Julia Kate Tiller and Eric Daniel Graves did not meet at her older brother's graduation in 2019, although they both attended (Mr. Graves is friends with Ms. Tiller's brother). They didn't fall in love at church in the summer of 2021, although that was where they met.
The two became quick friends thanks to social media. “He used Facebook Messenger to access my direct messages,” Tiller said. Around the same time, Ms. Tiller moved to Austin in June, just after graduating from college, and she began fostering cats. The first was Atlas, a two-year-old cat infected with ringworm.
In early October 2021, Ms. Tiller and Mr. Graves would go out with groups of friends. But that changed at the end of the month. On Halloween night, a week after a pumpkin carving party at Mr. Graves' house, he and Mrs. Tiller walked around watching trick-or-treaters, just the two of them, so it was “one of our first times we went out alone.” ”Ms. Tiller said.
“We both started talking about deeper ideas, like our goals in life and what we want to accomplish,” Tiller said. “We discovered that we had very similar perspectives and values.”
In November, the two began walking together and drinking coffee during the day while they both worked from home. “We were getting to know each other one on one,” Tiller said. “We didn't really have a first date.”
On November 18, the two were a couple. “Eric invited me to see James Bond's 'Casino Royale' since he had never seen it,” Ms. Tiller said. “Later, he told me that he liked me and that he wanted to go on a date. “I said I would like that.”
On April 7, 2023, Graves moved into Ms. Tiller's apartment when his lease expired, and the following month, when his lease ended, the two got an apartment together in North Austin, where they still they live.
Throughout all of this, there have been many foster cats. “All of our foster homes have the feline leukemia virus, so a single cat home is best for them,” Graves said. “We can raise sad cats.”
About six weeks before the two started dating, Atlas was adopted by another home. Ms. Tiller then referred to Edgar Allen Potato.
It was this feline named after a famous macabre writer and poet that finally brought them together. When the orange cat needed a cone around his head after surgery, Ms. Tiller called Mr. Graves. “I learned from the beginning that we were a great team,” she said.
Although Mr. Graves has long been a self-proclaimed dog lover, “I appreciated that he was so willing to help me,” Ms. Tiller said. Edgar Allen Potato was adopted by another family a few weeks after starting their relationship. But they weren't without a foster cat for long.
Mr Graves said: “Julia and I saw Meowzel Tov, a three-year-old cream-coloured cat, on the foster list and couldn't let him go.”
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And, after raising six cats, they finally made the seventh their own: a brown tabby they named Hazel. But even with the adoption, the two continue to foster other cats.
Ms. Tiller, 24, is a data analyst for the National Domestic Violence Hotline. She has a bachelor's degree with honors in physics from Texas A&M University. She grew up in Highland Village, Texas, and was a ballet dancer for 18 years. “I decided ballet was a passion for me, but not a career,” she said.
Graves, 28, is a software engineer at Neosem Technology, where he designs software for memory test equipment. He has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas.
After getting engaged on July 2, 2023, the couple married the Rev. Elizabeth Boone McLean, a Presbyterian pastor, on January 6 at First Presbyterian Church of Austin. During her first look, “she gave me a small stone from the church yard,” Tiller said. “This is what penguins do when they ask to mate for life.”
They were seated for much of the ceremony as Mr. Graves has been dealing with chronic dizziness for about a year. “I am medically fine. But I get dizzy standing,” he said. “Then the pastor grabbed chairs. He seemed very intimate to us.” Mr. Graves downplayed his status in his votes. “Julia, you take my breath away,” he said. “You make my legs weak.”
