Many moons ago, circa 2009, Ben signed up for a non-majors pottery class at the University of Florida. He was turning pots and heads, with everyone in the department wondering who was this outsider taking the ceramics world by storm. Cyrelle was among the torticollic admirers, though her attention was drawn not so much by appreciation for Ben’s mastery of the craft but by lust. Channeling her inner Wayne Campbell, she turned to camera, and said out loud, “He will be mine. Oh yes, he will be mine.” She launched an aggressive courtship campaign that stretched on over the next dozen or so years and included handwritten letters, crafting of mixtapes and birthday crowns, and shameless attempts at homewrecking. In the end, her perseverance paid off. Ben and Cyrelle now live together in Idaho with a bad cat named Hamilton and are engaged to be married. Huzzah!

Written by Cyrelle Bustamante 3/16/25