“I wanted to propose at the White House because that was where we went on our first date,” wrote U.S. Marine Corps captain Matthew Phelps in an email to BuzzFeed about his Saturday night marriage proposal to Ben Schock.
Captain Phelps took the the time to answer a few questions about his relationship and the special moment he and Schock shared at the place where it all began.
Source: imgur.com
BuzzFeed: How long have you two been together?
Matthew Phelps: We actually met a few years ago at the 2010 Servicemembers Legal Defense Network [SLDN] annual dinner. We were introduced by one of Ben's friends and had an instant connection. He was living in Seattle at the time, and I in San Diego, so we just became friends and talked over the phone every once in a while. After graduating from the University of Washington, Ben moved to D.C., and when I came back to Washington, D.C., for the 2012 SLDN dinner in March, we saw each other for the first time since we'd met. As my involvement with OutServe and SLDN grew, so did opportunities to come back to the East Coast, and when I received an invitation to the LGBT Pride Month Reception at the White House on June 15, I invited Ben to be my date. That was our first official date, and things obviously progressed from there!
BF: When did you first realize you wanted to marry Ben?
MP: After our first date at the White House, Ben flew out to San Diego to visit and attend my change of command at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot. I knew I had had completely fallen for him the night he arrived and we went for a walk along San Diego Bay. By the time I was transferred to Quantico and moved to Washington, D.C., I was excited to see where the relationship would go. What had already been wonderful became indescribably great, and in October I told his parents it was my intention to one day marry their son.