Do you know the story of Sarah and Tray? Sarah Nancy Berkman is a peppy Pepperdine graduate who grew up in sunny San Diego. Trayvon Lee Davis is a calm cop who hails from the Inland Empire. A few years ago, they hadn’t met yet and nobody could have guessed the love story that was about to unfold.

Sarah was a pretty princess sitting in her California castle searching for her prince charming on the dating app Hinge. Hinge had about 23 million regular users at the time, but none as smart, handsome, and wonderful as terrific Tray. Tray knew a good thing when he saw it and made the first move by liking one of Sarah’s pictures (see above). Sarah was no fool and immediately responded. They decided to meet in person and their first date on May 16, 2023 lasted for about eleven hours, as they had a spark from the very beginning and immediately knew that they had each found someone very special.

Tray and Sarah loved going on dates together, including trips to Disneyland, Halloween Horror Nights, sporting events, spa treatments, and romantic walks on the beach. If that wasn’t good enough, Tray even got paid for dating Sarah when she decided to go on some ride-a-longs in Tray’s police vehicle. Good thing, because he needed some extra money to pay for all the flowers and yes, also for trips out to Philadelphia when Sarah went across the country for grad school. These two star-struck youngsters were determined to make their long-distance relationship a long-term success and quite maturely were working hard and smart to keep their romance growing.

But the fairy tale met real life when Cupid looked down and thought that was too hard (or maybe too easy) and threw down a lighting bolt. Bam! And Sarah was back in California to deal with a medical emergency and surgery that led her to take the rest of her semester off from school. A good start, but Cupid wasn’t done yet. Bam! A second lightning bolt and Tray the pedestrian was hit by a distracted driver in a very unfair fight and sustained multiple serious injuries.

Far from letting these challenges deter them, Sarah and Tray actually doubled down on each other during these difficult times and realized that there was no-one else they would rather have by their side in good times or bad. And it has been almost all good, with both now in good health and enjoying reality TV marathons, pool parties with Ixia, and trips with each other to New York, Las Vegas, Seattle, etc., although they do sometimes have an annoying third wheel chaperone along for the ride (me).

Realizing that this was a love built to last, Tray proposed to Sarah on May 17, 2024 at Sunset Cliffs in San Diego. Sarah couldn’t say yes fast enough. Since then, Sarah and Tray have continued loving each other to the fullest and planning their new lives together. Like many couples, they have spent a lot of time planning their wedding so that they will have an event to remember for the rest of their lives. But they have also invested a lot of time preparing for their marriage, so they will have a happy and loving relationship that will last an eternity.