How it began

Eli says…

“Our paths first crossed in early 2022 when I moved into a new role at Disney. Ash’s face popped onto my Zoom and I was immediately intrigued. Sure, they were adorable, but it was really their energy that drew me in…the confidence, the take-charge attitude, and her genuine passion for lifting up the LGBTQ+ community and all underrepresented groups. I was…captivated.

Naturally, I spent the next eight months casually engineering opportunities for us to become friends.

She was hosting an event in New York…I asked to join, support, hang out. She sent me the registration link.

They were headed to LA Pride…I suggested we meet up. Crickets.

Then she came to Orlando for an event at EPCOT and sent me an invite out of the blue. “This is my chance,” I thought…so I went with high hopes. She said a very quick hello…and disappeared into the crowd.

A couple days later, she posted from Animal Kingdom which is ten minutes from my house. I messaged them, and she said she’d text when they wrapped up so we could grab a drink but…

…they never texted.

So I drove to Tampa and saw Lizzo instead. One of the best concerts of my life, honestly, but still: What exactly does it take to get this person to notice me?

Apparently, the answer was…Las Vegas.

That October, I was sent last-minute to a conference for work. Ashley was there too, and suddenly they were inviting me to meals, drinks, and team hangs. But after eight months of being mostly ignored, I assumed she was just being friendly.

I remember little moments that week: seeing them in plenary, in workshops, hanging with our work group at Rhumbar.

Then came dinner.

Ashley invited me to Nobu for a work dinner with some colleagues. I was incredibly nervous. Fancy restaurants aren’t really my thing, sushi definitely wasn’t my thing, so Ashley kindly ordered for me.

Afterward, we could have walked back—it was only about a block—but Ashley called an Uber Black. (I’ve since learned that’s very on brand…especially in heels.)

As we rode back, Ashley reached over, took my hand, and held it.

That was the moment everything changed.

Eight months of missed connections and near misses suddenly made sense. We hadn’t missed our chance. We had simply found our timing.

And that’s where our forever began.”

Ashley says…

“Years after swearing off dating, there they were.

Eli swears I didn’t notice them, but how could I not take note of the new Jewish name and they/them pronouns on the attendee list of our D&I meetings at Disney? I noticed them. And I found little ways to make that known, admittedly, somewhat haphazardly, until we finally ended up in the same place at the same time, and I really saw them.

Out & Equal in Las Vegas in 2022 was the next stop in a marathon of events around the country during what would be my last year with The Walt Disney Company. Thankfully, that conference included an executive breakfast with an attendee who completely stole my attention.

And suddenly, my priorities for the week changed.

What I remember most from that whirlwind of a conference is how quickly my focus shifted from my own career, my speaking engagements, and the interviews I was secretly taking for my next opportunity…to Eli.

Any chance I got, I sat next to them. I changed my schedule to attend sessions they might be in. I walked up and down the same hallway more times than I care to admit, hoping our paths might accidentally cross.

And when Eli said they couldn’t make it to a dinner a colleague was organizing for our group, I asked that colleague and friend if we could change the time. That change eventually meant changing the venue for the entire group, all because I really didn’t want to go to dinner if Eli wouldn’t be there.

Apparently, after months of Eli trying to get my attention, I had finally become very interested in making sure I had theirs.

At that dinner, while great friends and colleagues shared Nobu (YUM), Eli and I sat next to each other and talked and shared and laughed. I was completely captivated.

Leaving dinner that night, I was full of butterflies. I knew I didn’t want that feeling to end, and I didn’t want to be away from Eli if I could help it.

Of course, work-Eli made that a little difficult. But their dedication, their incredible sense of responsibility, and the way they showed up so fully for the people and things they cared deeply about only made me want to know them more.

And once I knew I had their attention, I had no intention of letting it go.

Somewhere between all those missed connections, a very fancy dinner, some very late nights, and two people finally realizing they were looking for each other all along.

And that was it, the beginning of us.”