Their nerdiness meshed so well they fell in love

Lauren Gariepy didn't expect to fall for Sean Engelsen.

The 24-year-old bartender and the 30-year-old IT support person had been set up by a friend of a friend who thought they'd hit it off. 

So, they started texting every once in a while.

Sean texted Lauren one Friday night, asking her to go out Monday so they could actually meet in person. 

But, Lauren didn't think she could go.

"I had to reply that unfortunately my grandma is in the hospital and I didn't want to say yes until I knew what was going on," Lauren said. "I told him I knew it sounded like a line, but it wasn't. My grandma passed away the next day and as I was sitting in the hospital I sent him a text and said you know what, Monday works great. We went out and I honestly expected nothing from it, but as soon as I looked at him I had one of those 'oh no' moments."

On their first date, Lauren and Sean closed out a couple of bars because they were so deep in conversation.

Sean earned brownie points in Lauren's book by choosing the Good Oak Bar to start with. After that, they went to Public Brew House and Empire Pizza.

Within the week, they had already been on three dates. 

The couple just passed the one year mark and recently moved in together. 

First impressions

Lauren: My first impression of Sean was that he was quirky, funny, well spoken. I thought he was extremely good looking, even in his terrible paint hat, and I liked the fact that it seemed his smile was permanently painted on his face.

Sean: I was a bit concerned at her being younger than me, but our conversation just flowed from the start. She carried a strong presence and confidence that really just meshed with mine. 

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Outstanding quality

Lauren: He's just quirky and nerdy and always smiling. He's just an all around good guy and I think his nerdiness. It's more nerdy than I am, but it meshes with my nerdiness...One of the first things we connected over was the love of the same podcast, Hardcore History. 

Sean: Lauren is very well read. We ended up at a half dozen bars and didn't run out of topics the whole way through. That, and she can probably drink me under the table. 

Quirky or endearing quality

Lauren: He's always smiling. He always wears a hat. If we're out of the house it's very rare that he's not wearing a hat and it drives me insane because he has this one hat that he's had for probably 15 years from an old job at Home Depot. It's got paint thumb prints on it. I absolutely hate it and he loves it, but it is kind of endearing that he's had that same hat for so long...So as much as I want to throw it away I would never dare to do that...He has super luxurious hair that I would kill for and he doesn't get hat hair. I don't know how. 

Sean: A terminal case of not-ticklish self-delusion.

Defining moment

Lauren: Oddly enough, I think for myself was date number one when the talking was just so easy and we were able to get along without trying. I think when we realized both of us had listened to the Hardcore History podcast and both really enjoyed it and could have conversations about it, I think that was the moment of 'I think I could see myself here for a long time.' It was completely opposite of what I expected. The other time would be our third date. We played Scrabble and in the middle of Scrabble I was like, 'I like this.'

Sean: Lauren remembers it better, but we'd seen each other several times in a week or so and we were watching a movie. There was that moment that comes early in a relationship where you realize that not only are you truly content in that moment, but you would miss their presence in your life. There was really no spark for that specific idea other than that it felt right. 

Differences and similarities

Lauren: The major difference is I am very close with my family. I was raised with two siblings and we're all very close and all hang out and it's not uncommon for me to talk to one or both of my parents multiple times a week. Whereas his family are not very close. He talks to his dad but hasn't seen him in person for years...We're similar in a lot of ways. We don't have many big differences. Besides how nerdy we are, we both love to cook, are both caffeine attics, both love beer. We're pretty similar. 

Sean: My memory is atrocious to a fault and subscribe to the chaos theory form of cleanliness. She is quite a bit more on the point with her mental faculties and may at one point explode if I keep leaving the cupboards open.