Madison and Peter’s story almost began three times.
Before their paths finally crossed in 2021, they had a few near misses. Moments when they unknowingly stood just steps apart — in the same cities, the same neighborhoods, and even the same crowds.
1. April 2016 — Coachella
While reminiscing about their music festival days, Madison and Peter realized they had both gone to Coachella the same year. Curious, they started flipping through old photos and videos — and sure enough, as they compared footage, they had both attended a Matoma set…standing in almost the exact same spot near the front of the stage. And the craziest part? In one of Madison’s videos, right there in a crowded sea of fans...was Peter’s head bobbing along to the music! Out of 100,000 people and multiple stages, they had somehow ended up within 25 feet of each other — and she had caught him on camera!
2. May 2018 — San Francisco
Madison went to SF for the first time with one of her friends for a weekend. In celebration of Cinco de Mayo, her friend recommended they go to El Techo, a Mexican rooftop restaurant. Little did they know, it was literally one building away from Peter’s apartment at the time!
3. Summer 2018 — New York City
Peter spent a summer in Manhattan working in Nolita on Lafayette Street. This was in Madison’s stomping grounds. She lived in Chinatown at the time and worked in Astor Place…which meant that she walked past his office on her way to and from work every single day!
These three missed connections, scattered over the years and across coasts, felt like fate was gently nudging their paths toward each other — but the timing just wasn’t quite right. Not yet.
Fast forward to 2020.
After five years in New York City, Madison took a one-way flight home to Indiana during the pandemic to spend time with family. She had every intention of returning once her office reopened, but something shifted. What began as a quiet voice in the back of her mind in late 2019 — urging her to move to Southern California — had grown into a persistent pull she could no longer ignore by the end of 2020. She couldn’t quite explain it, but she knew it was where she needed to be.
At the same time, Peter — a NorCal native who had spent his entire life within a 50-mile radius of the San Francisco Bay Area — felt the itch for something new. At the ripe age of 28, adventure summoned him south to Los Angeles. For six months, he bounced between short-term Airbnbs, exploring different neighborhoods in search of a place that felt like home — a feeling he didn’t truly find until…
…2021, when fate finally decided it was the right time and he met Madison. She had just moved to Venice and within her first month in town, Peter swooped in with a little help from Hinge. They met for coffee just off the Venice boardwalk, and what started as a casual morning date quickly turned into a whirlwind of sunset beach walks, hikes, and spontaneous road trips.
Since then, they’ve settled into their first home in Venice, fostered more kittens than they can count (well Madison brought them home and Peter became their unsuspecting but lovable climbing pole), and adopted a sweet, energetic pup Koda aka their first child.
Madison and Peter are so grateful to have found one another and they can’t wait to celebrate the next chapter of their story, surrounded by the people they love most.
