Claire and Brooks met the old fashioned way - a dating app! Though they both now readily admit that neither one was planning to date another lawyer, for some reason they were willing to make an exception for each other. After Claire exuberantly shared her deep love for bagels, she suggested that they have their first date at B-Side in Decatur, along the way earning the name “Bagel Girl” among Brooks’ friends. Brooks thought Claire was ghosting him after she cancelled their first scheduled date and took a couple days to respond to his make-up request, but eventually Bagel Girl and Brooks had their first date at B-Side in November 2022. Brooks was willing to miss watching a World Cup game to go on the date, which shows how excited he was about meeting Claire! On their first date, Claire and Brooks discovered they had a few mutual friends and had likely attended many of the same swim meets growing up. This was also the first and last time that Brooks willingly split a dessert with Claire. Afterwards, Brooks texted his friends the highest praise for Claire, saying that she had “Blaire Waldorf vibes (in a good way),” and he just knew that he needed to be her less-problematic Chuck Bass.

After many more dates and time spent together, highlighted by a pilates date where Brooks was sure he had given Claire the ick, Brooks and Claire went on their first trip together in the Spring of 2023 - a week-long stay on Jekyll island. Highlights of the trip included many bikes to get ice cream, charcuterie on the beach, and a minor meltdown by Claire when she lost mini golf. They got along famously, and after driving home to Atlanta found that they just couldn’t bear to leave each other, so they promptly went on another in town date.

After many more trips together, including to England, New Orleans, Asheville, and MANY drives up I-85 to see their families in Greenville and Charlotte, on March 1st, 2025, Brooks surprised Claire with a trip to a small mountain cabin where they celebrated Brooks’ birthday a couple years prior. After spending a lovely day together exploring North Georgia and visiting Howard Finster’s Paradise Gardens - the home of one of their favorite artists - Claire lamented to her friend Clarke: “he still hasn’t proposed.” Luckily, Claire didn’t have to wait long! At sunset, surrounded by candles that Brooks failed to light due to an uncooperative mountain wind, Brooks asked Claire if she would marry him, and Claire said “Brooksie, of course!”