Meet Elise Scalfani of West Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elise Scalfani.

Hi elise, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Elise (27) has been living with Type 1 Diabetes for almost 17 years. Zach (24) has been living with Type 1 Diabetes for almost 20 years. Elise started her t1dwelise Instagram page in January of 2024 to share her journey with T1D and engage with the community. When Omnipod (our Insulin pump company) reposted a photo of Elise in July 2024, Zach saw the photo and decided to reach out to her via DM. His pick-up line was (Hi I think you’re my type 😅) to which Elise responded and they began conversation.

Immediately there was a spark and much cute banter about living with Type 1 Diabetes as young adults. When Zach said he had a trip planned to New York that very weekend, Elise offered the idea of taking a detour to visit her in Boston for a date. He immediately, without hesitation, said yes and booked his Amtrak train to Boston from New York.

They met up for dinner in the North End of Boston, a frequent destination for the Italian Elise. They met up at Limoncello and the rest was history. Sparks flew, they enjoyed pasta together, walked around the north end, and fell for each other as the night progressed. They met up the next day and did some more exploring, walking around, checking out museums and other destinations until Zach’s dreaded departure.

It was heartbreaking to leave after such a strong spark of love ignited. But they stayed in touch, and talked every day until Elise came to visit Zach in San Diego nearly 3 weeks later.

That’s when they continued to fall deeply in love, uniting on their similar philosophies of life, love, and passions.

They continued doing back and forth trips, visiting each other in their respective hometowns.

Fast forward to February 2025, Omnipod approached them with some press leads that People Magazine wanted to highlight their story for Valentine’s Day and publish an article. It was such a special moment when it released.

Fast forward to Summer of 2025, Nicole Macnaughton and Kimberly Pinkson (sisters) approached Zach and Elise about a short film they were interested in making, as Nicole had been recently diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Nicole went to high school with Zach’s dad and reached out to him to make the connection.

After floating the idea and planning, the pre-production process began and they hired Jack Cressall to write the script for a short film about our story. Tons of planning went into it, Zach and Elise were elated and enthralled by the entire experience. When on-set filming began in Santa Barbara, Zach and Elise made the trip out to Montecido and were on set for the day, even making a cameo on-screen.

Fast forward to February of 2026, one year after the People Magazine article launched, we were watching the film at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival premiere, as it was one of 7 short films selected.

Our love had grown stronger with time, and Type 1 Diabetes has proven to be one of the biggest blessings in our lives.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s been smooth other than the distance, where the biggest struggle was missing each other. Our battle with Type 1 Diabetes has been up-and-down to say the least. But we’ve grown as people because of it.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Elise is working in Medical Device Sales as a clinical specialist in the orthopedic space.

Zach is working in the music business at a record label and management company.

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Good luck allowed me (Zach) to stumble upon Elise during a perfect time in our lives. Perhaps the best luck of our entire life.

We both believe that success comes from hard work and a little bit of good luck.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/t1dwithelise/