoke and flames creeping close. Arthur saw them and immediately messaged her: “Are you okay?”

That one question turned into a conversation that never really stopped. DMs turned into texts. Texts became phone calls. Then came video chats, late-night laughs, and finally, real feelings.

By February 2019, they made it official.

And the rest, as they say, is history.