Stephen had just joined CatholicMatch when he accidentally messaged Caroline.
“I say accidentally because I took a quiz on her profile and when I finished the quiz it sent the results to her and that’s how we started talking,” Stephen said.
Had it not been for that message, Stephen might have missed Caroline completely.
Stephen had just been on CatholicMatch one day. Caroline had been on for six months and was ready to quit. “I told myself I was going to go on one more date and then take a break from online dating,” Caroline said.
So she responded. But there was another problem: he couldn’t read it because he hadn’t yet paid for a subscription. So he sent her back an emoji. She sent a message. He still couldn’t read it. “He messaged me three times with only emojis! I knew after the second one that he hadn’t paid for a subscription yet but I had a good feeling about him,” Caroline said.
After sending the third wink emoji, Stephen finally subscribed.
Although he had messaged Caroline by accident, he was definitely interested in her.
“When I did my initial search on the website, Caroline was the first result that showed up. I clicked on her profile and saw just how beautiful she was. Also, I saw pictures of her family with her niece and nephew and I was happy with that she was family-oriented. I couldn’t believe there was someone out there that had everything I was looking for in a future spouse,” Stephen said.
Stephen, then 24, had decided to join CatholicMatch reluctantly after not having “the best of luck” meeting Catholic women “on my own.” He signed up after a coworker recommended the site.
Likewise, Caroline, also 24, had become a subscriber “to meet a good Catholic man who took his faith seriously and would fit in well with my family.”
“Stephen’s profile was laced with humor which really attracted me to him. He seemed honest and family-oriented with a good sense of humor,” Caroline added.
They chatted on the CatholicMatch for two weeks before agreeing to meet for dinner at The Boathouse in in Baltimore.
As Stephen was approaching The Boathouse the person in front of him caught his eye.
Wouldn't it be funny if that girl is the one I've been messaging?
“I was walking into the restaurant and was walking behind this really pretty girl and thought ‘Haha, wouldn’t it be funny if this was her?’”
It was.
They talked long into the evening. “I immediately got a great impression from him. He was so easy to talk to and I didn’t have to fake any conversation. Our personalities clicked. I thought we spoke like good friends which was so important to me because friendship is the basis of a strong relationship,” Caroline said.
Although they had planned on dinner, Stephen didn’t eat anything because he was so nervous. Afterwards, they took the conversation outside as they strolled along Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The night ended with Stephen asking for her number.
Their relationship moved fast.
“This is going to sound weird, but for me I knew after the first month of knowing her that I was going to marry this woman. Now my friends will tell I’m quick to fall for someone, but there was something different about this girl and my heart, with the help of the Holy Spirit, kept guiding in that direction,” Stephen said.
After two months, they said they loved each other. Within a year, in July 2017, the two got engaged.
There wasn't a special moment when I knew she was the one.
For some couples, a single moment seals their future together. Stephen and Caroline say it was an accumulation of moments.
“She’s intelligent, beautiful, funny, a great family who I get along with and them with me. Most amazing of all is that she is THE MOST caring and loving person I know (sorry, Mom!). I can’t imagine my life without her. God has truly answered my prayers,” Stephen wrote in an email.
“It was an accumulation of so many things: his love for his family, sense of humor, love for others and caring nature, sincere efforts to be a better person in his Catholic faith,” Caroline said.
Looking back, Caroline says she does not regret what some might perceive as a rush. “I’m so glad we didn’t worry what was ‘normal’ timing or what most people do at certain times. Communication, honesty, and praying and sacraments with one another were some of the things we learned that we can’t do without,” Caroline said.
They are set to get married on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 8, 2018.
