Kate and Zawadi met the way many singles do these days – on a dating app. After matching in April and chatting for a few weeks in the app, Zawadi sent Kate his number and said “I’m deleting the app – we should be friends!” They then began texting periodically, with Kate attempting more than once to ask Zawadi out. He finally said yes and they had their first date in early June 2021 at Hudson Hill, a hip little record-playing cocktail bar in the Cap Hill neighborhood of Denver. The conversation was flowing, with Kate telling lots of dad jokes and Zawadi laughing heartily, as he does. At the end of the night, Kate offered to split the check (equality!), which Zawadi took as a sign that it was definitely NOT a date and that he was “put in the friend-zone”. Little did he know, Kate was indeed very interested.

The second date took place just a little more than a week later, with an after-work trip to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver and a quick drink on Larimer Street. The date was kept short as Kate was heading out of town for a week and a half to housesit for her brother in Longmont. After the second date, Kate and Zawadi began texting every day.

When they first matched, Zawadi casually mentioned that he knew a few people from Iowa. It wasn't until their third date, at mini golf, that Kate finally asked where his friends were from. "My buddy’s dad is the mayor of Cedar Rapids," Zawadi replied. Without missing a beat, Kate exclaimed “Will Hart?!” It turns out that when Zawadi first moved to Denver in 2018, his buddy from college, Shaun, introduced him to some of his high school friends who lived in the area. That included Will, along with Connor O'Neil—who, as fate would have it, was the brother-in-law of one of Kate's oldest and best friends.