In November 2022, I flew 1,700 miles to the beautiful island of Curaçao for a NABS summit—only to meet a man who, ironically, lived just 60 miles from me. He was a newcomer to NABS, and I had no idea he’d soon become such an important part of my life. The day before the summit began, while I was helping with setup, I got a call from Robert Watts. He casually said, “I’m bringing you a husband.” I laughed it off.
The next afternoon during check-in, mimosa in hand, I was introduced to the mysterious newcomer. “Hi, I’m Drew,” he said. That was it. Short and sweet. At the meet and greet on Day 2, he appeared again, same approach: “I’m Drew.” Days 3 and 4 went about the same. Thankfully, I was in a friend group with Lyron, Jamila, and Quinta, who kept things lively. They kept nudging me, “He’s into you,” but all I could say was, “All I know about him is his name. He doesn’t talk!”
Eventually, I messaged Rob and said, “I don’t think your friend likes me—he’s barely said a word!” Rob’s response? Classic: “Well, if he doesn’t capitalize on this opportunity, that’s his loss.”
Ironically, by Days 5 to 7, Drew finally opened up. And somehow, at every dinner, we were always seated next to or across from each other—pure coincidence, right? We ended up on a couple of tours together, and I insisted he take some photos of himself, not just the scenery. I like to think I became his unofficial photographer and it still holds true to this day.
Our real connection sparked on the final night during NABS Night Out. We finally had a real conversation—laughing, bonding over Atlanta spots, and our favorite shows. The next day, as we were boarding the shuttle to the airport, he asked for my number. We traveled together from Curaçao to Miami, then back to Atlanta. He helped me with my grandmother and carried our heavy bags—which I thought was only fair, given those massive arms! He was kind, helpful, and sweet. Still, I figured we were just being friendly resort companions.
Then, about three or four days later, back at work, I got a text: “Hey, it’s Drew.” We started texting regularly, and eventually moved to phone calls. In December, I had to travel to Dubai and India for a wedding and kept my phone in airplane mode the entire two weeks. Drew didn’t miss a beat—he messaged me every single day on social media until I returned to the U.S.
On December 26th, 2022, we went on our first official date at Marlow’s Tavern in Midtown Atlanta. Honestly, I half-expected him to turn into some cocky gym bro, and I still thought he might fade out of my life. But the date was full of laughter—so much that our waitress even said, “I hope you two keep that laughter going.” Drew was a complete gentleman: paid for dinner, opened every door, walked me to my car, even made sure I was on the inside of the sidewalk. Simple gestures that spoke volumes. As the night ended, he said, “I hope we can hang out again,” and I responded without hesitation, “I’m free Thursday!”
Since that summit, we haven’t missed a single one. And now, I’m so proud to say that as of September 27th, 2025, we are officially a happily married couple! We even postponed our honeymoon until January—just so we wouldn’t miss this year’s summit.
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