Alec and Keren met in Cypress, Texas, in the 6th grade; throughout middle school, they remained friends. During their freshman year of high school, Alec and Keren “re met” at a football game. Keren’s older sister, Keziah, pointed out Alec and said, “Alec Esposito is over there, you should date him.” Keren responded, “Eww! He’s just a friend to me!”

During the game, Keren eventually approached him, and they ended up sitting together for the rest of the night. At school, Keren would wait for Alec to finish cross-country practice so he could walk her to her first-period class. On December 27, 2014, they went on their second date, where Alec asked Keren to be his girlfriend. From then on, Alec and Keren were inseparable throughout all four years of high school.

From getting their driver’s licenses and first cars to four homecomings, cross-country and track meets, choir concerts, prom, and graduation, Alec and Keren experienced it all together. When college began, Alec went to the University of North Texas in Denton to run cross country and track, while Keren stayed in Cypress for school. During their first two years of college, they pursued a long distance relationship, counting down the days until they could see each other again. Keren eventually moved to Denton to finish college at Texas Woman’s University, and both graduated with their undergraduate degrees in 2022 in Denton, Texas.

In 2022, they both started graduate school. Keren moved back to Cypress, while Alec moved to North Carolina to attend the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and finish his running eligibility. They spent another year in a long-distance relationship.

In the summer of 2023, they traveled to the Philippines together. Then, on a rainy day, June 27, 2023, while on an island tour in El Nido, Palawan, Alec proposed to Keren on the beach under a tree. Keren happily said, “YES!”

Alec and Keren looked forward to starting a new journey together. They had gone through many milestones and were excited to experience the next chapter of their lives. When they married in December, they also celebrated 10 years together.