How we met
In March/April of 2020, Jeremiah was going down memory lane on Instagram of his life in Atlanta. As he admired the buildings posted by one of her good friends, Jeremiah stumbled on a photo of Rachel. “Wow, who is this?” he thought. He clicked over to her profile (@unrachable) where he learned that she was Nigerian-American. He also discovered The Whole Story and Rachel’s passion for expanding Black narratives through storytelling. So he followed both Rachel and her storytelling page and liked a few photos to… catch her attention.
Rachel woke up to a new follower from across the world in Brooklyn, NY. “Who is howtallareyou?” she wondered. They had no contacts in common and at first Rachel thought this was another spammer. But as she looked over his profile she saw that Jeremiah was also Nigerian-American, worked in art spaces and had a clear passion for supporting artists of African descent. Clearly there was a synergy between their passions and Rachel saw a potential business connection in New York - a place where she dreamed of living. So she followed both his personal and business accounts too.
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I finally found a kindred spirit, but he lived in Brooklyn and I lived in Phoenix.
- Rachel
A few weeks later, Rachel shared a TikTok in her Instagram story. Jeremiah replied saying “This is hilarious!” They messaged back and forth about friendship, family and faith. Jeremiah wanted to learn more about The Whole Story, but Rachel told him to see it in action. She was planning for an upcoming show for Mother’s Day called “Hey Mama”. After the show, Rachel and Jeremiah had their first phone call. It lasted for three hours.
With a whole country between them that was rioting over Black lives and face masks, the two found a kindred spirit over the phone, FaceTime and Zoom. After meeting in person in Atlanta, Rachel called her dad and told him about Jeremiah.
Listen to Rachel’s side of the story here.
The Proposal
A year and half and a move later, Jeremiah called Rachel’s family and told them his plan to propose in December 2021.
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It was Christmas Eve and my whole family was in on the plan. I called Rachel’s family and let them know I planned to propose in Miami. The hardest part was not telling her!
- Jeremiah
