Unknown to her, Inyene had been asking Nkem about Koko since their first meeting in 2019 but he was unavailable to make his intentions known. However, once in Miami, let’s just say Inyene could not wait to loud those intentions to whoever cared to listen. The guys arrived on Friday and explored Miami (South Beach) but Inyene refused to entertain anyone until she arrived. We later learned that Inyene confirmed his travel immediately after he learned that "Helen may be coming". Later that night in a Miami bar with the rest of the birthday crew, Inyene asked Koko for her drink of choice. And as he proceeded to give her the drink, he expressed not only how much he was interested in her, but also how long he’s been interested. She shrugged off his admiration to the familiarity often associated with cocktails and music but his admiration became clearer when one of Nkem’s friends told Inyene that she had someone for him and he boldly replied saying, “Don’t worry about that, the person I like is sitting right next to you.” We later learned that prior to this trip, Inyene mentioned to his parents that in addition to celebrating Nkem, there was someone (who may be on this trip) that he liked and was looking forward to meeting. And his mum responded, beckoning on him to "go have fun" and "to keep an open mind". Little did they know that Saturday night in Miami was the beginning of something unexpected and beautiful.

Sunday was Jet Ski and Beach Day, and they both had an amazing time. Inyene and Koko talked more and realized how much they had in common. They learned that his brother attended Loyola Jesuit College like she did, and they also learned that they had unknowingly been messaging each other on IG for months prior. Miami revealed that Inyene knew considerably more about Koko than she imagined.

Birthday festivities ended for Koko and Inyene on Sunday night since they had early morning flights on Monday. They rode in the same Uber to the airport and talked some more. Inyene flew back to Washington DC, and Koko flew to Raleigh, North Carolina. They talked every day and each time, Inyene reminded Koko of his intentions, even though she refused to take him seriously. Two weeks later, Koko told Inyene that she did not see anything beyond friendship between them. And to her surprise, Inyene made it evident that he was ready to be in her life in any capacity that she was comfortable with, even if it was just friendship. Their friendship blossomed and shortly afterwards, Inyene invited Koko to a weekend in DC and she obliged him.

Koko's birthday was on the horizon, and she decided to travel to West Palm Beach, Florida. Without giving it much thought, she invited Inyene, and he was all in. Inyene and Koko bonded on the flight to West Palm. They talked about their families, their upbringings, tales of moving to the US and navigating their lives here, their shared values, their interests and more. They celebrated Koko's birthday together and returned to DC. At this time, Koko was on another travel engagement in Indiana/Chicago. On travel engagements, she could either travel home or travel someone to her location, so she invited Inyene and that was the weekend when they went on their first date. Koko teased Inyene that he had to take her on 5 amazing dates before she gave him an answer. Inyene planned their first date, and she was simply blown away by his attention, his intention, and his empathy. Their first date went beautifully, and it was then that she knew.

They were officially dating and Inyene had already started planning their second date. During the July 4th holiday, as they were driving to the grocery store, Inyene received a call from his mum. He had promised to help marinate the meats so he asked Koko if she was comfortable riding along with him to his parents so he could complete the task and return home afterwards. With an open mind, Koko obliged Inyene and his parents welcomed her with open arms. She later learned that this visit established her permanent presence in Inyene's life long before even agreeing to be together.

Inyene planned their second date for July 15th in DC. This date is incredibly memorable to Koko for so many reasons. It is her dad’s birthday, and that day was the second birthday that was spent without him. That morning, Koko went to run errands while keeping the special evening in mind, only to return home to the most beautiful bouquet of sunflowers. The card on the flowers read: “Next To You Is Exactly Where I Want To Be, Every Single Day, Mon Coeur! Kingsley.” Words could not describe her emotions that day, but it felt like God was steering the wheel. Throughout the date, Koko kept Inyene on edge by saying that her answer was largely dependent on the date's outcome even though she already knew. They walked back to the car, reeling from this spectacular date and right in front of the car, Inyene asked her again and she said “Yes, I’d love to be your girlfriend”. It is safe to say that Koko knew her answer from date #1 and that she did not need 5 dates to decide or confirm how she felt towards Inyene.

Inyene lived in Washington DC while Koko lived 50mins west of DC which implied commuting to visit each other. During this time, they had nursed the idea of living together and Koko shared that she had always wanted to live in DC for a year. With Inyene’s lease approaching expiration, it was perfect timing to research and tour apartments in DC. Inyene took Koko to all the apartment tours which left them torn between 2 apartment options. On one of our last tours, Inyene blurted out that he was interested in moving to Ashburn. This impulsive idea turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Koko and Inyene.

Koko's mum visits the US every year from Nigeria and splits her time between Los Angeles and Virginia. When she visited Koko in September, Inyene also visited and they connected right away. Koko shared that they were planning to move in together and as Mother's do, she asked about their intentions, advised Koko, and asked that she prayed about it. Inyene started moving out towards the end of October, and on November 1st, they began living together. They spent thanksgiving celebrating Inyene’s mum’s 60th birthday, where their relationship was further solidified by all the introductions to friends and family in attendance.

Koko was unable to travel to Nigeria in December 2022, so they planned to spend the Christmas holiday in Puerto Rico. Basking in the warmth and tranquility of Puerto Rico, they did not want the vacation to end. They welcomed 2023 with gratitude, commitment, and renewed love for each other. On New Year's Day, they celebrated together with Inyene's family. Inyene later shared that his parents were asking when he would propose to Koko and curious of his response, Inyene responded saying it will happen soon, "within the year".

Each time the proposal topic arose, Inyene said he would only share that it would happen before my birthday in June 2023. In January, Koko had begun consulting locally and the hours got intense very quickly. No matter how late she worked, Inyene still drove to pick her up from the train station, night after night. As a treat to compensate for the long working hours, Koko reserved tickets for them to experience (for the first time) a Shen Yun Performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. The performance was simply breathtaking and was experienced with the best company.