Mark and Janelle met while working as Academic Affairs Associates at LMU. In 2018 they were asked to coordinate a project together. Their interest in one another grew as they exchanged emails, books, drawings, avocados (from Mark's brother's yard), and conversations in the hallway. In November 2019, Mark told Janelle he had hurt his leg while walking across the University Hall bridge. When Janelle showed up to help, Mark seemed to walk just fine. Quoting bell hooks, he got down on one knee and proposed. He arranged it so that their family could watch over LMU's security cameras. Janelle and Mark married in their backyard on December 31st, 2020.
"Love as the will to extend one's self for the purpose of nurturing one's own or another's spiritual growth"- bell hooks