Snapchat's flash shines light on Will Hastings' girlfriend
by Lauren Pieper
Auburn wide receiver Will Hastings said when he met his girlfriend, Gracie Henley, senior in public relations, a light was shining on her, and it was amazing.
The couple met through mutual friends.
Hastings said he was out to eat with his friends Tucker Tuberville, Daniel Carlson and CJ Uzomah when he first heard of Henley.
“I was sitting next to Tucker, [and] I saw this amazing girl he was snapchatting so I asked who was that, and he said Gracie Henley,” Hastings said. “I thought it was the most beautiful name.”
Today, the couple has been together for two years.
While the couple agreed football puts time constraints on their dating, Henley said she loves cheering Hastings on. One of the greatest feelings and things for her to witness is when he achieves his goals, she said.
“I am so proud of him,” she said. “I get to watch him do something he loves.”
Henley said, although dating a football player is fun, she remembers her nerves for his safety every time he steps on the field.
Hastings said Henley is a rock among the chaos of being an athlete.
“She’s a rock like no other,” Hastings said. “When you find someone like that, make sure you hold onto them forever and never [let them] go.”
The couple said their first date was stargazing, and the adventures have not stopped since.
“Our favorite thing to do is drive around and sing at the top of our lungs and just mess around,” Henley said.
For Hastings, Henley was almost the one that got away. He said freshman year they were talking, but it was not the right time for the relationship to start. However, after months of missing her, Hastings said he got the courage to ask her out.
The pair gives Auburn the credit for their great love story.
“If I had never come here, I would’ve never met the girl I love with all my heart, forever and always,” Hastings said. “This place will always be special to me because it brought me not only one thing I love (football), but two things by bringing Gracie to me.”
Puppy love
by Carmen McCrackin
Nicholas and Allison experienced puppy love the moment they started talking.
Nicholas took on the challenge of sending puppy photos to Allison every day over Instagram DMs in order to get her number. Not just one photo a day, mind you, multiple — this was a man after Allison’s animal-lover heart.
Allison attributed this fateful DM to be one of the main reasons why the two ended up together.
“He only stopped when I started puppy shopping,” Allison said.
Two years since that first DM, a wedding ring sitting happily on Allison’s finger and a couple of adopted pets later, it’s safe to say that Nicholas’ puppy-pursuit worked.
Before the DMs, however, this fated couple was set up by their mutual friends. Nicholas was a frequent “third-wheeler” on the mutual friends’ dates, so the friends took it upon themselves to work some magic for Allison and Nicholas. Allison had recently gone through a break up when she was introduced to Nicholas, but timing can be funny that way.
Although Allison and Nicholas’ relationship can be seen as a modern love story, the couple still value personal communication.
“Whenever we have a miscommunication and we talk it out, we always high-five afterwards. We are a team,” Allison said.
The two married in May of 2018, and with their dogs in the wedding photos.
Cupid Shuffle
by Madeline Muscat
Seven years ago on Valentine’s Day, Courtney and her now-husband went on their first date. By June, they were engaged and were married in December of that same year.
“One of his best friends and my best friend started dating in college,” said Courtney, pursuing a doctorate in public administration and public policy. “And so we slowly started hanging out with each other, and a fire was almost immediately lit.”
Courtney said when you know, you know.
She said her husband, Cody, worked diligently to try and make his proposal one to remember.
“He had music playing, and it was one of our favorite love songs,” Courtney said. “He starts just pouring his heart out to me — why he loves me, how he wants to spend his life with me.”
She joked that Cody can be quite the talker.
“Probably about three minutes pass by, and the love song that was on flips to this hilarious, club dance, booty-shaking song,” Courtney said laughing.
Embarrassed, Cody switched the radio back to another love song.
“Finally, he proposes, and I say ‘yes,’” Courtney said.
It all began with ice cream
by Carrie Johnson
Tay Tay, senior in early childhood education, met her boyfriend in high school after building up confidence to make a bet with him.
“He was on the cross-country team, and I knew he loved ice cream, so I said, ‘If you beat your personal record, I’ll bring you ice cream,’” Tay Tay said.
To her surprise, Tay Tay said he ran his fastest race leading her to complete her end of the deal.
“The rest seems like history; we started dating shortly after, and I’m honored to still be dating almost five years later,” Tay Tay said.
Tay Tay and her boyfriend are now in a long-distance relationship as she attends Auburn, and he goes to the University of Alabama.
“Long distance isn’t my favorite thing, but there are so many cool things about it,” Tay Tay said. “I get to have two communities, one at Auburn and one at Alabama.”
Tay Tay joked that, believe it or not, there is a really sweet community at the University of Alabama.
“We have our own lives while getting to share the really sweet part of college together,” Tay Tay said. “Carter makes it so fun and so worth it; three hours has nothing on us.”
DM to dating
by Carrie Johnson
Anna, junior in nursing, said her first interaction with her boyfriend was when he direct messaged her on Twitter two summers ago asking for her Snapchat username.
“Trae always tells people, ‘I saw one of her tweets, and it was funny, so I went to her profile and checked out her profile picture. She was cute, and you know, shooters shoot,’” Anna said.
Anna said the couple did not begin hanging out until last February and officially began dating in March.
“Trae wanted me to meet his mom before we started dating, which seemed opposite of what I thought normally happened,” Anna said. “But since I met his mom, my mom and dad then wanted to meet him.”
Anna said since both sets of parents gave their approval they knew that dating was a good idea for them. She knew it was good to have that assurance, since the relationship began in such an unconventional way.
She said she thought dating in college would be hard due to them both having busy schedules.
“But Trae and I are both nursing majors, so we got to study together at the beginning of our relationship, which helped keep a balance between studies and having fun,” Anna said.
Anna said one thing she and her boyfriend do is try new restaurants together. As of now, their favorite is the Dumps Like a Truck food truck.
Change for a dollar
by Abigail Murphy
When Ellen Wiley was 13 years old, she met her now-husband Larry at Harvey’s grocery store in Blakely, Georgia. About two years later, she ran into him again at a different grocery store where he was working.
Ellen needed change for a coke machine, and he gave her 93 cents for a dollar. That’s when the two started talking, and he asked her out.
Ellen said she’s still waiting on those 7 cents.
When she was 16 and he was 19, the couple got married. They have been married for 44 years, during which they both went to graduate school at Auburn. Shortly after graduating, they both got jobs as professors at Valdosta State University.
As professors, the Wileys incorporate anniversary trips within their study abroad trips. Some of places they have celebrated in include Paris, Prague, Rome, Vienna and Krakow.
The couple returned to the Auburn area for retirement to be closer to their son who has lived here since sixth grade.
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