I Knew She Was the One on Our Second Date

Breanna never thought in a million years that she would find her husband online.

She had the idea that meeting someone online wouldn’t be as ‘special’ as meeting him in the ordinary way. But at the same time, she wanted to find a Catholic man who shared her values, and in her native western Nebraska, like in many places, those can be rather thin on the ground.

“Funny thing is, my mom is the one who convinced me to get a profile started,” she said. “Thanks, mom!”

She was on for about six months when she met Ross, a young farmer three years her senior (she is now twenty-four). She was attracted to his sincerity and kindness, and was pleased to find they shared many interests. For Ross’s part, he was glad to find someone of a similar faith background who shared his love for Husker football.

Shortly after connecting online, they had their first date: the classic dinner and a movie.

Their first date was at a mall near Breanna’s house: simple dinner and a movie (barbeque for the dinner, Finding Dory for the movie), followed by fireworks (literal ones).

“I was very nervous because it was the first time that we met,” Breanna said. “But after meeting him I felt like I had known him my whole life.”

Their first date was soon followed by a second, then a third, despite the five-hour distance between them. By the end of the second date, Ross says, “I realized she was the right one for me.”

The long distance was a bit of a challenge for the young couple, one that they found they couldn’t keep up long term. Fortunately, or providentially, an opportunity soon arose to remove that particular obstacle.

Breanna, finding she had the chance, made the critical decision to relocate to be closer to Ross, thereby committing fully to the relationship.

“I knew I couldn’t date him long distance for long because it is so hard on a relationship,” Breanna said. “I was at a point in my life where I was able to move, so I took the chance and moved to the town where he was living. It was hard leaving my family and everything familiar, but very worth it!”

Leaving her family to live closer to Ross proved to be the right decision.

One of their favorite dating venues was Nebraska Cornhusker football at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. In April 2017, they were able to take a long-planned tour of the stadium, with Ross, Breanna, and Breanna’s immediate family all included.

Breanna was extra excited, but a little confused as to why Ross insisted on wearing a jacket when it was 80 degrees out. As part of the tour, he suggested they get their pictures taken on the big red ‘N’ in the middle of the field.

As they stood there in the midst of the stadium, with their family and the tour guide looking on, Ross looked at her and said, “I have a question for you; will you marry me?”

“I was so surprised it took me a while to even say ‘yes,’” Breanna recalled. “I was just saying ‘oh, my gosh!’ a million times.”

Their engagement was a year and two months, but it flew by.

This despite a series of hardships that forced them to learn more about each other and their relationship.

Breanna had her first major surgery—getting her tonsils removed—which left her unable to do much during her recovery, which by bad luck fell at the same time Ross’s parents were out of state, and his grandmother was recovering from a fall, leaving him to have to manage their farm almost entirely alone while also taking care of Breanna and looking after his grandmother.

“After looking back at last summer, I am so glad that we put faith in God to get through it all,” Breanna said.

“It was very hard trying to balance recovering, and making sure everything and everyone was getting taken care of. It made our relationship stronger because we had gotten though last summer!”

Now happily married, and settling into life together, managing both his farm and her plans to open her own business, Ross and Breanna find that this is precisely what makes their relationship so special. Along with the fun times and the quiet moments of companionship, what they value most about each other is simply the fact that they are there for each other no matter what.