She and Mr. Williams had been acquainted for some time, but they didn’t really get to know each other until 2012, “when he was volunteering on the shoots for my campaign ads,” Ms. Gabbard wrote in an email. “About a year and a half later, he asked me out for the first time at a birthday party that a mutual friend of ours threw for me. It was the first time that we had a chance to kick back, relax and really talk on a personal level.
“As we got to know each other, we realized how much we actually had in common. We went for a long walk on our first date, and ended up at a pickup volleyball game with a few friends. Pretty soon, we were going on hikes, going surfing and spending as much time together as we could. Oftentimes that meant an early-morning surf before work. Our friendship and relationship developed over our mutual love for the ocean and surfing.”
Surfing also played a part in the marriage proposal. Ms. Gabbard said:
(Full article at New York Times)
