While scrolling on the dating app Hinge, a college friend of Alexis Lane Brugger’s came across Timothy Wang’s profile and instantly thought that she had found the perfect match, not for herself, but for her friend Ms. Brugger. So, she sent him a direct message.

On Sept. 12, 2020, Mr. Wang, 27, received an unexpected message through the dating app. “Hey, this might sound strange, but I think you would be a great match with my friend,” Mr. Wang recalled.

Ms. Brugger, 24, was a senior at the University of Michigan then, and Mr. Wang had returned to his hometown, Novi, Mich., because of the pandemic, where he worked remotely as an investment banking analyst for Goldman Sachs.

“I wanted to be in my childhood bedroom instead of stuck in a shoe box in New York City,” Mr. Wang said.

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He replied, and Ms. Brugger’s friend gave him Ms. Brugger’s Instagram handle. “I was working 100 hours a week, glued to my computer. I needed some excitement,” Mr. Wang said.

He followed Ms. Brugger, and she followed him back.

Two days later, Mr. Wang sent Ms. Brugger a direct message, and the two agreed to meet for dinner. On Sept. 18, 2020, they met in person at the Italian restaurant Palio in Ann Arbor, Mich.

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