It started with a message on CatholicMatch, a poem, and a trip across the Atlantic Ocean ...
In August of 2014, Madel, 29, and Seamus, 35, were matched on CatholicMatch and they responded to each other’s interview questions.
“My interview was a fun questionnaire,” Seamus said. “It was psychology based, like questions about if you were in front of the TV and the phone rang, would you answer it or let it ring?”
Seamus shared that many people on the site found his profile “too honest,” but Madel was intrigued by his responses to her own interview.
They started chatting and almost right away, he wrote her a poem, “Diary of a Marshmallow,” because marshmallows were something cute that reminded him of her.
Madel was impressed with his poetry, and the way he continued to ask questions and show interest in her. She found his persistence attractive, so she wanted to get to know him more.
But to make a relationship work, they had to get creative. Seamus was living in Ireland and Madel lived in Mexico. But this was not a deterrent for them. In fact, the ability to meet someone from a place so far away is one of the things Seamus liked about CatholicMatch.
“God is going to invent your soulmate,” he said. “To be a realistic soulmate, he or she needs to be in your vicinity. CatholicMatch is opening up a lot more options for a soulmate.”
Making Long-Distance Work
To amp up the long distance experience, the two played games via Skype, like having a “Comic Art Contest.” The way the game worked was that each person had to draw an image in Microsoft Paint and the other had to guess what he or she was drawing.
“It was the most frustrating program,” Seamus said, “We would draw like a six year old!” They would share these photos on Facebook for their friends to check out. “It was an extra bit of dynamics,” said Seamus. “And something to share with friends."
They would also have dancing lessons via Skype, during which Madel would teach Seamus traditional Mexican styles. They would have “wine bar” dates, which meant they each had to be enjoying wine while talking.
Expanding Cultures
During their correspondence, Madel spent hours translating his messages and studying English. Seamus, while across the ocean, started studying Spanish and trying Mexican recipes. After exchanging hundreds of messages and spending hours having Skype dates, Seamus decided it was time to make the trip to Mexico. “When you realize there is more than online, there is no way you can wait,” he explained.
Seamus and Madel looked at dates and he booked a flight.
Seamus wasn’t sure if things were going to work out between the two of them, but he brought his claddagh ring, just in case. He knew his instincts were right the first moment he saw her at the airport.
For Madel, she wasn’t sure if Seamus was "The One" right away. “He was the last person to get out of the plane,” she said. “And all my brothers and cousins were with me. I was so in shock, I didn’t want to open my heart.”
It was an unexpected moment when Madel finally opened her heart. They were sitting in the theater watching a movie. When the credits started to roll Madel was struck with the realization that she had found her soul mate. "I started crying like Magdalena because of a sudden happiness. I realized I was madly in love with Seamus."
Simple Proposal
Seamus knew he couldn’t go back to Ireland without asking Madel to be his wife. “It was so difficult to have a brief moment of intimacy with her family around,” he said, “But I found my window before going to see Madel’s sister perform in a ballet.”
It was a brief moment in the kitchen while Madel was making guacamole. “I told her how much she meant to me,” he said. When Seamus proposed Madel answered: “Of course!”
When Seamus returned to Ireland, it was with a plan to move to Mexico in 2015 and get married a month after that.
Just months before the wedding, the couple met again in Paris. The experience was a fairytale, with three days of French restaurants, one night at L’Opera, and Mass in Notre Dame.
Madel also visited Ireland and met Seamus’ family before the wedding. They went to the City of Galway, the home of the claddagh ring, and participated in Catholic marriage lessons. Seamus created a website for their wedding, madelandseamus.com, where they shared their story and photos of their trips together during the engagement.
On April 11, surrounded by their families, the couple was married in Mexico. There they started their new life.
It was a big change for Seamus, but he knew it was the right decision. “God knows you more than yourself,” he said. “When you meet the right person and they keep surprising you, you can’t ignore the significance of it.”
Marrying someone who speaks another language and comes from a different culture comes with its challenges. But Madel and Seamus' patience and openness are a beautiful example for other married couples.
“You’re going to struggle as a couple until you get on your feet,” said Seamus. “It is always important to spend quality time together. At the end of the day, we are still holding hands and cuddling at night.”
