For two Florida residents, a simple scroll through social media would turn out to be a life-changing experience.
It all began when Alton Buggs II shared an Instagram story post featuring one of his single friends.
"In 2022, I started randomly posting my single friends to my Insta story, and I decided this was going to be a way that I could ... put them out in front of people that may be interested," Buggs told "Good Morning America."
Even though Buggs is a musician and producer, he has since turned into a matchmaker too.
"It just kind of became something that I did every couple of months, every few weeks, and so in May of 2022, I posted Alex," Buggs explained.
That's how Alex Castellanos, 28, of Tallahassee, came to meet Troy Marrow, 30, of Sarasota, on May 20, 2022.
Although other people had followed Castellanos' Instagram page after Buggs shared her photo and message, she said only Marrow took the time to send her a personal message.
"He was actually the only one that stood out to me out of all the guys that followed me. And I remember turning to one of my friends ... being like, 'He's my type!'" she said.
Buggs added, "She messaged me not long after that, saying that, 'Hey, someone messaged me.' And then a month later, I got a message from Troy, and he's like, 'Hey, man, I shot my shot with your friend and things have been going good.'"
Marrow said he knew quickly -- by their second date -- that Castellanos was the partner he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.
"I called my mom and I said, 'Hey, Mom, I'm on the way back from Tallahassee. … I met this girl on Instagram, we've been talking for a while, like, we went on a date two weeks ago.' I was like, 'She's the one,'" Marrow recalled.
Buggs said he didn't know where the couple's meet-cute would end up at first, but over the course of the next year, he would get periodic updates from his two friends. Two months ago, he received the biggest update yet.
"I get a message from Troy in May, around the top of May, and he says, 'Hey, man, on the anniversary, May 20, I'm gonna propose,' and I said, 'Oh my God, this is insane,'" Buggs recalled.
Buggs said he quickly jumped into action and booked a flight to Florida, to be there for his friends' big day. He couldn't miss seeing Marrow get down on one knee to propose to Castellanos among friends and family at Deerfield Beach in her hometown of Boca Raton.
"My friends and family did a really good job lying. I thought there was absolutely nothing happening on that day, which was a surprise because it was our one-year anniversary of knowing each other," Castellanos said.
Buggs would later share an Instagram reel of his friends' unusual love story, which quickly went viral with over 311,000 likes.
The couple told "GMA" they wanted to share their story to offer hope to others and show that when it comes to love, it can be worth it to take a leap of faith.
"Honestly, it can be intimidating at first. But once you get over that fear of rejection and knowing like, 'I have to be vulnerable and put myself out there and so does this other person,' it can turn into something beautiful," Marrow said.
Castellanos added, "If you know your worth, you know where you're going, you know who you are, it's not that difficult to make a decision ... and just kind of go for it."
As for Buggs, he said other friends and even strangers have since reached out to him to help them make connections.
Trending Reader Picks
ABC News Live