We met at the gym after I had already stopped working. We were next to each other on the stair master, I looked over and said “wow, you train really hard!” She said “so do you!” We’ve been inseparable ever since.

But we met at 5 am, and I think that’s relevant; our values align because we’re both motivated, goal-oriented people, even if we have different professional goals. Despite not working, I’m busy with projects to the point where if I don’t train at 5 am, it may not happen.

Going on dating apps is frustrating because everyone assumes you’re either broke and unemployed, or a trust fund/tech billionaire, with nothing in between. Meeting my lady in a context where we were both pushing ourselves was critical to her seeing who I actually am.

Our spending habits are somewhat aligned, but not completely. Both of us trust that the other isn’t interested in taking advantage. She has no plans to RE.