Gina was used to spending New Year’s Eve alone. Like every other December 31st, she watched the Time’s Square ball drop. However, New Year’s Eve 2016 was a little different because shortly after midnight, the 32-year-old stepped outside to say a prayer. Looking up into the starlit sky, she asked God, Mary, the angels, and archangels to let this year be the year that she would find her match.
“I felt ready to be married more than ever,” Gina, from Illinois, recalls.
Gina didn’t expect God to do all of the work—so she joined CatholicMatch.
In May of 2017, Gina joined CatholicMatch—this was her first attempt at online dating. “I had always been hesitant about it because I was afraid of meeting someone horrible."
She decided to take a risk because online dating seemed like a smart way for a shy girl to meet someone.
On June 27, 2017, about six weeks later, she noticed 34-year-old Simon’s profile and decided to initiate a conversation. “I liked his profile and all his pictures of his travels. I immediately had a good feeling about him.”
Happily for Gina, Simon liked her profile too and boldly and simply asked her on a date.
When Simon, who also lives in Illinois, received Gina’s message, he was impressed with her profile and her photos. "I could see how much care she put into her online profile," he says. "So I sent her a virtual bouquet of flowers and asked her out for lunch."
On a gorgeous day on July 8, 2017, they met up at the Egg Harbor Café near Gina's home. “I guess you could say it was love at second sight because I was already impressed with his online profile,” she says.
Seeing Simon in person, Gina liked his blue eyes and how nicely he dressed. She also thought he was romantic because he brought her a bouquet of flowers. “It was a short date but a good one. We had a nice meal and stimulating conversation. After we ate, we walked around for a little bit before Simon had to leave.”
Gina was pretty sure a second date was a good possibility, but she was open to whatever God had planned for her.
Many more dates led to a deeper friendship, time spent with family and friends, and eventually, falling in love.
Gina’s intuition was correct, and she and Simon continued to see one another at least once a week. "I was very pleased when she agreed to see me again," he recalls.
Simon thought they were a good match because they shared similar goals in life and similar temperaments. "Every time we met, I felt that we loved each other more," he shares.
They spent time getting to know one another by socializing with each other’s family and friends and doing the things that they both enjoyed.
“We love going to festivals, movies plays, and dining out. We both like to travel to places with a beach, lake, or mountains,” Gina shares. “We also enjoy dancing and taking walks especially after eating out."
One thing that Gina loved about Simon was that he always held her hand when they went out on dates and this made her feel loved.
Gina suspected they might get engaged soon, but she just wasn't sure of when...
Things were moving along so well Gina knew that she and Simon would get engaged at some point soon, but she didn’t know when or where that would happen.
On June 23, 2018, Simon asked Gina's mother for her daughter’s hand in marriage. He had plans to propose to Gina at an upscale seafood restaurant called Catch 35.
Since they were going to a nice restaurant, Gina took the opportunity to wear something dressy. Simon arrived at her house with a bouquet of roses in hand. “When we got to the restaurant, there was another beautiful bouquet of flowers waiting at our table,” she recalls.
Gina & Simon the evening that he proposed.
