Our Story

Ben and Jamie met in the fall of 2019 while each pursuing their masters degrees in Theatre at Indiana University-Bloomington, in technical direction and directing respectively. After months of “unintentional” flirting across their neighboring cubicles, they realized their connection was undeniable over coquito and arroz con gandules at their dear friend (and wedding officiant) Christin Cato’s Christmas party that year.

Though the months ahead were tumultuous to say the least, Jamie and Ben eventually built their cocoon together in quarantine in the fall of 2020 and supported each other's healing while taking their new relationship very slow. Their time in grad school and their resulting collaborations demonstrated the ease of their communication and natural desire to support and uplift others, which are two of the greatest strengths and tenets in their relationship today.

Jamie and Ben finally "came out" as a couple in May of 2021, just in time for Ben to graduate and get a job in Salt Lake City and for Jamie to begin preparations for her thesis production and her final year at IU. Even though the time apart presented challenges, their relationship was never one of them. After navigating other personal and professional ups and downs, including Ben moving from Bloomington to Salt Lake to NYC to Chicago in the span of 8 months, they finally settled into an apartment in Lincoln Square in August 2022 with their doggo Emma as well as two terminal degrees in hand and began to plant roots together, including adding another pup to their family, the sweetest goober Nelly Nelson!

They've each since distanced themselves from theatre, and for now, they prefer it that way. Jamie recently completed her apprenticeship at a leading dog training facility in Chicago focusing on behavior modification through positive reinforcement and is currently enrolled in the Victoria Stilwell Academy pursuing her first professional certification as a dog trainer/behavior consultant, while Ben is a lead carpenter (IATSE Local 2 Journeyman) at a scene shop and travels to work on major cruiselines, themeparks, museums, airports, etc. They both enjoy taking "the girls" to Montrose Dog Beach, trying new restaurants/food, beer, wine, and spirits tastings, dancing to live music, attending street festivals, running, cycling (as long as Ben doesn’t get hit by a car ;)), being theatre patrons, spending time in nature, and being homebodies.