- So my mom eventually came around when this man proposed
to me, mind you by the time he proposed,
we had been dating for like, well we had a little break
in between, but five and a half, six years,
so five and a half years, five, five and a half years.
So that's when sis came around, like when he put the ring
on my finger.
What's popping y'all, this is Nina Gotti.
- And I'm QC.
- And we are the dreamers, AKA the Coopers.
- And this is millennial love stories.
(upbeat music)
- So when we first met in 2014, QC was working
at a teen center on the south side of Raleigh,
shout up to Raleigh.
And, you know, I liked what I saw.
He had the flat top, he like J. Cole to me at the time.
Well, still to this day, J. Cole's my favorite artist.
So I was like, okay okay.
I ended up working at that same team center
like a month later, saw him, and from there-
- Yeah so that's basically how it happened.
I saw her at the Christmas party that my job was having
at the team center,
didn't know who she was but she caught my eye.
And from there, I didn't know
that she'd be working there a month later.
So when she started working there, I was like, okay
now this is my coworker, but I still got my eye on her.
Didn't say anything, let some time go by.
We started to develop the coworker relationship.
- So then I tested him, right?
It was a like Valentine's day.
It was literally right around this time of 2015,
he was working, I needed somebody to work my shift
because my ex at the time, he was taking me to a concert.
So I was trying to find somebody to work my shift.
This man was against working weekends.
So I was like, you know, like, do you have a valentine?
Like, why can't you just take my shift at work?
And he was just like, I mean, I don't really work weekends.
I don't really work weekends, but it was really a test.
- Because I definitely had Valentine's Day plans.
- It was a test to see if this man had a girl,
because he just didn't come off as if he was
in a relationship.
So I was trying to scope and really see what's going on.
- And that's basically how we met
and how it kind of started.
We started talking around that March timeframe of 2015.
We actually went public in like December
and I think that's when, right around the time,
we started to bring family.
So I originally met the parents at one
of our events for work.
Initially just, it wasn't a hit with the parents.
Specifically, you know, with Mom Dukes.
Mom Dukes wasn't feeling your boy from the get.
And I, you know, I kind of get it because I was
in a different place in my life.
I was struggling, I was trying to find myself.
She's also the oldest granddaughter.
So everyone kind of has high expectations
of whoever she's with, so that's kind of how that happened.
But over time the relationship got better and better.
We definitely grew in our relationship
and I grew as a man, so.
- Basically he had to prove himself to my mom
because she was just like, I'm not about to just hit it off
and just be cool with you.
So sis took him through some obstacles and some laps
and he went through a whole boot camp just to get Angela
on board, but shout out to my mom.
The way that I kind of got my mom to feel QC out for is,
I kept bringing him to family functions and family events.
It was like, this man is gonna be here
and either you love it or you hate it.
But at the same time, like this is who I'm with.
And the way that I kind of massage
that relationship a little bit was I was like
"Hey look, QC, my mom is like this with everybody.
Do not take it personal, like this is who she is.
She's gonna run you through a whole bootcamp just to see,
like, if you can withstand the pressure."
I had to tell QC, you know like,
"If my mom's gonna talk shit, talk shit back.
Joke around with her, laugh.
You know, like those are the things,
because all she's trying to do is just really test you."
So, you know, she's saying like, what you doing?
Why you got that on?
Boy, I wanted that (mumbles).
You know, just joke around with her, laugh,
have a good time and really ignore her.
Oh God, she's gonna see that.
(laughing)
So my mom eventually came around when this man proposed
to me, mind you by the time he proposed, we had been dating
for like, well we had a little break in between,
but five and a half, six years.
So five and a half years, five, five and a half years.
So that's when sis came around,
like when he put the ring on my finger.
- My perspective is a little bit different
on when Mom Dukes actually started to come around.
So I think it actually was after I graduated, I graduated
from the illustrious North Carolina Central University
in 2018 you know, I think that's when Mom Dukes like really
started to embrace me and our relationship
and started to come around a little bit more.
We started to have more conversations,
even when we would like meet up for family gatherings,
it was a little bit of a different energy.
And I could tell just like that shift in me and like
becoming my own man and starting to be able to provide
and take care of the household in a different type of a way.
I really knew that that, you know
kind of changed the perspective on me.
Yeah, I can tell you about the engagement.
So it was like for sure that I was gonna do it
at the beginning of 2020.
So I went through and I thought really hard about it
and I knew her birthday was coming up.
I had asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday.
She was like, she wanted to rent out a boat.
And she wanted her friends to come out with the ones
that we knew we were comfortable being around at this time.
So I said, okay, I'll make it happen.
And little did she know I had already put it on my mind
that I'm gonna go ahead and ask the question.
I'm gonna go ahead and propose.
Everyone showed up, like all the friends,
I had two of her friends communicating
with my family and her family to pull up
to the pier right before we take off.
So as the family started coming down,
I asked Nina to step up off the boat, family walks up.
She's like, what are y'all doing here?
Like, she's so surprised she's in shock.
She turns around.
I start to, you know, go into my little speech
and telling her all, you know,
how I feel she's made me a better man.
And I wanted to, you know, change, you know,
a lot of things about up for her and that I wanted
to spend the rest of my life with her.
So, you know, I got down on one knee and, you know,
I asked a big question.
I definitely had a conversation with the family.
I had a conversation with her mom probably about a month
and a half before I wanted to execute the plan.
She was very supportive.
You know, I actually started to send her some rings
that I had in mind and she was giving me her feedback
and input on it, by the way, I also reached out
to her dad and her dad gave me his blessing.
So, you know, the family was definitely supportive
of you know, us taking the next step in our relationship
and everyone was there to witness it
and it was a great time.
I do think it was important
to include her mom in the process.
I do think it was definitely a way of softening her up
and helping her understand that, you know,
I'm really serious about her daughter.
I love her and I'm willing to make certain sacrifices,
you know, to maintain and establish a family and a legacy.
And I reiterated that to her
as we were going through this process.
So I think that definitely kind of changed her perspective
on me and what I was about.
- I believe my family has always had my best interest
at heart since this day.
I think that overprotective energy,
it's genuine and it's at a love.
It's not at a malice or any bad intent,
but it can be a little too much.
- The advice that I would give to a couple that's struggling
with, you know, family issues is that the best thing
that you can do within your relationship
is keep your family out of your relationship.
The decisions that y'all are making,
the arguments that y'all might be having, any type of,
you know, challenges that you're facing,
just to keep family away from that.
Now I will say that, you know
sometimes you are going to need to reach out.
Sometimes you are going to need some type of advice
from someone that has the experience.
But for the most part, just stay away from that.
I will also say that, you know,
it's not easy, but you have to really put each other first.
You have to make sure that you're doing things
that are gonna help the relationship and not hurt it.
And you, if you've been with someone,
most likely you're gonna know their triggers
and then stay away from those triggers.
And family might be the that trigger for that partner.
So you have to know that you have to be able to read that
and understand what is best for your relationship.
If you really wanna make that relationship work.