It all started when Nikolas slid into Mariah’s DMs on Instagram—bold move, questionable success rate. He had seen her bartending in D.C. and figured asking about bars reopening after COVID was a solid opener. It was not. Mariah essentially gave that message the digital equivalent of a polite nod and kept it moving.

Undeterred (or just committed to the bit), Nikolas tried again. This time, he casually mentioned he was deployed overseas. Now that got Mariah’s attention—growing up in a military family meant she had a soft spot, and suddenly this guy in her DMs seemed a lot more interesting than just another “so what’s it like bartending?” message.

Fast forward five years, and somehow that second attempt worked out. Now they’ve got a daughter, Marleigh, who runs the house, and two dogs, Freya and Loki, who strongly believe they also run the house. Nikolas and Mariah are mostly just there to pay rent and break up the occasional chaos.

These days, they’re renting a place in Centreville, Virginia, trying to figure out what’s next—while also wondering how they ended up here from one ignored DM and one well-timed follow-up.

Moral of the story: persistence pays off… but maybe don’t lead with small talk.

Photo : Nikolas and Mariah at Stone Tower Winery on 11.11.21 where they first started officially dating