Kate and Floyd’s story began in the fall of 2020 when they met through mutual friends. They spent the first couple of years as casual acquaintances until the spring of 2022. It was during this semester that they realized there was more than just a friendship between them, and they started to spend more time together.

To Kate’s friends, this sudden shift was no surprise at all. They all vividly remember the first time Floyd came over to watch a movie. Five hours later, the TV screen remained off and untouched; the two had spent the entire night sitting on the couch doing nothing but talking, completely lost in conversation.

Wanting to take the next step, Floyd planned a surprise picnic at Falls Park in the heart of downtown Greenville. He enlisted a few close friends to help him set up the perfect spot right on the rocks. Complete with pizza, champagne, and the backdrop of the waterfalls, it was the ultimate romantic setting, where they finally admitted their feelings for one another.

However, a looming summer threw a bit of a curveball into their new romance. Floyd was heading to Hilton Head, while Kate was setting off across the Atlantic to Prague for a month-long MayX study abroad program before returning to take summer classes at Furman. The upcoming distance proved to be absolutely no match for what they were building. Across thousands of miles and completely different time zones, they talked every single day, filling the distance with FaceTime calls nearly everyday. By the time Kate’s flight landed back in South Carolina, the distance had only brought them closer, and they were officially a couple. To celebrate their reunion, they met up halfway in Columbia for a perfectly nostalgic date filled with arcade games at Dave & Buster's and building a stuffed animal named Carter at Build-A-Bear, a sweet beginning to a lifetime of adventures.

Now, five years later, the two have officially mastered the art of long distance after surviving three very long years, hundreds of miles apart. Once married, they plan to move to Bluffton for a short time before eventually settling down in the city where they met, Greenville. Kate will begin her career in physical therapy, and Floyd will continue his career as a financial planner.