CHRISTINA & MARIO

"Baby!" - That's what Christina's extended family gave her as a nickname when she returned to Taiwan from Boston at the age of two because she was a bona fide American citizen. Sixteen years later, Christina moved to New York to attend NYU and encountered an overenthusiastic Taiwanese guy from North Carolina at a free bubble tea event. Mario spent the next two years asking Christina out and was rejected repeatedly in both New York and Taipei. Finally, in her sophomore year, she signaled that she was ready to be asked the question again, and Mario and Christina began dating in 2009.

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The next 12 years were a whirlwind of life experiences we were blessed to share together - graduations, getting a first job, applying for graduate school, traveling, dining and drinking, buying a car, buying a house, attending 11 weddings in a year, and quite literally everything else you'd be able to imagine going through as a young adult. We truly became adults together. 

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In 2021, Mario decided to ask another question. In the midst of the COVID pandemic, both were working from home, so going ring shopping was a tricky endeavor. The only time Mario went anywhere alone was to the gym. So one winter evening, Mario waltzed into Harry Winston in shorts and tank top, water bottle and headphones in hand, to the bewilderment of the security guard who muttered a disdainful "Welcome to Harry Winston...?"

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2 short months later, at quintessential New York fine dining stalwart Per Se, Mario got down on one knee, proudly pulling off the one and only surprise in their 12 years together.

The answer was "Yes."

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- Written by Mario