It all started in January of 2023 at the Oklahoma City Cattlemen’s Congress, during the awards ceremony for the livestock judging contest. She was a junior at South Dakota State University; he, a sophomore at Lakeland Community College. The two hadn’t met yet, but a shared acquaintance—a teammate of hers who had once attended Lakeland—was chatting with Hayden, the Lakeland judging coach.

In the middle of that conversation, Avery walked up, opened his jacket, and revealed a mysterious brown stain on his white shirt. “What is that?” Hayden asked. Without hesitation, Avery replied, “Chocolate.”

The moment quickly became legendary. Later that night, when the story was relayed to her, Avery was forever nicknamed “Chocolate” by her and her teammates. A small moment, but one that would stick—and come to mean more than any of them realized at the time.

Fast forward a few months to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Avery, who had apparently had his eye on her for a while, introduced himself in person. That conversation sparked something special, and soon the two began calling each other regularly—despite the 13-hour distance between them.

Their paths finally crossed again at the North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE) in November 2023. Something clicked. Not long after, she convinced him to buy tickets for a Turnpike Troubadours concert in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He made the long trip north for the show, and from then on, the visits became more frequent. For the next six months, she would fly out to Sherman, Illinois, where Avery worked on a ranch.

In May 2024, she made the move to Sherman full-time—and just a few months later, on December 12, 2024, in the show barn where so much of their shared life was unfolding, Avery got down on one knee and asked her to marry him.

Now, they spend their days side by side, tending to Hereford cows, hanging out with their dog Flint, and building a life together on the ranch. From a stained shirt and a funny nickname to long-distance love and forever promises—it’s a love story as sweet (and unexpected) as chocolate.