It all started in September 2022, Eric was newly hired as an overnight PM Operations Manager. An email Eric sent for clarity turned into an encounter he would never forget! On the other end of that email was a confident and direct response from Shanel Armstrong!! Eric was thinking "Was she trying to check me? Who is Shanel?" While Shanel was trying to figure out who Eric was!

They worked opposite shifts, so for a long time they only knew each other through emails. That finally changed when their schedules overlapped. They met face to face for the first time with a simple exchange -

"Oh, you must be Shanel."

"And you must be Eric."

According to Eric, during that first encounter Shanel rolled her eyes at him, but Shanel said it was a brief and professional interaction.

A few years later, Shanel, was selling a grill- so Eric reached out and even sent the money, planned to pick it up... but timing never worked. However, to Eric's surprise Shanel had a brand-new grill sent directly to his house. He knew then that she was different!

In October 2024, Eric showed Shanel that he was a protecter in an intense encounter at work, where he stepped in and protected her. He knew from then on he wanted to protect her in every way! According to Shanel, he did that and more! He was there during difficult times, and their friendship grew into something more.

In December 2024, a phone call from Eric became an invite from Shanel! They talked for hours, shared laughs, and Shanel made gumbo (Eric jokes that she put something in that food). From that night on, they were inseparable.

In June 2025, at Shanel's 40th Birthday Dinner, Eric surprised her with the question that changed everything:

"Will You Marry Me?"