Fizzled and Then Reignited

21

Don't underestimate how much timing can determine if a relationship works or not.

For Connor and Meg, their willingness to give it another try meant everything.

At the end of July 2018, the couple met each other on CatholicMatch. They liked one another, but their relationship fizzled because they were both talking to other members. 

"Only when both of those other conversations ended did we resume chatting on CatholicMatch," explains Connor, 31, and Meg, 29.

Mr. Right not in Tulsa

Meg moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2014 to teach high school theology, and she made a lot of new friends. She enjoyed living in Tulsa, but she didn't like that there didn't seem to be any eligible men. She decided that CatholicMatch would be an excellent avenue to find an authentically Catholic guy.

"I knew several couples who had met on CatholicMatch, and I thought the world of their spouses! That was enough of a reason for me to give it a try," she shares. "The only frustration I found in using CatholicMatch was the distance between myself and the eligible matches. I knew that if—when—I found someone, I'd likely have to move."

Meg & Connor's engagement photo.

It would take four years of being on and off CatholicMatch for her to find Connor.

Miss Right not in his parish

Connor had been on and off CatholicMatch even longer than Meg; he had first joined back in 2011. Initially, he felt uneasy about meeting his future wife online, but he had friends who found each other on the site, and he admired their marriages. Over the years on CatholicMatch, Connor had met some wonderful Catholic women, but none of them were love connections. He ended up moving to Australia and let his memberships lapse for a while. After returning to the United States and settling back in, he rejoined CatholicMatch because he wasn't meeting anyone in his parish. 

"I had always thought that meeting wonderful Catholic women would be easier. I presumed being heavily involved with my parish would lead to me meeting my future wife. Given that wasn't the case, CatholicMatch was a wonderful resource," he shares.

A few messages 

On July 28th, 2018, Meg sent Connor a message, which happened to be the second year anniversary of his mother's death. He responded by saying, "Always a joy to start my day with a warm smile from a nice Catholic woman. I will keep this message short as we'll likely have more to come." 

They both had jobs as teachers, and they liked one another enough to exchange a few more casual messages. Still, shortly after, they both began relationships with other people that they had met on CatholicMatch. For three months, they lost touch. 

Finally reconnected!

On November 4, 2018, they reconnected. Connor gave Meg his phone number. 

"Within five minutes, she called me, and that boldness was very attractive," he shares. "I like a focused and driven woman, especially someone that loves and knows her faith."

Meg & Connor's engagement photo.

It didn't take them long to plan their first date. Meg lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Connor lived almost nine hours away in Starkville, Mississippi. Conveniently, Connor had Thanksgiving plans to visit family who lived near Meg. 

They met for dinner on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Meg felt nervous the whole day, playing out the scenarios in her head about how the date would go. She wondered if Connor would seem like the same person she liked so much on the phone.  

Surprisingly, she felt calm as she drove to the restaurant.  

"I was confident. All I had to do was be myself. When I pulled up to the restaurant, Connor was already there getting out of his car. Our eyes met, he waved, and I got chills! He was so handsome! His CatholicMatch photos did not do him justice," she remembers.

Connor adds, "What struck me was how familiar it felt, and that really gave me a sense that this relationship was different."

"Connor was totally his authentic self, charming, and relaxed enough to be goofy, and that's who I fell in love with," she shares.


Five more dates

The couple went on five more dates over the Christmas holidays. In January, they met in Little Rock—the halfway point and where Meg's parents lived. 

"Connor officially met my parents, and they immediately hit it off," she says. "My parents were very impressed with this polished Catholic gentleman, who was head over heels in love with their daughter."

Engagement party

The relationship was heading in a serious direction. Meg and Connor began discussing whether she should move to Mississippi.

A spring break proposal

Over spring break, Meg drove to Mississippi to visit Connor and get the grand tour. She didn't have a clue that Connor had purchased an engagement ring—let alone a ring she had secretly dreamed of having.

"I did not know he was going to propose or that he had picked out a ring and spoken to my parents," she recalls. "We went to lunch, and at the end of our tour on Mississippi State University—where Connor is an assistant professor—we took our first picture together as a couple. Then, he got down on one knee. To say I was in shock would be an understatement."

MSU football field

Connor adds, "I chose to propose at the Bully (the MSU Bulldog Statue) right across from the building where I work and in the Junction, which leads up to the football stadium. That spot is iconic for MSU fans as it makes for a fantastic backdrop for photos of all occasions. It also is visible from the third-floor mezzanine, where I often stand making copies for the classes I teach. I thought it would be so special to be able to see daily the place where our lives would be forever changed."

Meg shares that she couldn't stop shaking the rest of the day because she felt so thrilled. One surprise for her is that Connor happened to pick out the ring that she wanted.

"It was the same ring I had saved on my Pinterest board. I had created a wedding board years ago, but kept it in 'secret mode.' A few days after Connor proposed, I showed him the pictures, and even he was surprised," she says.

Meg moved to Mississippi

On March 16, 2019, after finishing her school year as a high school theology teacher in Tulsa, Meg moved to Mississippi to begin my new job as the director of Catholic Campus Ministry at Mississippi State and to be near Connor. 

Meg & Connor's wedding prayer card.

The couple was married on December 28, 2019. For Meg marrying Connor was the most natural thing in the world. Connor felt overcome with joy.

"I expected to be so nervous that I'd feel faint or nauseous like some brides do in the movies, but instead I could feel the graces of God pouring over me," she beams. "I was filled with nothing but peace and joy." 

Connor felt a rush of emotions watching Meg walk down the aisle. "Seeing how absolutely beautiful she looked and knowing what was about to occur for the rest of our lives, I couldn't help holding back the biggest smile and happy tears simultaneously."

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