João was born and raised in Portugal until he was 12. His family then moved to Spain where João lived until he was 18 and was recruited to play tennis at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia.

Maddie was born and raised in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. She attended Villanova University for her Bachelor’s degree before enrolling in a Doctoral program in Clinical Psychology at Chestnut Hill College.

João and Maddie were neighbors in Manayunk, an area of Philadelphia. They attended the same university, yet had never met. Maddie was walking her dog one day and saw João’s tennis teammates standing outside their house. They gave the dog a tennis ball and invited Maddie to attend one of their tennis matches, where she met João. They were taken with each other and a few months later decided to date. They quickly fell in love and on a snowy day in January 2024, João proposed in a local park between their houses. Maddie and João now live together in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania with their dog, Hendrix!