Episode 2 - Right person wrong time, surviving long distance, and overcoming challenges together

Welcome to the second episode of Ordinary Love—a podcast where I sit down with couples and celebrate their love story! Join me as I hear about the big, small, beautiful, sometimes messy, and always special ordinary moments that make relationships incredibly extraordinary.

In this episode, I get to sit with my sibling, Bel, and honorary sister, Leslie. Bel is a videographer/photographer and Leslie is a full-time student, and they live with me in the Silicon Valley with their puppy, Carlo! 

They share with us…

♡ What it was like to fall in love at the wrong time and reconnect a year later after doing the work

♡ Dealing with fear of heartbreak and healing from relational trauma

♡ Starting long distance and eventually moving in together

♡ How mental health drastically tested their relationship and how they overcame it

♡ Being hella gay and doing hella gay things together

♡ Developing ways of communicating despite having different communication styles 

♡ Being in an interracial relationship and learning about each other’s cultures

...And more

Scroll down for episode transcript ♡

 

Want to be on the podcast? Reach out today!

 
 

Episode Transcript

0:00:08.036,0:00:08.480
[Music]

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Hey, are we ready? Mhm. How are you guys feeling? 
I'm nervous. I don't know why I nervous. I'm

0:00:16.080,0:00:21.360
normally behind the camera, so Oh, yeah. They're 
allergic in front of the camera. This is what

0:00:21.360,0:00:29.680
Belle looks like. In fact, why don't we start with 
you guys just introducing yourselves really quick?

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and then we can we can go from there. Hello. 
Hello. My name is Leslie. I'm 25 years old,

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born and raised in Chicago, and I've been 
living in California for school since 2018.

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2018. Yep. I was in San Diego and then now Bay 
Area. Yeah. Fun fact, when I first met Leslie,

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I didn't know that she wasn't California 
native. Well, not just California native,

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SoCal native. Like, you were just you gave 
that vibe. I get I got that a lot. Yeah,

0:01:06.320,0:01:13.040
too. I was very surprised. I feel like I 
adjusted very fast cuz everyone's really

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nice. You're ready. Hi, I'm Bel. Uh, I was born 
and raised in the Bay Area. I'm 26 years old.

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I still don't have health insurance. Sorry. 
Sorry. Real. Um, I am a photographer and I'm

0:01:34.160,0:01:42.480
a videographer. An editor. An editor and director 
and direct and director. Guys, all of the above.

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And who is this young fellow over here? This is 
Carlo. Carlo, would you like to say a few words?

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Okay. He is nine months old. We got him in 
January. Jan Oh my gosh, it's been since January.

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Um, and we got him when he was two months. Two 
months old, so he's still a growing boy. Um,

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he um he just had his surgery. Yeah, he's a man 
now. He looks like a man now. Used to be like used

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to fit in your hand. You could just you could just 
hold him and there would be no way. Are you going

0:02:18.000,0:02:29.200
to insert photos? Yeah. Okay. No weight. So Bel
is my sibling and Bel and Leslie are also my

0:02:29.200,0:02:38.560
roommates. So I currently live with my husband and 
these two. And then there's another dog somewhere,

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but his name is Quincy. But we all live 
together. But really, I want to kind of

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start with your guys' story. It's funny because I 
feel like this has been very highly anticipated.

0:02:52.080,0:02:56.880
Even I don't think I know like the full story. I 
was very heavily involved without knowing. Yeah,

0:02:56.880,0:03:00.720
there's definitely so many parts that you don't 
know that I didn't know. You didn't know because

0:03:00.720,0:03:06.640
Bel just was like not sharing any information 
anything. But, you know, this will be this will

0:03:06.640,0:03:11.040
be interesting to kind of put all the pieces 
together. So, I don't know. Wherever you guys want

0:03:11.040,0:03:19.120
to start is perfect for me. I'll start. So, it 
was a uh cousin's vacation. We went to San Diego.

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Ena lived in San Diego at the time and it was a 
vacation because Jake had never been to San Oh,

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Jake's our cut. Jake, shout out to our first guest 
in our first episode. So, it was the cousins trip

0:03:34.560,0:03:42.400
was me, Belle, and Jake. Yeah. Have you heard this 
part? Okay. Have I heard? So, it was a cousin's

0:03:42.400,0:03:50.080
trip. It was a really fun trip, too. But during 
that time, I was in my hot bell summer days. And

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uh I happened to be on Bumble. What a hot summer 
it was. And uh I saw this cute thing right here.

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And so I said, "Do you swipe or do you press?" 
Swipe. I swipe. Yes. Was swipe. Can I see my

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heart? It's been so long. I don't even remember 
what Swipe. Oh, yeah. This was back in 2020. 2020.

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Yeah, I remember seeing them on Mumble and I was 
like, "Oh, they're cute." But for some, like some

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part of me was like, "I don't know which one I 
want to do." Like, I don't know which one I want

0:04:23.600,0:04:30.560
to sw. Wow. So, you were unsure. So unsure that I 
just didn't touch the app for a second cuz I was

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like, I don't know. I literally like didn't even 
like So, basically, she didn't think I was cute.

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I thought they were cute. Carl, I think Quincy won 
me over in the last photo. Oh, Quincy was in the

0:04:42.240,0:04:46.720
last photo. I think Quincy, do you still have 
that photo? I do. It's because in every photo,

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Belle had sunglasses on. Is it the one with the 
red shirt? Like, oh my god, I know exactly what

0:04:51.040,0:04:58.320
photo it is. H sunglasses on in that photo. Half 
of my face was covered. Most of them. Okay. So,

0:04:58.320,0:05:04.720
can you blame me? You left the app for a few days 
because you weren't sure. Was it like you sensed

0:05:04.720,0:05:13.200
that there was trouble? No, it was just literally 
the fact that like their full face was not like

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fully clear in any of the photos and I was like 
I was a catfish. But I was like but like no,

0:05:18.400,0:05:22.880
they're kind of cute. And then like they had like 
a little skateboarding photo and I was like oh my

0:05:22.880,0:05:28.480
god a little skateboarder. And eventually I did 
go back. Obviously I swiped right. And then the

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craziest thing is that by the time I swiped right 
and we matched the however many miles they were

0:05:34.320,0:05:39.840
away from me updated and all of a sudden it was 
like 400 something miles away. Wait wait wait

0:05:39.840,0:05:46.560
wait. Let's just backtrack a little bit. Okay. 
I I'm hearing both perspectives. I seriously I

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wasn't sure that she was going to match with me. 
And you know, at the time I was in San Diego,

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so I just figured, hey, let's just let's just see. 
And then I so happened to it was like my first day

0:06:00.240,0:06:07.760
back home. And then I got a message and she said, 
why are all the cute ones so far away? She got the

0:06:07.760,0:06:14.640
ribs, bro. I'm not a shy girl. She got the I mean, 
yes, you are. Oh, in some ways. When it comes to

0:06:14.640,0:06:20.080
flirting, no. Okay. Okay. So, just some context. 
So, I was living in San Diego at the time.

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Belle was living in Were you in San Jose or SF? 
I was in San Jose because it was during co so I'm

0:06:26.080,0:06:37.040
during so I think you guys visited me um maybe 
summer of 2020. Um was it before or after our

0:06:37.040,0:06:42.800
trip? I don't even remember. It was it was before 
that that trip is stories around that trip too.

0:06:42.800,0:06:48.720
Okay. So it was like summerish I think maybe early 
summer of 2020 when Belle came and visited me.

0:06:48.720,0:06:55.440
um they matched and then Belle Leslie took forever 
to respond. So Belle came back to San Jose which

0:06:55.440,0:07:02.320
is like the other side of California for those who 
aren't familiar but okay go on Leslie came up with

0:07:02.320,0:07:09.360
this really really great pickup line. Yeah. And 
I just I just thought and they fell for it. Okay.

0:07:09.360,0:07:18.080
Okay. Okay. Okay. The thing is, in my past, I've 
never dated anyone who wasn't Asian or Filipino.

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So, I was kind of like intrigued and I didn't even 
know that you were going to match with me. So, I'm

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like, you know what? You thought I was mixed with 
what? Filipino. Filipino. I really Maybe. Yeah.

0:07:30.080,0:07:38.160
Yeah. Yeah. That's why that's why you were like 
not as scared as Yeah. Um, we basically started

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facetiming like very quick and she had never 
seen one of my favorite shows, Avatar the Last

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Airbender. She had never seen it before. And so I 
said, I'mma take it upon myself to watch it with

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you like over Zoom. What? No, no, no. Over over 
FaceTime over FaceTime. And I'm just like, okay,

0:07:57.760,0:08:03.120
you can't watch this specific episode without me. 
She was like, okay. And we we had Which episode?

0:08:03.120,0:08:11.200
Um, Crossroads of Destiny. Oh my god. 100%. 
You can't. We were FaceTiming very we started

0:08:11.200,0:08:16.960
FaceTiming really quickly like almost every day 
for like a full month really and I remember that

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I didn't want to like sleep over FaceTime cuz I'm 
like it's not that deep. Like we're not I'm not

0:08:23.840,0:08:27.680
going to date her. Like it's just kind of like So 
what was going through your mind? You're just like

0:08:27.680,0:08:34.160
here's just this pretty person that I'm facetiming 
every single day. It was just for fun because we

0:08:34.160,0:08:41.040
were so far away. Yeah. And also it was during co 
we were all like lonely, you know, so like bored.

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Literally so bored. So I like I remember used to 
watch Avatar. Yeah. And I remember a couple times

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like Leslie would want to like like just leave 
it all like she would fall asleep on FaceTime

0:08:53.360,0:09:00.160
or I would fall asleep and like there was wasn't 
there a night that it actually happened? I don't

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remember. Okay. I I think I do remember. But it 
sounds like it was like an accident. And I like

0:09:04.320,0:09:11.360
instantly hung up. I was like, "We did not 
just do this." Like it was like Yeah. Wait,

0:09:11.360,0:09:17.040
why? Cuz you were scared. I was scared honestly. 
This whole the this entire like beginning half of

0:09:17.040,0:09:22.160
our relationship is because I was so scared of 
love. Because I didn't want to go through the

0:09:22.160,0:09:31.280
same heartbreak that I did before um moving back 
to San Jose. So, you were kind of fresh off of

0:09:31.280,0:09:40.880
a breakup. Yeah. Um, hot bell summer. I'm just 
before Belle had even came back to San Diego,

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they had told me pretty much that like they love 
to beat around the bush and never get straight

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to the point. They want like me, they always want 
like someone else to lead it. They're like, "So,

0:09:53.680,0:09:58.400
like why like what what brought you to Bumble? 
like, "Why were you on Bumble?" And I was like,

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"What are you going to say? Just say it." Okay. 
Okay. Wait, wait, wait. A little a little bit

0:10:02.160,0:10:08.560
before that. I wasn't I didn't have any warnings 
that she was going to be so like straight forward.

0:10:08.560,0:10:12.880
Straightforward. Like she kind of puts me in check 
sometimes where I'm like beating around the bush

0:10:12.880,0:10:18.880
and I'm trying to avoid certain questions or 
certain answers to like say, "Don't waste my

0:10:18.880,0:10:23.440
time." Nope. Yeah. cuz I was like immediate cuz 
it came out of nowhere and I was like immediately

0:10:23.440,0:10:30.560
I felt like it was going towards a a certain 
conversation. So I was like, "Why were you like

0:10:30.560,0:10:36.320
just tell me now?" Like what? And it wasn't like 
nothing aggressive, just straightforward. And they

0:10:36.320,0:10:43.040
pretty much told me that they were like not ready 
or looking for anything that they did really like

0:10:43.040,0:10:50.160
me, but they're just like they said, "I just got 
out of a pretty serious relationship like and I

0:10:50.160,0:10:55.280
don't think I'm ready to be in a relationship." 
basically saying like, "I don't want to do that

0:10:55.280,0:11:02.560
to you and be selfish, not wanting to let you go." 
Right. And I was like, "Oh my god, what were you

0:11:02.560,0:11:08.720
doing at the time?" Yeah, I know. That's what I 
just remembered. Um, no, just wait. Just wait. I

0:11:08.720,0:11:12.560
was feeling very different things than they were 
feeling. We were both liked each other, but I was

0:11:12.560,0:11:19.200
very like, I like this person. She was whipped. 
Was that something that you like, did you know

0:11:19.200,0:11:32.000
that early on? Yes, because of what I'm about to 
say. I am very much I like gift giving a lot. And

0:11:32.000,0:11:37.280
it could be like to like someone that I just met 
and I'm like, you're pretty cool or just someone

0:11:37.280,0:11:45.440
I have a lot of feelings for and I like making 
things. And Belle was skateboarding a lot at the

0:11:45.440,0:11:53.440
time. So, I literally like got a skateboard. She 
bought one online. a deck off eBay and I was like,

0:11:53.440,0:11:59.360
I'm going to paint this whole thing and add 
the grip tape and like design everything.

0:11:59.360,0:12:06.320
Doesn't know anything about skateboarding. No, 
I was like painting it on my bed. Literally,

0:12:06.320,0:12:13.520
I remember being on my bed painting it like it 
was intricate. Okay, it was my best work. It

0:12:13.520,0:12:18.640
was really It's It was so cool. It was avatar 
and then a bee at the top and whatever. But as

0:12:18.640,0:12:24.880
I was painting this thing on my bed, excited to 
give it to them for whenever they came down, that

0:12:24.880,0:12:33.360
conversation started happening. And I literally 
remember I like looked at my phone. I went I like,

0:12:33.360,0:12:39.600
"Oh my god." Cuz I felt very like stupid in the 
moment just cuz I was like, "Did that surprise

0:12:39.600,0:12:46.240
you?" Yeah. Like you thought the relationship 
was going I thought everything was like very

0:12:46.240,0:12:50.560
mutual but I didn't really know about that they 
had just gotten out of a serious relationship

0:12:50.560,0:12:56.720
or else I don't think I would have been as shocked 
right about it and my roommate was like on her bed

0:12:56.720,0:13:02.320
cuz we shared a room and she was like on the other 
side and I did and I reacted and she was like what

0:13:02.320,0:13:06.880
happened? I was like you're never going to believe 
the conversation I'm having right now. Honestly,

0:13:06.880,0:13:12.160
with everything that they said, like part of me 
because of what I was in the middle of doing,

0:13:12.160,0:13:20.960
I was mad, but not really like actually mad at 
them. I think I was just like disappointed maybe.

0:13:20.960,0:13:25.440
Yeah. And but I couldn't actually like be mad 
at them because everything they said I was like,

0:13:25.440,0:13:29.200
you know what, I respect it because they were 
very upfront with me. Like, you know what? It

0:13:29.200,0:13:33.840
could have been worse. It could have been they 
could have ghosted me. Okay. And then so I went

0:13:33.840,0:13:42.400
to go visit Ena. When was this? Um it was a few 
weeks later. Yeah, a few weeks later. It was still

0:13:42.400,0:13:48.960
a couple weeks before our our road trip. Or was it 
actually I think I was coming because we left from

0:13:48.960,0:13:55.840
San Diego. Belle and I were, you know, we really 
like to camp and like hike and stuff and um this

0:13:55.840,0:14:01.200
was during COVID, so we were like itching to do 
something. So, we planned this road trip that

0:14:01.200,0:14:09.280
went through from San Diego to Arizona to Utah to 
Vegas and then back. Um, so Belle came down um so

0:14:09.280,0:14:15.040
that we can leave because it's easier to get to 
Arizona from San Diego and then I had met up with

0:14:15.040,0:14:21.600
her. We still had each other on everything and 
like we're still not actively talking. We would

0:14:21.600,0:14:27.120
just pop back. Wait, so after that conversation 
you guys stopped talking as much? Oh, we were No,

0:14:27.120,0:14:31.360
we were still We were still talking. We just No, 
but we just didn't FaceTime like every day or

0:14:31.360,0:14:37.200
something like that. I was just like, "Hey." Yeah. 
Yeah. Yeah. That was a point of our relationship

0:14:37.200,0:14:44.160
where I was like glued to my phone just cuz like 
the text messages weren't coming out as fast. Oh,

0:14:44.160,0:14:51.360
so you noticed a difference? Yeah. So, I mean, 
we were still talking, but it was still like

0:14:51.360,0:14:59.280
platonic, you know? Um, and so when I went 
to San Diego, I went to go meet up with her

0:14:59.280,0:15:04.560
because I mean, why not? Yeah. Well, they were 
coming to meet me. I was going to go, you know,

0:15:04.560,0:15:07.840
this whole time thought Belle was visiting. 
Yeah. Bel told me Belle told me I was like,

0:15:07.840,0:15:12.480
"Oh, I have a friend who works at Starbucks in San 
Diego." And I was like, "Oh, yeah. Go off. Go meet

0:15:12.480,0:15:20.160
her." Yeah. Yeah. Uh, and this is the first time 
we met in person. We were in the garage. Yeah.

0:15:20.160,0:15:29.280
And so I didn't know where to go cuz she at the 
time lived in a like a door like a college campus.

0:15:29.280,0:15:35.520
I was so freaking nervous. Oh yeah. I'm just like 
dude like this was your first time meeting after

0:15:35.520,0:15:39.040
talking for like what a month? Yeah. And I'm like 
okay. No. No. I don't like her. I don't like her.

0:15:39.040,0:15:46.160
I don't like her. And when I saw her in person, 
I'm like I like her. I'm like okay. I What was I

0:15:46.160,0:15:51.520
wearing? You were wearing shorts, right? I'm 
not testing you. I just want to know you. Do

0:15:51.520,0:15:58.240
you remember? No. Okay. No, you were just wearing 
a t-shirt and shorts and your like slip-on bands.

0:15:58.240,0:16:06.160
Period. Yeah. And when she met me downstairs, 
she had the skateboard deck. Was that when we

0:16:06.160,0:16:09.920
were Oh, yeah. Cuz we were going to Sunset like 
immediately. Cliffs. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

0:16:09.920,0:16:13.920
Cuz we were going to drive to Sunset Cliffs. We 
were just going to hang out. This wasn't a date,

0:16:13.920,0:16:20.240
but it definitely was. I was contemplating. I 
finished the board. I still did everything. I

0:16:20.240,0:16:23.920
wasn't even fully done when they had like broke 
the news to me. But I was like, you know what?

0:16:23.920,0:16:27.600
I'm already this deep in. I have everything that 
I'm just going to finish it. And I still made it

0:16:27.600,0:16:32.000
the exact way I was planning on. I was like, you 
know what? They're not a bad person. I might seem

0:16:32.000,0:16:36.560
a little crazy having made this out of nowhere 
and giving it to them, but we left out a really

0:16:36.560,0:16:44.720
important part. What? So in the in the in the 
time that like we weren't really talking as much,

0:16:44.720,0:16:50.480
she started talking to someone. So that was 
that was another thing where I was like, "Okay,

0:16:50.480,0:16:56.080
let me just take a step back because she's 
obviously moved on and I'm just going to,

0:16:56.080,0:17:01.200
you know, just But yeah, that was a thing." 
And then after we went to Sunset Cliffs, I had

0:17:01.200,0:17:07.440
dropped her off and you said, "Oh, I have a lot of 
homework to do." Or was that a different day? That

0:17:07.440,0:17:16.240
was a different day. That was the last time. The 
last time. Jesus. Okay. No. Okay. They're so bad

0:17:16.240,0:17:22.800
at telling stories. I'm not So first time they 
came to the parking lot, whatever. I gave them

0:17:22.800,0:17:29.040
the board. Yeah. Cuz then the second time I know 
what you're trying to say. The second time they

0:17:29.040,0:17:34.960
came over and we were we went back to my apartment 
and we were just at the top of the parking garage

0:17:34.960,0:17:40.240
just skating and then we would stop and just talk 
and whatever. They were not they even trying to be

0:17:40.240,0:17:44.000
close to me. They weren't even trying to flirt. 
They were just trying to hang out. I was keeping

0:17:44.000,0:17:51.120
their distance to an extent and to an extent I I 
was I was respectful and I randomly like hit them

0:17:51.120,0:17:58.000
with the Oh, by the way, like I'm not talking 
to anyone anymore. Oh, the plot begins. Okay,

0:17:58.000,0:18:04.880
let's just the the vibe switch was crazy. Really? 
Yes. I was trying like at the time I knew that

0:18:04.880,0:18:09.920
like I knew that she was talking to someone so 
I'm like let's just you know be friends. It wasn't

0:18:09.920,0:18:16.960
even that serious honestly though. And then did 
we go on our trip? Uh yeah. Yeah, we did. We went

0:18:16.960,0:18:23.360
to the trip after I got home or I went back to 
her place. It was just really hard because like

0:18:23.360,0:18:28.560
like there was just a lot going through my head. 
Like I came in like thinking a whole different way

0:18:28.560,0:18:33.360
about her and then I left like thinking a whole 
so I was just very confused and overwhelmed and

0:18:33.360,0:18:37.920
I just didn't know how to process everything. So I 
just got back to her house and I kind of just sat

0:18:37.920,0:18:43.360
there and I didn't I didn't really do much. I was 
kind of just sitting there like in I genuinely had

0:18:43.360,0:18:48.480
no idea any of this was happening. Yeah. There was 
one point and I don't know where in the timeline

0:18:48.480,0:18:55.440
this is. We obviously Belle's still not wanting 
a relationship, but now things were not as like

0:18:55.440,0:19:01.280
platonic, I guess. And Belle would try to hang out 
with me and I like either wouldn't be able to or

0:19:01.280,0:19:06.000
like I or maybe I just wouldn't respond. And this 
was me protecting myself cuz I was just like they

0:19:06.000,0:19:12.080
don't really okay but like want me right now. And 
this is when she was like playing hard to get but

0:19:12.080,0:19:17.680
like she wasn't playing hard to get. She was just 
like let me just take a step back instead of me

0:19:17.680,0:19:23.200
taking it. It's like So she was the because I was 
so eager in the beginning and then that hurt. So I

0:19:23.200,0:19:29.520
was like, "Okay, let me just" And then Belle was 
emo and went to go get a tattoo. Okay. Okay. No,

0:19:29.520,0:19:34.160
no, no, no, no. We We skipped the whole part. 
We skipped the whole road trip part. Yeah, cuz

0:19:34.160,0:19:39.520
the road trip actually was important. Iconic road 
trip. Um Yes, the iconic road trip that literally

0:19:39.520,0:19:44.320
changed my life, but that's a story for another. 
Yeah, honestly, it was a very life-changing. No,

0:19:44.320,0:19:50.160
it was good. Um, yeah. I just had weird dreams 
about her and I thought that they were real

0:19:50.160,0:19:55.280
and then I would just discuss it with her and 
Ena's just like, "I think you like her." Oh,

0:19:55.280,0:20:01.200
no. No. This is when I I confessed to you. I 
told you everything. Yeah. You were like, you

0:20:01.200,0:20:06.400
just came out and I was like, you know, I need to 
I need to And I was like, what is going on? Like,

0:20:06.400,0:20:11.040
I could tell that there was something that was 
really troubling you. Yeah. But, um, yeah, that

0:20:11.040,0:20:16.000
was basically the road trip that changed both of 
our lives. And the reason why this is happening,

0:20:16.000,0:20:20.480
right? What do you mean? This like No, like we 
live together still. Yes. So, yeah, the road trip

0:20:20.480,0:20:26.960
is the reason why I moved back from San Diego to 
San Jose and then we moved in together. I wanted

0:20:26.960,0:20:32.400
to hang out with her because I was leaving the day 
after that to go back to San Jose cuz we only had

0:20:32.400,0:20:37.360
like that extra day in San San Diego and then I 
left after and I really just wanted to spend the

0:20:37.360,0:20:43.760
rest of my time in San Diego with her. We didn't. 
But she like left me on red and like I was like,

0:20:43.760,0:20:49.680
"You know what? I'm going to get a tattoo." Like 
I feel like I feel like I'm going to Oh my god.

0:20:49.680,0:20:53.520
That's why you got the tattoo. Which one? Cuz they 
Yeah, I was going to say, "Show the tattoo." Yeah,

0:20:53.520,0:20:57.840
because I was just I was I was They wanted to 
distract themselves. Yeah. Yeah. I had no idea

0:20:57.840,0:21:02.320
that was the context. So, this tattoo is like 
a It's like a red I don't know how you would

0:21:02.320,0:21:10.320
describe the font. It's like gothic. Yeah. Like 
ye old, you know? Um it's red. And it says 1999

0:21:10.320,0:21:17.680
and it's on Belle's like right like lower upper 
arm like right above the the elbow. Yeah. And I

0:21:17.680,0:21:22.560
didn't tell any of you guys this, but you said 
go get a tattoo. Exactly. My tattoo artist,

0:21:22.560,0:21:27.760
her name was Alexa, and I was like she's like, 
"So, what you what brings you in? Just just do

0:21:27.760,0:21:34.320
it. Just tattoo me. Like, I'm fine. I don't want." 
And she's like, "Oh, no. Yeah, let's just get get

0:21:34.320,0:21:38.400
started." You know? And she was just trying to 
small talk me. But I was in a Yeah. I was in a

0:21:38.400,0:21:47.120
very like I wouldn't say bad mood, but I was just 
upset. Fast forward like the year after that. Like

0:21:47.120,0:21:54.640
we hadn't talked for like how long? A year. 
A year and I blocked her. Wait, but okay. So,

0:21:54.640,0:22:01.760
sorry. Just like just to recap. Belle went on 
this lifechanging road trip, finally reconciled

0:22:01.760,0:22:09.760
their feelings for Leslie, but by then it was 
too late. Fast forward the next like throughout

0:22:09.760,0:22:16.160
that next year I was in like a situationship 
like it was never like official relationship

0:22:16.160,0:22:23.520
that was a mess whatever and throughout that 
time like Belle didn't block me but they muted

0:22:23.520,0:22:28.480
me on everything so they wouldn't see anything 
of mine pop up they didn't want to see what I

0:22:28.480,0:22:36.800
was doing they didn't want to see another person 
pro like probably pop up whatever and so I didn't

0:22:36.800,0:22:40.880
take them off of anything. I didn't mute them on 
anything. I was still saying whatever. And Belle

0:22:40.880,0:22:46.400
like didn't really post a lot at the time. So 
when they would every now and then, every month,

0:22:46.400,0:22:51.680
every few months or so, whatever, I would always 
slide up and say something really like not really

0:22:51.680,0:23:00.240
flirting. I think it would just kind of like 
friendly vibes for sure. But just being like,

0:23:00.240,0:23:08.160
I know she's kind of I still exist. I know. 
Seriously. And yeah, I know I slid up on something

0:23:08.160,0:23:13.440
that was just you and one that I remember was 
specifically you and Justice. And then you said

0:23:13.440,0:23:18.880
you said you said [ __ ] what' you say like I like 
your fit or something. Yeah, I like your outfit or

0:23:18.880,0:23:26.560
something like that. And then May of 2021. Wait, 
wait, wait, wait. What? No, no, no. Before that,

0:23:26.560,0:23:32.800
before that, I saw a Snapchat. I finally I finally 
looked at a Snapchat cuz I'm like I literally I

0:23:32.800,0:23:42.400
cannot like the timing is crazy because that was 
the Snapchat that I saw was not PG. What she was

0:23:42.400,0:23:50.720
wearing is the reason one of the PG. She was with 
her friends. It was not on purpose. She was with

0:23:50.720,0:23:59.120
her friends and she was kind of just shaking ass. 
Sorry. Can I shaking? She was shaking booty. Oh,

0:23:59.120,0:24:02.960
wait, wait. My conversation with Justice. Oh, 
yeah. Say that part. We were in the parking lot

0:24:02.960,0:24:08.480
and I was like, "Justice, let me let me show you 
this girl." And he's like, "Okay." It was that

0:24:08.480,0:24:14.400
Snapchat. It was that Snapchat. Oh. And he's like, 
"Damn, she cute." She He's like, "So, what about

0:24:14.400,0:24:18.960
her?" I'm like, "I need to tell you something." 
I basically gave him a rundown and he's like,

0:24:18.960,0:24:27.920
"You're dumb as [ __ ] You're dumb as fuck." You 
let that slip away. He kind of slap not slapped

0:24:27.920,0:24:31.840
me but like he kind of just like metaphorically 
Yeah. Get yourself. He's like, "Dude, you need

0:24:31.840,0:24:40.240
to Yeah. pull yourself together. Text her right 
now." Like right now. So it was Justice. He was

0:24:40.240,0:24:46.400
Yeah. Actually, shout out to my bestie push. Yeah, 
he was he was definitely the push that I did need

0:24:46.400,0:24:54.160
to to like reach out again, but you can continue. 
And then May 2021, Belle finally hits me up and

0:24:54.160,0:25:00.480
was like, "So, this is like this this part is 
like the gayest thing ever." It is like the most

0:25:00.480,0:25:08.640
stereotypical gay thing ever because they hit me 
up and they're like, "Hey, so like what did you

0:25:08.640,0:25:13.760
say?" No, no, like like Ena is going to be out of 
the apartment for the weekend. Where was I going?

0:25:13.760,0:25:21.440
You one solo? Oh, no. Um, Hawaii. Oh, yeah. Yeah. 
Yeah. So I was so she was gone for like maybe 3 4

0:25:21.440,0:25:27.760
days and then I yeah I asked her like you know 
you you've never really seen the you know Bay

0:25:27.760,0:25:33.440
Area and I can show you around like would you be 
down to like I'll have the house to myself. The

0:25:33.440,0:25:42.880
gay thing is you went you came she came over 
you guys. It was both pretty gay. Yeah. You

0:25:42.880,0:25:47.360
immediately invited me over to your house because 
you were it was going to be you were all alone.

0:25:48.400,0:25:56.560
And so I was down, but at the time like I had 
my I had Ginger, my pitbull, my cute little

0:25:56.560,0:26:05.920
bit. And I know and I was she's she's not a small 
girl. She's not like these two. And I was like,

0:26:05.920,0:26:11.680
I'm down to come, but can I bring my dog? Could I 
bring her? Like she's not small. Like she's pretty

0:26:11.680,0:26:17.200
like you. Belle had seen her before. And Belle 
was just like, oh my god, yeah, of course. And

0:26:17.200,0:26:22.800
Quincy went to the grandparents house just to make 
sure. Is did really I thought they met. That was

0:26:22.800,0:26:28.000
we were dating already by the time that they met. 
Yeah. No, cuz I knew his ass would have like Yeah.

0:26:28.000,0:26:33.120
Quincy's not very good with other dogs, but he is 
really good with girl dogs. Yeah. So, it probably

0:26:33.120,0:26:40.320
would have been fine, but they, you know, it's 
fine. They shipp they shipped him off. Yeah. So, I

0:26:40.320,0:26:47.040
the time came around. I drove literally like seven 
to eight hours by myself to see to go stay at this

0:26:47.040,0:26:54.080
person's house who I only seen like a handful of 
times. Oh my gosh. After after they ghosted you

0:26:54.080,0:27:00.480
for like I at that point my situationship had like 
ended and I think we liked each other but we're

0:27:00.480,0:27:05.200
like it's not anything like can we just stop like 
can we just dancing around? Yeah, let's just At

0:27:05.200,0:27:11.520
that point we both were like just back and forth. 
So, it was just like for fun and I was just like,

0:27:11.520,0:27:14.960
"You know what? Like, I really liked you and 
you were a really good person. I'm going to

0:27:14.960,0:27:20.720
go see you. Like, I don't care about whatever it 
is I just went through." And yeah, they showed me

0:27:20.720,0:27:28.080
around SF and we went to the Rose Garden all Wait, 
that was your first time seeing the Golden Gate

0:27:28.080,0:27:37.280
Bridge? Everything. I didn't I didn't I never ever 
ever even thought of San Francisco or the Bay Area

0:27:37.280,0:27:43.120
until I met them because California to her was 
SoCal because I'm from the Midwest. I didn't know

0:27:43.120,0:27:48.400
anything. Yeah, California is like Santa Monica 
Pier and like palm trees. I barely knew about San

0:27:48.400,0:27:55.360
Diego. I thought everything was LA. By now, Belle 
and I were living together in San Jose. Mhm. So,

0:27:55.360,0:28:01.040
I was on a trip um a solo trip to Hawaii, which is 
funny cuz that's where Brad's from, but I didn't

0:28:01.040,0:28:08.320
meet him there. And then Leslie came and visited 
while I was gone. She actually met a few Oh, yeah.

0:28:08.320,0:28:15.360
I literally Oh my god, I forgot about that part. 
I got to San Jose, right? When I first got to San

0:28:15.360,0:28:23.120
Jose, Bella was like having a pan panic attack 
apparently because they saw how close I was.

0:28:26.720,0:28:29.600
This never happens, by the way. Lay 
on his head. He's gonna lay on his

0:28:29.600,0:28:36.480
head. He's on his head. Catch him. Catch 
him. Catch him. You guys can both share

0:28:36.480,0:28:42.320
it. Just know sitting on him. Why is 
this happening like right now? Quincy,

0:28:42.320,0:28:45.840
just just I feel like this episode will 
get more views because of all the puffy

0:28:45.840,0:28:52.000
cuteness. He looks so comfortable. Here, I'm 
just going to move him this way. Relax. Relax.

0:28:55.600,0:29:01.440
Okay, there we go. We're good. We're good. There's 
a barrier. It's like me and doll when we show our

0:29:01.440,0:29:09.040
beds to put a pillow in between. Okay. Okay. 
Um, yeah, Belle was having like a panic attack.

0:29:09.040,0:29:15.040
Justice was at the apartment, too, because Belle 
was too scared to see me by themselves. Was he

0:29:15.040,0:29:21.360
really there? He was already there. He was there, 
too. Yes. Wow. Dang. I really I got there. Yeah.

0:29:21.360,0:29:25.200
When I saw them, I literally went straight in for 
a hug. Like nothing ever changed. Like nothing

0:29:25.200,0:29:28.880
had ever even happened. It was seriously like 
nothing happened. And they were I could feel that

0:29:28.880,0:29:33.200
they were like They were like, "Oh my god." Like 
they were They were expecting They were expecting

0:29:33.200,0:29:38.640
it to be kind of like like, "Oh, hey." Like 
awkward. Yeah. Yeah. Like very I hate awkward.

0:29:38.640,0:29:43.680
I do everything I can to avoid it. I'm like, "No, 
we're fine. I know you. You know me." And we went

0:29:43.680,0:29:48.240
inside. We were like chatting it up, whatever. 
And then we realized cuz Justice was like, "Oh,

0:29:48.240,0:29:55.440
what's your sign?" And I was like, I said I was a 
cancer. And they went terrified. And they're like,

0:29:55.440,0:29:58.960
wait, what do you think I am? I was like, you 
know, I actually don't know what you are. Which

0:29:58.960,0:30:05.200
should have given me an indication to know exactly 
what they were. And pretty much we ended up being

0:30:05.200,0:30:14.480
the signs that least compatible. Least compatible. 
And like what our past partners were that had done

0:30:14.480,0:30:20.320
had put us through things were those same signs. 
Like all Belle dated were cancers that traumatized

0:30:20.320,0:30:27.120
him. All I had dated right before them was like 
Aquarius that. So like we were like we literally

0:30:27.120,0:30:32.240
said that and we went Yeah. I was like are you 
like are you sure? Like do you want to just I

0:30:32.240,0:30:38.560
was like I really just drove this whole way. 
I was like oh my god I'm stuck here for the

0:30:38.560,0:30:44.000
next three to four days. God that part of she's 
a different cancer though. She was born in June

0:30:44.000,0:30:49.040
so it's different. And a cancer moon. They like 
to they like to emphasize this part that just I

0:30:49.040,0:30:54.000
think if Belle was not a Cancer moon it would 
have been very different. Yeah. Oh yeah. And

0:30:54.000,0:31:00.880
then they invited like three or four friends on 
like I think like what is this friend groups in a

0:31:00.880,0:31:07.680
gang? She No. No. She met Justice, Joelle, Kenny 
and Sophia who used to work at um Modto. I was

0:31:07.680,0:31:11.920
so scared. I was like all these people I don't 
know and I'm getting introduced to. I was like

0:31:11.920,0:31:16.560
what is happening? What is this? Yeah. I was like 
where are we? But they were all super super nice,

0:31:16.560,0:31:23.120
like very like down to earth people. So I 
wasn't Did they ever like share with you,

0:31:23.120,0:31:32.640
Bill, their impressions of Leslie after? Yeah. Did 
they? No. Well, we know Justice like like loved

0:31:32.640,0:31:38.480
you from Yeah. Oh, yeah. Joel didn't say anything. 
I love Joelle. No, I I think he just saw that I

0:31:38.480,0:31:42.320
was super happy, so he just Yeah. I mean, I'm I'm 
sure that them not saying anything was probably a

0:31:42.320,0:31:50.240
good thing. True. But yeah, then I left and then 
we still weren't together. We're still Yeah. And

0:31:50.240,0:31:56.880
then that fall that summer pretty much it was 
like Belle came down to see me like two more

0:31:56.880,0:32:06.000
times I think. And one of those times you got you 
and like and Janina and Lance like like we're had

0:32:06.000,0:32:11.280
I remember had came to Boulevard where I live to 
pick them up and that's when I met you for the

0:32:11.280,0:32:16.000
first time. Like it was so brief. Yeah. Because we 
were going back home. We were going back home. It

0:32:16.000,0:32:23.360
was after Jennice and Rio's birthday. Um which was 
in LA. And then we went down to San Diego to visit

0:32:23.360,0:32:29.840
my friends there. Belle was with Belle was there 
too. Um and so the whole reason why I wanted to

0:32:29.840,0:32:34.800
tag along on that trip, those people No, those 
people aren't really like they're my friends,

0:32:34.800,0:32:40.080
but they're they they went to to college. They're 
they're more my friends. Yeah. Um, but they,

0:32:40.080,0:32:44.240
you know, we all I literally tagged along to 
like the most random group. Like I It was like,

0:32:44.240,0:32:50.400
it was a random birthday. So, I slept on the floor 
for her for was it two or three nights? Oh, yeah.

0:32:50.400,0:32:54.080
Yeah. I slept on a hard ass floor. And I'm Yeah. 
I was like, it was like, "Yeah, you get the floor.

0:32:54.080,0:33:00.160
These aren't even your friends." No, seriously. 
But, um, but yeah, so when we were about to drive

0:33:00.160,0:33:06.720
back up to San Jose after that trip, Belle was 
at Leslie's and so we picked Belle up on our way

0:33:06.720,0:33:10.800
to literally leave. Like our car was packed and 
everything. Honestly, my first impression was

0:33:10.800,0:33:17.120
that you guys literally just woke up and you were 
like half awake. Probably. Oh, when Yeah. Yeah,

0:33:17.120,0:33:23.760
probably. Wait, did I sleep over? Yeah, I slept 
over. Yeah, I did. Yeah. Yeah, you finally got

0:33:23.760,0:33:30.480
a bed. Oh my god. I think it was like two nights 
if a night or two. It wasn't anything crazy. Oh

0:33:30.480,0:33:38.800
my god. So, that must have been like June June of 
2021. Yeah. Mhm. I went through like housing stuff

0:33:38.800,0:33:43.280
the next few months after and Belle was still 
it was still like back and forth. Belle would

0:33:43.280,0:33:50.080
come see me, but I would mostly go up to San Jose 
to see them because I was just like I want to get

0:33:50.080,0:33:54.880
out of here. Like I just need to like not Yeah. 
You had like really awful roommate situations,

0:33:54.880,0:34:00.720
right? Yeah. That and then I was living with a 
friend at one point who was so so nice to let

0:34:00.720,0:34:06.960
me like live with her. Um and it was nice. It's 
just like her place wasn't very big and she also

0:34:06.960,0:34:11.680
had two cats and another dog that was even bigger 
than Ginger. So, it was just a little crowded. So,

0:34:11.680,0:34:16.320
I would always just want to like get away a little 
bit from everything cuz it was a lot going on.

0:34:16.320,0:34:20.240
Belle randomly is like, "Oh, we're going to go 
to this festival. Like, do you want to go like

0:34:20.240,0:34:26.240
to autistic?" And I was like, "You know what? I'm 
down to go. I've never been to a festival." Like

0:34:26.240,0:34:33.440
their Belle always gave very like safe space, very 
like no judgment. Sorry. Before we get the whole

0:34:33.440,0:34:39.040
audio sick because so I bought the tickets, days 
were going by and I'm like, you know what? Like

0:34:39.040,0:34:45.840
if I'm not their girlfriend by the time that I am 
going to this freaking festival, I'm not going.

0:34:45.840,0:34:50.480
Cuz I was like, it's been this long. We talked 
this much. We go, we've traveled how many times

0:34:50.480,0:34:56.320
to see each other. I was like, I'm not going to go 
if they don't ask me out. And there was one point

0:34:56.320,0:35:02.640
they wanted all of a sudden to take a step back 
because they had a dream. something bad happened.

0:35:02.640,0:35:06.960
It included me. It included me. And because they 
felt bad after the dream, they were just like,

0:35:06.960,0:35:09.920
"Oh my god, I want to take a step back. Like, 
I don't want to move too fast." Whatever. So,

0:35:09.920,0:35:16.240
they had told me that. And I was like, "You've got 
to be freaking kidding me." And my Latina came out

0:35:16.240,0:35:21.280
and I was like, "I'm going to be so serious right 
now." I was like, "It was a I'm like, that is a

0:35:21.280,0:35:26.160
dream. It didn't happen. It was text." I'm like, 
"I I'm like, I'm gonna put everything out there

0:35:26.160,0:35:32.000
right now and be blunt." And I was like, I really 
like you and I would love to be in a relationship

0:35:32.000,0:35:37.840
with you. So do with that information what you 
will because if you want to take a step back,

0:35:37.840,0:35:44.640
I'm not doing it. And period. They were like on 
the way to school going through crisis panicking

0:35:44.640,0:35:50.880
on Cal Train. Well, it was a dream. What was the 
dream? It was just a really real dream. I think

0:35:50.880,0:35:56.240
it was something like cheating or something. Oh, 
yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You had cheated in the

0:35:56.240,0:36:02.480
dream even though we weren't together. Yeah. Yeah. 
You had cheated and I think I really really really

0:36:02.480,0:36:08.000
cared about it and like it really made me upset. 
So I'm like, "Okay, I don't want I don't want to."

0:36:08.000,0:36:13.920
Yeah. I wasn't mad. Okay. It sounds ridiculous. 
Yes. Cuz it was I was annoyed. So I was like,

0:36:13.920,0:36:18.320
"Okay, let's just go past this." Okay. And then 
what' you say? They pretty much said like, "I like

0:36:18.320,0:36:22.480
YouTube blah blah like I would want to be in the 
institute, whatever." So then we were on the same

0:36:22.480,0:36:29.280
page and then I came up to San Jose again. They 
went to Monteray. They were taking me to Monterey

0:36:29.280,0:36:33.520
because I'd never been. And they just wanted me to 
see the aquarium. We were driving and we were on

0:36:33.520,0:36:40.800
the way and they turned to me randomly and they're 
like, "So, you know how like you've been seeing

0:36:40.800,0:36:49.120
each other like and like not really like talking 
to anybody else?" And I was just like, "Yeah."

0:36:49.120,0:36:56.000
There you go. Yeah, we should keep doing that. I 
could see this. Yeah, we should keep, you know, we

0:36:56.000,0:37:02.400
They were not looking at me either. I was driving. 
No, but you did it. You asked that question while

0:37:02.400,0:37:09.920
you were driving on purpose. And they went, "Yeah, 
we should keep doing that." And I literally went,

0:37:09.920,0:37:16.320
"Are you asking me out right now?" And I went, 
"Is this your way of asking me out right now?"

0:37:16.320,0:37:24.240
And they're like, "Um, me, yeah." And I went, 
"Ask it again." I said, "Ask it, right?" Pretty

0:37:24.240,0:37:29.920
much. Yeah. She's like, "You need to ask like be 
better, please." And then just like, "Yeah." Like,

0:37:29.920,0:37:39.360
"Will you be my girlfriend?" Yeah. Like, um, will 
you be my girlfriend? Literally that. And I was

0:37:39.360,0:37:48.960
just like I also didn't want to make it like a 
huge like why did you do you know me? Obviously

0:37:48.960,0:38:02.560
not I will re ask you to be my girlfriend. But 
yeah so what day was that? September 13 2020.

0:38:02.560,0:38:09.760
So that was like Yeah. Yeah. 2021. So it was like 
it was an hour or an hour. It was a a year and

0:38:09.760,0:38:16.720
like a few months after you guys met. Yeah. Yep. 
It really took that long for me to be I Yeah. I

0:38:16.720,0:38:20.960
I'm I'm kind of disappointed in myself. I was 
making fun of them the whole time after that.

0:38:20.960,0:38:25.520
Like before we even got to Monterey, I was just 
like, you should keep doing that. You should keep

0:38:25.520,0:38:31.840
doing that. Okay. So, my perspective on this, at 
least at the time, only knowing Belle's side of

0:38:31.840,0:38:42.080
the story, I think, you guys matched at um kind of 
a weird time for them. And that like what was it

0:38:42.080,0:38:47.840
like eight months that you guys didn't really talk 
romantically or anything like during those eight

0:38:47.840,0:38:54.720
months, Belle and I were both like simultaneously 
and together kind of doing a lot of like deep

0:38:54.720,0:39:00.480
healing together. Yeah. I had just gotten out of 
a longterm relationship. Belle was still healing

0:39:00.480,0:39:05.520
from their relationship and we had just moved in 
together and lived together for the first time

0:39:05.520,0:39:12.080
since we were you know since we were still in 
high school, right? And so there was a lot of

0:39:12.080,0:39:16.640
like work that we were doing with each other and 
like you know we were just healing honestly like

0:39:16.640,0:39:21.360
I don't know how else to describe it other than we 
were just healing. I think I think they grew a lot

0:39:21.360,0:39:27.520
you know and I think that like that time needed to 
happen. Oh yeah. I wanted them to just like grow a

0:39:27.520,0:39:33.120
little bit, you know. I think that it was like 
almost like like the right person, wrong time,

0:39:33.120,0:39:38.720
for sure. And then, you know, I don't know if 
this was conscious for you, Bill, but it was

0:39:38.720,0:39:42.800
almost like you knew that you weren't like good 
enough for her yet. Yeah. You know, or you weren't

0:39:42.800,0:39:47.360
ready for it yet. And so, like, you did what you 
needed to do to like become that person that could

0:39:47.360,0:39:51.440
be a good partner for her. I didn't even think 
about that. We had like talked about it before,

0:39:51.440,0:39:58.400
too. And I was like, you know what? like as like 
salty as I was in that moment thinking back on him

0:39:58.400,0:40:06.480
like I we would have ruined each other cuz they 
weren't ready to be in a relationship. I was like

0:40:06.480,0:40:14.800
baby gay like I hadn't experienced too much yet. 
I hadn't really been in not heterosexual and not

0:40:14.800,0:40:22.480
a heterosexual relationship. And so I had still 
so much learned and I still had a lot of like

0:40:22.480,0:40:29.040
insecurities and just so many things that like 
would I know would have like I would not have

0:40:29.040,0:40:33.680
handled things well if we would have to like deal 
with arguments and stuff like that whatever like

0:40:33.680,0:40:40.400
we both of us were not ready. And I think having 
gone through the situationship mess that I did,

0:40:40.400,0:40:49.120
like I came out of that like so much more 
confident in myself, so much more aware of

0:40:49.120,0:40:58.240
my like self-worth that like no one could tell me 
anything. So I was just like I it was like knowing

0:40:58.240,0:41:03.280
I'm not everyone's cup of tea and I don't mind 
that. Like I don't need to be and I don't want to

0:41:03.280,0:41:09.600
be like Yeah. It just filters out the people that 
Exactly. Exactly. So like I'm like that's who I

0:41:09.600,0:41:16.560
needed to be to be ready to be with them. That's 
crazy. I think when we had started talking again

0:41:16.560,0:41:22.720
after like situationship and stuff, I definitely 
felt like the energy change. It was even more

0:41:22.720,0:41:27.440
intimidating for them. That's why No, but that's 
the thing. Like for me in my past relationships,

0:41:27.440,0:41:32.560
it was like easy, you know? But like for her, for 
some reason, she put me she put me in my place a

0:41:32.560,0:41:37.920
lot of the time, which is which was super humbling 
because Yeah. Honestly, like I hope it's okay to

0:41:37.920,0:41:44.720
say, but Belle is like the chronically youngest 
sibling. Yeah. Like I So there's just it's just

0:41:44.720,0:41:49.200
two of us, right? But then like we also have um 
like three step siblings and they're all older

0:41:49.200,0:41:54.560
than me. So Belle is like the youngest youngest 
sibling and like you have youngest sibling energy

0:41:54.560,0:42:00.720
sometimes, you know? you're used to everyone just 
like babying you, you know, and like here Leslie

0:42:00.720,0:42:04.240
comes along and she's like, "I'm not going to baby 
you. I'm going to tell you straight up like how it

0:42:04.240,0:42:10.000
is." And like I think Belle just like they were 
like had never had that before. And then also too

0:42:10.000,0:42:16.240
like probably really needed that, you know? To 
grow. Mhm. I'm still older though. They thought

0:42:16.240,0:42:21.680
I was really mean at first. You were mean. No, 
I wasn't. You were mean. But okay, so September

0:42:21.680,0:42:28.720
13th, that's that's coming up actually, which is 
sick because if we ever falls on like Friday the

0:42:28.720,0:42:34.160
13th, we can just go get like tattoos tattoos 
together. Hell yeah. Yeah. Which is very much

0:42:34.160,0:42:40.400
us. Yeah. So, I know you guys have been preparing 
for this episode and stuff, but like what is it

0:42:40.400,0:42:45.840
like to like, you know, timeline it and put it all 
together? I just like explaining like all of this.

0:42:45.840,0:42:51.680
I didn't realize the timeline was so big. Like 
I I've known you for five years. Like that's a

0:42:51.680,0:42:56.560
long time. A long time. Sometimes we randomly 
think about that and then we're both like,

0:42:56.560,0:43:00.560
"Okay, let's stop thinking about too much time 
has passed." I'm like, "Are you sure?" Like,

0:43:00.560,0:43:06.400
"Are you are you really sure?" And I'm like, "Are 
you sure? Are you sure?" No, but it's it was cool

0:43:06.400,0:43:11.680
like talking about it. We've never talked about it 
like fully in a time. Also, never with you either.

0:43:11.680,0:43:17.120
Yeah. No, I I just know pieces and you know like I 
know that like especially the parts where I'm just

0:43:17.120,0:43:22.000
like wait like that's why you were in San Diego. 
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I remember I think you

0:43:22.000,0:43:29.440
know we were living at Stokes and like Brad and I 
were you know dating at the time and like it was

0:43:29.440,0:43:35.680
I imagine it was tough for you Belle cuz like I 
was like you know like prancing around you know

0:43:35.680,0:43:41.200
frolicking with my new her new boy toy. Belle 
would text me and I'm like, "You're literally

0:43:41.200,0:43:46.720
fine. Let her be happy." Like, we just happened 
to be long distance. Yeah. So, that's what I

0:43:46.720,0:43:52.480
wanted. I feel like Brad's first impression of 
me. No, it was I terrifying. No, cuz like So,

0:43:52.480,0:43:57.840
when I when I was really getting to know Brad, I 
was like, "Dude, like you and Belle would really

0:43:57.840,0:44:02.640
get along cuz you're so similar, right?" And I 
hyped that up so much. You just can't see it right

0:44:02.640,0:44:07.280
now. And then I would bring Brad home and he would 
meet Belle and Belle's like emo and depressed

0:44:07.280,0:44:14.160
because they're missing Leslie. And Brad's like, 
"Really?" I was like, "No." Brad's like, "I don't

0:44:14.160,0:44:21.680
see it." Trust me, they're just going through it 
right now because they're emo and sad. But yeah,

0:44:21.680,0:44:26.800
no, that's what I wanted to ask is that like you 
guys were long distance for such a long time in

0:44:26.800,0:44:31.440
your relationship and then you moved in together. 
Like what was that like? That must have been such

0:44:31.440,0:44:36.480
an adjustment. We were long distance I would say 
from like once we like officially started dating.

0:44:36.480,0:44:46.560
So like September almost a full year because I 
ended up moving up here in July of 2022. So it's

0:44:46.560,0:44:51.360
like almost a full year of long distance which is 
kind of crazy. Yeah. I didn't I mean it felt like

0:44:51.360,0:44:57.280
that but it also didn't feel like that. Yeah. 
Like you guys would FaceTime all the time. Um

0:44:57.280,0:45:02.880
at the time Belle was still in school. I was still 
in school. Yeah. Yeah. So, and Leslie, you were in

0:45:02.880,0:45:09.920
school, too. But I think us being in school and 
being long distance, like when we would see each

0:45:09.920,0:45:15.840
other and just like both like understanding that 
like you know what, like maybe we can't really

0:45:15.840,0:45:19.920
go out and do all these cute things and like have 
fun when we see each other. Like we kind of just

0:45:19.920,0:45:26.240
have to lock in and do our work. As much as it 
sucked in the moment, it was really helpful. I

0:45:26.240,0:45:31.360
feel like us being on the same page in that sense 
and prioritizing school and being okay with just

0:45:31.360,0:45:36.320
spending time with each other in that way made 
me feel I don't know it just kind of made things

0:45:36.320,0:45:39.840
easier for me knowing that you weren't so like 
okay but let's go do something okay but let's go

0:45:39.840,0:45:47.120
do something like they never forced me to like not 
prioritize school and that's still true I think

0:45:47.120,0:45:53.680
to this day. Oh yeah I think living together 
um because I never lived with like a partner

0:45:53.680,0:46:00.000
before. I've always just, you know, either couple 
nights or something, but actually living with you,

0:46:00.000,0:46:04.560
I was really, really excited, but there's a lot 
of things that we didn't know about each other,

0:46:04.560,0:46:12.320
especially living with each other. Um, obviously 
now we've like molded into the same like you

0:46:12.320,0:46:21.120
figured it out. Yeah, we I understand where you 
were trying. In the beginning it was just one the

0:46:21.120,0:46:32.400
moving process was chaotic. Yeah. And so hard and 
so that was a test. No, it was like it was it was

0:46:32.400,0:46:38.880
rough. Like we were not okay. It wasn't like like 
between you guys like it was it was pretty tough

0:46:38.880,0:46:45.840
like even just getting down here and I remember 
like how bad it was. It's like we were still like

0:46:45.840,0:46:51.280
literally still freshly a new couple and having 
to deal with moving. Like that's not something

0:46:51.280,0:46:59.440
people typically deal with right away like that. I 
also got CO. Yes. Before that they had CO I was so

0:46:59.440,0:47:06.320
sick not COVID something else and like moving and 
also dealing with Ginger Ginger cuz she liked to

0:47:06.320,0:47:10.480
be next to us but like in the way but also scared 
of everything. So it was just like so many things

0:47:10.480,0:47:17.120
at once. So that was definitely like a test. And 
like in the beginning at one point I definitely

0:47:17.120,0:47:23.040
felt like I was like maybe this happened a 
little too fast. But the moving in part. Yeah,

0:47:23.040,0:47:29.440
I know. I felt the same way. just like moving in 
together and like again learning how the other

0:47:29.440,0:47:36.000
person is like on a dayto-day and living with 
each other on top of us both dealing with school

0:47:36.000,0:47:41.840
on top of me being at a new job and then driving 
to freaking Monteray all the time and Belle having

0:47:41.840,0:47:53.280
to also very quickly kind of co-parent Ginger and 
her quirks. Yeah. Yeah. Ginger had um she had a

0:47:53.280,0:48:00.480
lot of like health issues and anxiety and anxiety. 
Yeah. So I think we love Ginger and all but it was

0:48:00.480,0:48:06.800
definitely a test in our relationship. There was a 
lot of learning patience for a good amount of time

0:48:06.800,0:48:12.640
in the beginning of our relationship that I think 
that was probably the hardest part of everything.

0:48:12.640,0:48:18.720
Like everything was still hard but that little 
that aspect kind of just Yeah. And I remember that

0:48:18.720,0:48:23.040
too. Like this was right when this was around the 
time when we moved in here, right? Yeah. Cuz we

0:48:23.040,0:48:27.360
were only at Stokes for like Yeah. We were only at 
Stokes for a few months. I think Brad and I like

0:48:27.360,0:48:32.800
we we're seeing we we understood we were like, you 
know, they were long distance for such a long time

0:48:32.800,0:48:38.720
then now it's like you guys don't have any space 
like you're on top of each other all the time like

0:48:38.720,0:48:44.000
you know you have you share one room there's no 
way for you guys to like take a step back and like

0:48:44.000,0:48:49.200
you know I remember Belle you would like you would 
have to drive somewhere like you know into the

0:48:49.200,0:48:53.920
mountains or something to like you know just be 
able to breathe breathe and like compose yourself

0:48:53.920,0:49:01.600
and stuff And like Leslie, oh my god, like you 
were driving to Monterey like four times a week

0:49:01.600,0:49:07.360
um working full-time and you know STEM was or your 
STEM major was like you know really picking up on

0:49:07.360,0:49:13.040
top of Ginger too. Um I definitely remember that 
really tough time in your guys' relationship. But

0:49:13.040,0:49:18.720
I do know and I remember and I I felt it like 
that shift when you guys were able to like pull

0:49:18.720,0:49:24.400
yourself out of it. Like how did that how did you 
guys do that? because you know it was like night

0:49:24.400,0:49:30.800
and day. It it definitely was not an overnight 
thing because yeah there was a lot of things that

0:49:30.800,0:49:38.800
we had to fix separate like I had to a lot to to 
fix. I think dude I totally lost my I think the

0:49:38.800,0:49:47.120
biggest step the biggest step that that helped us 
like start to be able to like move forward for the

0:49:47.120,0:49:56.800
better was acknowledging and accepting my flaws 
not your flaws just that you needed a little more

0:49:56.800,0:50:02.800
help than like the typical person. Yeah. And you, 
as scary as it was in the beginning, like they

0:50:02.800,0:50:08.880
were terrified to do it, but so willing to look 
for the help that they needed. And because of

0:50:08.880,0:50:17.520
that, like it definitely saved our relationship. 
I had to learn that I couldn't control everything.

0:50:17.520,0:50:23.920
like literally like being like an older sibling, 
being the eldest daughter and having a younger

0:50:23.920,0:50:31.760
male sibling and like Latino like culture like 
that dynamic immediately I as the oldest eldest

0:50:31.760,0:50:37.360
daughter like get so much responsibility put on me 
so fast that like I know how to do everything. I

0:50:37.360,0:50:42.640
have been told to like how to handle everything, 
how to take care of everyone, how to take care of

0:50:42.640,0:50:49.520
myself, everything. So I was very much used to 
acting that way and just again like controlling

0:50:49.520,0:50:57.360
things and I would have to catch myself speaking 
to them in a certain way. The situation I wouldn't

0:50:57.360,0:51:02.800
make it better. Yeah. It would it would escalate 
it. So it would just be both like back and forth.

0:51:02.800,0:51:08.640
Yeah. It was ugly. No, I love what you just said 
though, Leslie. It's like you know Belle obviously

0:51:08.640,0:51:15.600
like you had stuff that you needed to figure out, 
right? But like it wasn't just your fault. Like

0:51:15.600,0:51:20.320
it sounds like Leslie, you're like acknowledging 
that. It's just it's like that a lot of the time,

0:51:20.320,0:51:24.480
right? Where it's not just one person's fault. 
I think it's like it's not even fault. It's just

0:51:24.480,0:51:31.200
like kind of how you guys both, you know, 
contribute to a certain pattern or dynamic.

0:51:31.200,0:51:38.560
Especially like before I even knew about like 
why you were feeling or reacting in the way

0:51:38.560,0:51:43.760
that you were, like I had no idea. And just in my 
head, I was like, if this is just how they are,

0:51:43.760,0:51:48.400
before I learned how to like regulate my own 
emotions and not talk to them a certain way,

0:51:48.400,0:51:54.560
like I would just be adding more to the flame. And 
then once everything was in the open and Belle was

0:51:54.560,0:51:59.840
getting the help that they needed, I also like did 
some like self-reflecting and I was like, "Okay,

0:51:59.840,0:52:08.960
well to be able to help them in that like journey 
like I need to also know how to like speak to them

0:52:08.960,0:52:16.560
or just like like do what I can to not just 
add to Yes. like for myself and also for them

0:52:16.560,0:52:22.880
because it's like it was scary and it was new and 
it was a lot that they were having to deal with on

0:52:22.880,0:52:32.400
their own too. So I just I just obviously I see 
the difference from how it was before to now. I

0:52:32.400,0:52:38.720
feel like we can get through anything. Like any 
like problem can be addressed now whether it's

0:52:38.720,0:52:43.840
like the smallest thing or something big like 
it can be addressed without feeling like like

0:52:43.840,0:52:48.960
someone would take it like personally. Yeah. It 
almost felt like every conversation that we had

0:52:48.960,0:52:57.280
before could lead to an argument. And it wasn't 
even like trying to argue. It was just I like if I

0:52:57.280,0:53:04.160
were to address something like wanting to address 
it to like talk about it and then move on with it

0:53:04.160,0:53:11.440
like it would never really take that path. It 
would just take all these other bumps in like

0:53:11.440,0:53:18.960
in the road to get to where we wanted to be, but 
it would be so draining. It took a lot for us to

0:53:18.960,0:53:25.280
get to the point where we communicate now because 
we're like we we like to establish like um safe

0:53:25.280,0:53:31.600
space like now especially Oh yeah, we can talk 
about anything like I always speak to her with

0:53:31.600,0:53:38.960
like an open mind and I know you do too. Um so 
I think communicating especially about like our

0:53:38.960,0:53:47.760
mental health is super important to us. Yeah. It's 
like you guys um learned how to talk to each other

0:53:47.760,0:53:54.080
like kind of the hard way cuz I think when we were 
long distance, not that we put up a front, but we

0:53:54.080,0:53:58.080
would be going through our own stuff and then at 
when we talked to each other, we put up it was

0:53:58.080,0:54:03.520
already kind of like you had maybe processed it 
a little bit or Yeah. Or it was also just easier

0:54:03.520,0:54:08.240
to not fully address it either because we were 
just because we didn't have to be on the phone

0:54:08.240,0:54:13.600
the whole time. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. And now here 
it's like there's nowhere to hide. Yeah. You know,

0:54:13.600,0:54:18.240
like you have to you have to figure it out. Like 
even sometimes like if we're like nervous to bring

0:54:18.240,0:54:24.000
something up like Bel said like we'll literally be 
like okay like safe space like just to immediately

0:54:24.000,0:54:29.600
like set that expectation. We legit we legit 
say that I say it like out loud like this is

0:54:29.600,0:54:36.400
a safe space just to be like no matter what gets 
said like we are going to like think before we

0:54:36.400,0:54:41.600
speak and take everyone's like feelings into 
consideration like literally making it clear

0:54:41.600,0:54:47.760
that like what I want from what I'm about to say 
is not for anything to like escalate or whatever

0:54:47.760,0:54:52.720
and not that it would but it's just helpful. It 
is helpful to say to like set the stage for like

0:54:52.720,0:54:56.560
the conversation, especially in just like if I 
were to be doing something or whatever, if you

0:54:56.560,0:54:59.520
came up to me and said like save space and want 
to talk about, I'm like, I would put everything

0:54:59.520,0:55:05.280
down. I'd be like, okay, like full attention. 
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I love that. Honestly,

0:55:05.280,0:55:10.880
it's almost like safe space is that word that 
not only sets the stage for the conversation,

0:55:10.880,0:55:16.000
but like it's like, oh, this like I need to give 
my full attention to this person right now. Yeah.

0:55:16.000,0:55:20.720
It isn't about me. like they're saying safe space 
because like they want to share something that you

0:55:20.720,0:55:26.480
know is maybe vulnerable or you know and like I 
just need to be able to focus on them and not take

0:55:26.480,0:55:31.440
something personally. Exactly. Yeah, that's that's 
a good way to put it. I love that. Well, thank you

0:55:31.440,0:55:40.000
for sharing. Honestly, tears. So, I'm curious, 
honestly, like on a lighter note, um, you know,

0:55:40.000,0:55:43.680
something that you guys have alluded to here and 
there is like, you know, Belle, obviously you're

0:55:43.680,0:55:48.720
Filipino. Leslie, you're Latina, you're from the 
Midwest. Bel, you're from the Bay Area very much

0:55:48.720,0:55:56.720
so. Yeah. Yeah. And so, they're just missing the 
hat right now. Especially Belle, like you've never

0:55:56.720,0:56:02.000
dated anyone that wasn't Asian before. And you 
know, like on top of that, it's like you guys are

0:56:02.000,0:56:09.360
a queer relationship, right? And so like there's 
all of this stuff that like makes up the identity

0:56:09.360,0:56:14.000
of your relationship, right? And so tell me a 
little bit about that and how and what's that like

0:56:14.000,0:56:19.520
just like having I know that we're both different 
ethnicities but we're both something that I was

0:56:19.520,0:56:25.040
sharing in common even from the beginning is that 
we're very family oriented which I think is like

0:56:25.040,0:56:31.680
number one priority for me to be with someone who 
you know would honestly take their family first

0:56:31.680,0:56:36.880
which I mean because I would do the same. Mhm. I 
remember Belle was always very like one caught off

0:56:36.880,0:56:43.200
guard but also really liked that I talked about 
my family so much like my mom and my brother

0:56:43.200,0:56:48.080
especially and like literally always called them 
like I would you've seen it. I FaceTime my brother

0:56:48.080,0:56:55.520
like randomly almost every particular be the most 
random things. Something different also is like

0:56:55.520,0:57:02.640
you guys say I love you. Oh yeah. We didn't we 
didn't really grow up with that. Yeah. Whenever

0:57:02.640,0:57:08.640
like it's when whenever Leslie is on FaceTime with 
her family like I really love it about how like

0:57:08.640,0:57:12.720
you guys even can't you you can't hang up yet 
until you say I love you back. Do you want to

0:57:12.720,0:57:20.160
say I love you? I'm surprised I'm surprised they 
didn't cringe harder than that honestly. What? No,

0:57:20.160,0:57:25.680
seriously. Cuz like I it's like something that 
I'm like a like you guys like really like I don't

0:57:25.680,0:57:32.880
know. I think that we our family says I love you 
in very like kind of acts of service kind of ways,

0:57:32.880,0:57:38.320
you know, like it's it's not that we don't love 
each other obviously. It's just like it it's

0:57:38.320,0:57:46.640
interesting to hear my family specifically like 
growing up it was always like literally like so

0:57:46.640,0:57:52.560
like I would do that to my dad and to my mom and 
to my brother and they would do it back and as

0:57:52.560,0:57:59.360
we got older we didn't do that as much but then 
the I love you was so always there and I think my

0:57:59.360,0:58:04.960
brother low key like was the one that solidified 
it more as we got older because even like when I

0:58:04.960,0:58:09.760
lived back home he wouldn't And if I was mad at 
him, he wouldn't leave my room until I said it

0:58:09.760,0:58:15.920
back. Really? I really can't even imagine that. 
No, because Huito was so like, you know, and like

0:58:15.920,0:58:20.080
it's so cute hearing him say like like she would 
say it and he's literally about to click, okay,

0:58:20.080,0:58:25.520
love you. Love you too. Bye. Well, you guys 
like Leslie, you've spent obviously a lot of

0:58:25.520,0:58:30.320
time with our family because our family's here. 
But Belle, you know, you've spent a lot of time

0:58:30.320,0:58:36.880
with um Wanito, Leslie's brother, and you've also 
visited in Chicago before, so you've got to like,

0:58:36.880,0:58:40.880
you know, get to know her family a bit more. But 
like, what's that like? What's the difference?

0:58:40.880,0:58:51.200
I'm curious. Oh. Oh, our Well, Belle's Okay. My 
family, I think it's sometimes like everyone both

0:58:51.200,0:58:58.080
sides is so so nice and like very fun in like 
their own ways. But I think when Belle's like

0:58:58.080,0:59:05.680
around my family, it's like a different type 
of outgoing. Um, I don't even know how to put

0:59:05.680,0:59:12.240
it. Yeah, you go first. I just don't think I've 
ever been around like a Mexican family before

0:59:12.240,0:59:21.840
like that. Like definite culture shock. Like both 
sides want to feed you, but my side will literally

0:59:21.840,0:59:27.040
put it in front of your face, like shove it down 
talking about the band. I like Can you explain?

0:59:27.040,0:59:31.200
No. Okay. Well, it was birthday and we actually 
surprised him. We went It was the last time I

0:59:31.200,0:59:37.200
went to Chicago. We're a vibe, y'all. It's a vibe, 
you know, and I was with I was with her family and

0:59:37.200,0:59:42.160
like all your cousins and stuff that she's talked 
about a lot. So, it was cool to like see faces and

0:59:42.160,0:59:48.240
kind of match them with their names. Um, but that 
was all before the music happened. So, my son was

0:59:48.240,0:59:56.000
still up. Okay. So my stepdad is in Abanda, so 
regional Mexican music and he's the singer and

0:59:56.000,1:00:02.240
like for Januito surprise birthday he brought his 
band. He wasn't performing but the brand the band

1:00:02.240,1:00:10.240
came and mind you before the band is even there 
like my family both sides mom and dad's side like

1:00:10.240,1:00:19.120
they are the life of the party if there's alcohol 
it's going to be a great time. Even like the my

1:00:19.120,1:00:23.920
uncle my cousins will be dancing. My uncles and 
aunts will be dancing. Our grandparents can be

1:00:23.920,1:00:28.560
up in there dancing, not sitting down. Amazing. 
Okay. Well, the music at that point was already

1:00:28.560,1:00:35.760
so loud. So, we had to preface to Belle. I was 
like, "When the band comes in, it's going to get

1:00:35.760,1:00:40.880
you will not be able to hear yourself. You will 
feel it in your body in a different way than at a

1:00:40.880,1:00:45.040
rave." I told my cousins, I was like, "Oh, Belle's 
never experienced the bandan." They're like, "Oh,

1:00:45.040,1:00:50.240
you're in for a great time. Yeah, she was like 
her her arm was around. Oh, you think this is

1:00:50.240,1:00:56.400
loud? Just wait. Just wait. Then I And then they 
came in. You cannot hear yourself. I can't even

1:00:56.400,1:01:03.280
imagine this. You cuz I'm sure none of you guys 
no one. So like it was not a mariachi. All right.

1:01:03.280,1:01:11.520
It's different. It It was It was It was I don't It 
was No, it was It was so lit though. like I don't

1:01:11.520,1:01:16.240
think I'm there to that point to be on the dance 
floor even though like all your cousins wanted me

1:01:16.240,1:01:21.120
to. I like can't bring myself to do that yet. And 
it was the first it was like an introduction, you

1:01:21.120,1:01:29.280
know? I feel like once a lot of people at once, 
but luckily it wasn't like about you or about me.

1:01:29.280,1:01:33.680
It was about my brother. So it's like Yeah. Yeah. 
The attention wasn't on. Yeah, for sure. Wait,

1:01:33.680,1:01:38.960
can I pee fast? So sorry. I'm so sorry. Run, 
bulletproof, run. Yeah, you got to run. What?

1:01:40.960,1:01:48.320
Everyone on depot and offer up think thinks that 
I'm a boy. I mean, do you blame them? You're

1:01:48.320,1:01:58.320
definitely not a girl. Okay, so unfortunately, we 
have to wrap up soon. Okay, but I do want to ask

1:01:58.320,1:02:05.440
what is next? You know, like Leslie, you're still 
in school, but you're going to graduate soon. Um,

1:02:05.440,1:02:13.760
finally. So, yeah. like what what what are you 
guys up to after? Okay. I graduate in December

1:02:13.760,1:02:26.000
of this year. Yeah, you do. And then and then 
pretty much from that time until like Juneish,

1:02:26.000,1:02:32.160
we'll just be trying to work as much as possible 
and just save up as much save up as much as

1:02:32.160,1:02:41.840
possible because we want to move to Chicago. 
I'm taking them with me to the cold and hope

1:02:41.840,1:02:47.600
that whole time is just going to be working and 
working and also just trying to sell stuff that

1:02:47.600,1:02:53.440
we don't want to take with us. I want to try 
to look for an apartment before moving and just

1:02:53.440,1:02:56.800
have like a little gap where we'll probably have 
to just be at my mom's place for like a week or

1:02:56.800,1:03:03.200
two so we don't have to go straight. Yeah. Oh my god. We originally were gonna drive, but now with

1:03:03.200,1:03:09.360
the current state of the country, it is scary to 
drive. Especially through where you would drive.

1:03:09.360,1:03:15.920
Exactly. Exactly. So now I'm plan on shipping my 
car, shipping everything. Carlo's going to go on

1:03:15.920,1:03:24.000
a plane. Yep. Once we get to Chicago, I think it's 
just going to be really exciting figuring out what

1:03:24.000,1:03:29.280
we'll be doing. But I think it's just really 
exciting for Belle. I'm really excited for I'm

1:03:29.280,1:03:34.160
really excited about rooting for Belle. This is 
like this is like their character development. I

1:03:34.160,1:03:40.080
was like, you don't know how good it feels to move 
away from home and go somewhere where literally no

1:03:40.080,1:03:44.560
one knows a damn thing about you. Yeah. That's 
that's the part that I'm excited because I've

1:03:44.560,1:03:49.920
never The farthest that I moved away was like 40 
minutes away in San San Francisco. So Belle is

1:03:49.920,1:03:56.080
going to have so many like career opportunities, 
more than I will, which is okay. But like it's

1:03:56.080,1:04:01.360
just crazy. And I think that's what's also making 
me like so excited for them because the options

1:04:01.360,1:04:06.880
are like endless for you. Like it's it's if you 
like keep doing like photography, videography,

1:04:06.880,1:04:13.040
and like all or editing for someone like it's not 
going to be limited to tech companies like it is

1:04:13.040,1:04:18.800
here. That's so true. Yeah. I'm looking forward to 
that part, too, cuz I love like living in cities,

1:04:18.800,1:04:22.240
too. So, I think there's going to be 
a lot of opportunities there for me,

1:04:22.240,1:04:27.760
too. And I just I hate it here. Yeah. Honestly, 
like me and Belle moving in together in San San

1:04:27.760,1:04:32.240
Jose was supposed to be temporary. This was kind 
of just a stopover because of the the pandemic,

1:04:32.240,1:04:38.400
right? And 5 years later, we're still here. 
So, well, I'm excited for you, Leslie, because,

1:04:38.400,1:04:43.760
you know, this is the pitfall of having two very 
family oriented people that have families on the

1:04:43.760,1:04:48.320
other end. Yeah. So, it's like this is your 
time. You've been here since 2018. You know,

1:04:48.320,1:04:53.120
you paid your dues. I did. and whoever however 
long you guys end up being there. It's like,

1:04:53.120,1:04:57.760
you know, we'll figure that out later on. But 
but yeah, Belle, I think that like you've been

1:04:57.760,1:05:04.240
kind of soulsearching for a really long time. This 
move is going to be huge for you. I'm excited to

1:05:04.240,1:05:10.720
just have like a clean slate. Um, but I'm also 
going to it's it's going to be hard not living

1:05:10.720,1:05:18.880
with you. Okay. Okay. We can't get into the mushy. 
No, no, no. Stop. Okay. No, but I'm like seriously

1:05:18.880,1:05:26.240
because like you know me like like so like in the 
back of inside and out and like you know how to

1:05:26.240,1:05:31.120
communicate with me and stuff and you guide me 
through a lot of stuff. So I think moving I'm

1:05:31.120,1:05:37.200
definitely going to have to do that myself. Yeah. 
Like figure out how to figure out how to navigate

1:05:37.200,1:05:43.200
everything. Like I that's why I'm so excited. I 
know what I'm doing. I trust me. No, I I trust

1:05:43.200,1:05:46.960
you. I think Yeah, you're not going to be alone. 
You have like, you know, a support system over

1:05:46.960,1:05:53.440
there, too. Yeah, 100%. I And I'm just like very 
curious like what version of you I'm going to meet

1:05:53.440,1:05:58.960
after. At least Belle thinks that like Michigan 
looks like the ocean, so they won't feel like

1:05:58.960,1:06:04.240
they're too far away from the coast. Okay. A 
landlock state. But no, when we went there,

1:06:04.240,1:06:08.560
I'm like, I swear I see mountains. Like I The 
entire time I was like, no, I swear. And I'm like,

1:06:08.560,1:06:14.000
you're literally delusional right now. I was like, 
your brain is making you see things. It is flat.

1:06:14.000,1:06:18.720
Yeah. I It's living convince yourself it's the 
ocean until you go and taste the water. Oh, yeah.

1:06:18.720,1:06:25.040
Yeah. Don't do that. Yeah. Don't do that. No. 
Living living with mountains and stuff, it it's

1:06:25.040,1:06:30.560
just like programmed in my brain. Like I I thought 
I saw a silhouette for some No, honestly, after

1:06:30.560,1:06:35.120
moving back from San Diego, I started appreciating 
the mountains more. Really? But like I never saw

1:06:35.120,1:06:38.480
them when I was living here, you know? But now 
like you know, I drive to yoga and I'm just like,

1:06:38.480,1:06:43.520
"Oh my god." Like I in San Diego, I was like 
those were mountains to me. Like the hills were

1:06:43.520,1:06:48.720
mountains to me and I was like, "Wow." And then 
Bay Area going on the 17th for the first time. I

1:06:48.720,1:06:52.720
was like, "Oh, those are mountains." Yeah, these 
are mountains. Oh my god. You haven't even been

1:06:52.720,1:06:59.360
to Tahoe? Nope. Those are mountains. Oh [ __ ] 
Um, okay. So, I'm going to do one. Unfortunately,

1:06:59.360,1:07:04.560
we only have time for one rapid fire question, and 
it's going to be You guys are each gonna have your

1:07:04.560,1:07:11.760
own answer. Okay. So, what is one thing that you 
find the other person does that's really cute?

1:07:14.480,1:07:20.880
What? I don't know. H. Let me think. Yeah, you 
go first. No, you go first. You obviously have

1:07:20.880,1:07:25.920
an answer already. No, because I just knew you're 
probably going to say a bunch of things. I think

1:07:25.920,1:07:32.320
Go on. No, it's okay. No. Okay. This is funny. 
Cute. And it's like the most like smallest thing,

1:07:32.320,1:07:39.200
but like Belle, they're not they they're not 
like the most feminine person sometimes. And like

1:07:39.200,1:07:43.120
sometimes it could literally be like they'll be 
like and like just like their hands go like this.

1:07:43.120,1:07:50.560
They be like, "Oh, thank you." Where did that come 
from? And I'm like, but it's just so cute. Like

1:07:50.560,1:07:57.680
it's so like delicate. Yes. And they're not that 
I actually haven't seen that. So I'm going to look

1:07:57.680,1:08:03.520
up for it now. Or wait, Belle like scrunches their 
nose randomly a lot. And if they scrunch their

1:08:03.520,1:08:09.360
nose, their their dimple on this side comes out. 
You have a dimple? And it's my favorite thing.

1:08:09.360,1:08:15.360
Yeah, because it's always you licking your lips 
and like your nose goes whatever. I didn't even

1:08:15.360,1:08:22.400
know. I love it. Yes. Yes. So cute. Okay, I have 
my answer. It's not bad. It's It's cute. Um Well,

1:08:22.400,1:08:31.120
not just say it. No, it's okay. So, wherever we 
go, we have to get a drink first. Like in order

1:08:31.120,1:08:39.280
in order for us to go places and Dun in order for 
me to be willing to go errands with more than one

1:08:39.280,1:08:44.640
stop, they need to get me a drink. So for me to 
be willing to go that's very like it could be

1:08:44.640,1:08:51.680
any drink and sometimes it's like 11 12 at night 
and she's like I want something. She looked at

1:08:51.680,1:08:56.560
me. I'll be like like what are you going to do 
about it? Like do you want a drink? Is that it?

1:08:56.560,1:09:06.800
Is that the cute thing? Yeah, it's it's adorable. 
[Laughter] Oh my god, guys. It has been an hour

1:09:06.800,1:09:11.280
and a half. Dang. Honestly, I knew this was going 
to happen cuz we are all chatter boxes with each

1:09:11.280,1:09:14.960
other. Like, there was no way. Ever. Like, we 
need to have This is not even We need to have

1:09:14.960,1:09:19.040
our own podcast. Yeah, we just need to have a 
podcast with the four of us and the dogs. Like

1:09:19.040,1:09:24.400
and comment if you'd like to see a part two of us. 
Part two. Oh my god. We can do a followup after

1:09:24.400,1:09:29.840
you guys move to Chicago and how Carlo's doing in 
the cold because I'm worried for these two. Yeah,

1:09:29.840,1:09:35.440
dude. They cannot handle the cold. So, the next 
time we'll see Bella and Leslie will maybe be

1:09:35.440,1:09:40.800
when they're in Chicago, but thank you guys so 
much for being so open and vulnerable with me.

1:09:40.800,1:09:46.400
I know it's a lot to share. It was so great to 
have you guys on. Thank you for having us. I'm

1:09:46.400,1:09:53.440
sorry about our son. I know that that that's going 
to be Now he's like out. Yeah. Now you want to see

1:09:53.440,1:10:00.080
if anyone wanted to follow your relationship 
online. Like is there a place where they could

1:10:00.080,1:10:05.520
follow you? My Instagram is open. It is. Yeah. 
Okay. What's your Instagram? It's not private.

1:10:05.520,1:10:14.960
Leslie Lie E and extra E at the N period. No dot 
X. That's it. Well, I mean Belle, you don't have a

1:10:14.960,1:10:21.120
public Instagram, but you do have follow directed 
by Belle Instagram. Yeah, she fe she she you guys

1:10:21.120,1:10:27.680
feature in it a couple times. Yeah. Yeah. And if 
you enjoyed this episode, you can follow Ordinary

1:10:27.680,1:10:34.560
Love podcast wherever, like Tik Tok, Instagram, 
YouTube. Um, and I you can also find me at Solless

1:10:34.560,1:10:39.040
Therapy on Instagram. She's the best therapist 
out there. I'm not being biased. And if you want

1:10:39.040,1:10:45.280
to hear more episodes, you can catch Ordinary Love 
every other Tuesday and hear it from a different

1:10:45.280,1:10:59.965
couple every single time. Period. So, thank you. 
So, thank you for listening. Thank you. [Music]

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Episode 1 - High school sweethearts, growing up together, and a love that’s grounded in faith