Photos: Anna Duncan
Jessica + Tyler
A Jet-Set Love: Tyler and Jessica’s Globetrotting Romance
Tyler and Jessica met in 2013 during a study abroad trip to Kunming, China, 7,000 miles from home. As part of a small group of five students, they spent a lot of time together, navigating the challenges of unfamiliar foods, cramped spaces, and limited WiFi access, yet they had a lot of fun. After returning to the University of Oklahoma, their friendship continued and eventually blossomed into something more. Jessica, originally from Tulsa, received a visit from Tyler one weekend. During this visit, Tyler spent a whole day alone with Jessica’s parents while she was at work. At the end of his trip, he remarked, “Do your parents know everyone in Tulsa?” After many visits to Tulsa, Tyler realized that indeed her parents almost know everyone, and he now considers himself an honorary Tulsan.
Following college, they braved several years of long-distance, countless FaceTime calls, numerous bus rides to and from DC, and even a quarantine stint in Tyler’s parents’ RV in 2020. Now, they are thrilled to finally be living together in New York City. When a friend recently asked them separately what their favorite thing about each other was, without knowing the other’s response, both said that their favorite thing was that through everything, they still have fun. After ten years, their relationship remains focused on what it was from the beginning: having fun together.