On Dec. 27, 2024, Mariam Khan was sitting alone on the beach at the Buccaneer Resort in St. Croix, where she, a field producer for ABC News, was covering President Joseph R. Biden’s vacation.
Nearby, a group of men played a giant version of Connect Four. Maj. Phillip James McCoy was among them. He noticed Khan and thought she was attractive, so one of his friends, acting as wingman, approached Khan and introduced himself.
“He said, ‘Hi, ma’am. Have you seen any shark’s teeth for my kids?’” Khan said of the friend, who went on to ask Khan if she was on the island for work and explain why he was in St. Croix before he returned to his friends.
McCoy eventually walked over and said, “I heard you’re a journalist with ABC.” He, a pilot with the 112th Fighter Squadron of the Ohio Air National Guard, was part of a group that routinely travels with presidents.
“She seemed very approachable,” McCoy recalled. “And I don’t generally like meeting people.”
They quickly discovered they had a lot in common. “We were the same age, middle children, similar interests and both from the state of Ohio,” she said.
After exchanging numbers, they began texting and made plans to meet two days later at Shupe’s on the Boardwalk, a bar and restaurant in downtown Christiansted.
They talked about movies, their careers, travel and how they both were sick of the dating scene and the apps. “It felt really nice to meet someone in the real world,” Khan said. “When we met on the beach, we both had our sunglasses on. I still remember the moment we locked eyes. It was like a knowing look. ‘Oh. It’s you.’”
McCoy added, “It was really incredible.”
That night, Khan messaged her friends, “I just kissed a boy, and he was so cute.”
The two met again two days later on New Year’s Eve. They both had work parties to attend, and then, Khan recalled, “We just walked toward each other on the boardwalk.”
That night, they sat on the beach and watched the fireworks. “The moment felt very right,” McCoy said.
The next day, each left St. Croix — she for Washington, D.C.; he for Toledo, Ohio. But they wanted to see each other again. “My parting words were, ‘See ya when I see ya,’” she said, “and he responded, ‘I bet that will be sooner than you think.’”
It was. One week later, he came to see her in Washington.
After that, the pair found ways to spend time together. Every few weeks, they met in either Toledo or Washington, and sometimes squeezed in visits during McCoy’s layovers when he worked as a pilot for Delta, a job from which he is now on military leave. “We very quickly realized we wanted to be together,” Khan said.
Khan grew up in a traditional Pakistani Muslim household, and her parents hoped that she would marry someone with the same background. “I tried,” she said. “But a year prior to dating Phil, I gave up.” Eventually, she told her parents, “You’re going to have to deal with it.”
In response, they said, “‘We just want you to be happy.’” McCoy’s parents felt the same.
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This past November, while visiting McCoy’s hometown, Medina, Ohio, they made plans to see the holiday lights. McCoy had been planning to propose for some time and decided the town’s gazebo was the perfect location.
But it was filled with people waiting to take photos when they arrived. So he stalled, suggesting they walk around and share a cup of cocoa before returning.
Once the gazebo was clear, McCoy read Khan a poem he had written a week after they met. “And the end was the proposal,” he said. She was caught so off guard that she couldn’t stop giggling.
“I was on my knee for like a minute before she said yes,” he added.
Khan continues to live in Washington, while McCoy is based in Toledo. They plan to move in together at the end of this month, before McCoy starts a new job with the National Guard Bureau in Washington in June. (He will also continue working with the Ohio Air National Guard 112th Fighter Squadron.)
McCoy, 38, was born in Akron, Ohio, and raised in Medina. He earned a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona, Fla., and a master’s in education from Trident University International, an online university. He was an active duty pilot in the United States Air Force for nearly 12 years, joining the Ohio Air National Guard in December 2022. He is currently an F-16 instructor pilot.
Khan, 37, was born in Dallas, and raised in Columbus, Ohio. She earned a bachelor’s in journalism from Ohio State University and a master’s in journalism from Northwestern University. She is a supervising producer at ABC News in Washington, currently covering the State Department, the Pentagon and global affairs.
The couple planned the entire wedding in a matter of weeks, “amid a crazy news coverage period for me,” Khan said. “It was chaotic. But I credit my TV producing skills for getting it together quickly.”
The couple married on May 3 at Oak Grove at Jorgensen Farms in New Albany, Ohio. Mike Mohamed Ghouse, previously ordained by American Marriage Ministries, officiated before 138 guests.
“We were really excited to have an inclusive, interfaith ceremony with our diverse friend group and families,” said Khan, whose father, Shameem Khan, read a verse from the Quran called Ayat al-Kursi during the ceremony. McCoy’s father, Mitchell McCoy, read a Christian wedding blessing.
Khan wore a traditional red raw-silk ensemble, featuring a fitted choli, or cropped blouse, and a full skirt adorned with intricate gold detailing that was stitched by hand. The look was designed for Ruby’s Collection and made in Mumbai.
McCoy wore his military mess dress, the formal evening uniform worn by military personnel for ceremonies and celebrations.
More than half the guests wore South Asian attire. “Phil’s mom wore a South Asian gown to honor the occasion that was gifted to her by my mom,” Khan said.
The reception included Bollywood-inspired dance performances and Punjabi music, as well as Western music. And, Khan said, the D.J. also played a traditional polka song, “to honor Phil’s Polish and Czech roots.”
“Phil likes to say when he walked up to me on the beach, I seemed so at peace and content in my life, listening to my music with a piña colada in hand,” Khan said. “It’s true when they say it happens when you least expect it.”
On This Day
When May 3, 2026
Where Oak Grove at Jorgensen Farms in New Albany, Ohio
A dreamy location The couple chose “Island in the Sun” by Weezer for their first dance in honor of how they met. “Completely by chance, at our after-party in a hotel lounge, we heard ‘Island in the Sun’ playing in the background,” Khan said. “We both hadn’t heard the song elsewhere in years, so it felt like total fate to hear it again in the same night.”
A clever line A cocktail called the shark’s tooth was served as a signature drink. “It’s apparently a popular tiki cocktail from the 1930s,” Khan said. “We chose this drink because this was the icebreaker used by Phil’s colleague in St. Croix that led to our introduction. We also had a nonalcoholic version since more than half of our guests adhere to Islamic traditions and don’t drink.”
A sudden switch Khan’s original wedding dress was designed in Karachi, Pakistan. After weeks of planning, several 4 a.m. FaceTime calls and a shipping delay due to the Iran War, the dress finally arrived in Columbus. “But I opted to go with another gown,” Khan said. “I found it right under my nose at a local South Asian boutique in Northern Virginia.”
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