From next door neighbours, to great friends, to now happily engaged. John and Kate’s love story spans a wonderful decade of travel, starting an amazing business, and building a new life together in Puerto Rico.
In 2010, Kate moved into her new studio apartment in San Diego. When moving to a new apartment you hope for great neighbours. Lucky for Kate she moved next to John! Over the next year they became great friends and grew really close. So when John broke the news that he was moving back across the country to Maine, Kate was in shock. She knew she didn’t want him to move and described feeling like a piece of her just turned off when she heard the news. Turns out the move was just what finally brought them together!
For their first date John asked Kate for dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant down the street from where they lived, in Pacific Beach. The first date went perfectly and the two were inseparable. Then two weeks later, John moved across the country to Maine. Although they didn’t have the talk about “about what was going to happen next”, Kate knew that their story wasn’t over and a few months later Kate moved across the country to be with John!
Over the years John and Kate have travelled the world, from New Zealand, Italy to Austria and started an amazing podcast called Entrepreneurs on Fire, that features amazing entrepreneurs from around the world and inspires others to fire up their own entrepreneurial journey.
Finding the ring
John was immediately attracted to the process of lab grown diamonds, and was very aware of the unfortunate practices that take place in some parts of the world to extract diamonds from the ground. After chatting with Couple’s co-founder, Jeff, he loved how passionate he was about Couple's mission and values, which aligned very well with his own. So when it came time to start the ring buying experience, there was only one option in his mind! John had multiple video consultations to find the perfect diamond and ring style for Kate with our diamond concierge. He was able to record the sessions, which helped him understand the process as well as the options, and he was able to share the recordings with his sister and mother who helped him decide upon the perfect ring for Kate.
On Christmas day in 2020 on the beautiful island of Puerto Rico, John and Kate decided to go for an afternoon walk near their home, with their 9-month old golden doodle, Gus. After their stroll, John asked if Kate wanted to sit on a rock and enjoy the view from the empty lot next to their home. While enjoying the view, they were talking about their life and whether Puerto Rico felt like "home" for them, now that had been living there for 4.5 years. Which they both agreed that it did. When Kate leaned down to give Gus a belly rub, she looked up to John holding the ring and asking her to marry him. When he proposed, Kate was not only surprised by the ring, she was shocked with a stunning 2ct Round Brilliant Pave engagement ring!
When it comes to wedding planning, they are taking things slow and enjoying being engaged right now. Luckily for them, Kate's sister Kara, hosts a podcast called the Wedding Planning Podcast. So they'll have all the advice and help they needs!
Congratulations to John and Kate on their beautiful engagement! You can follow along in their journey on Instagram @johnleedumas and @katelerickson and the podcast Entrepreneurs on Fire.
