On August 25, 2020, Utah native Christina got a message from a filmmaker named Austin. He caught her eye because he aspired to bring people closer to God through his film work!
“He seemed almost too good to be true so I thought it might be a fake profile!” Christina laughs. She wasn’t sure about messaging him back, since he lived in LA, far, far away. But she swallowed her hesitancy and replied.
They messaged back and forth for a few months before deciding to meet in person.
Christina flew to California during Thanksgiving weekend to visit some extended family. Since she was in the state, what better time to meet up with Austin? Their first date was attending a Latin Mass on Sunday, and then they spent a long evening walking the Malibu beach until sunset.
Talk about romantic!
The two decided to keep getting to know each other, but hold off on being a couple quite yet. After all, it was only the first time they’d met!
As Christmastime rolled around, Christina suggested they watch It’s A Wonderful Life “together” on the same night and video chat about it. They picked a date and time…and then Austin decided he would rather watch this movie sitting right next to Christina. So, he booked an impromptu flight and arrived at her place on December 13th!
They watched their movie together, and then Austin asked her to officially be his girlfriend.
“Since then, he often asked me while doing his best Jimmy Stewart impression, ‘You want the moon? Just say the word, and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down,’” Christina recalls.
Just a few months later, in March of 2021, Austin made the courageous move out of LA in favor of Utah. He and Christina thought that they should date “short distance,” to give their relationship a true chance. So that’s what they did for the next five months!
A year to the day from Austin’s first CatholicMatch message, August 25 of 2021, the happy couple were on a trip together and attended a daily Mass.
“It happened to be a memorial for a woman who had been married 62 years before her husband died,” Christina recalls.
In the homily, the priest talked about these two spouses being reunited in heaven...
That got Austin thinking, because, after Mass, Austin got right down on one knee and proposed!
“I admire Austin’s drive to keep improving himself and his passion for sharing the Catholic faith with others through the streaming service called Christian Channel which he founded,” Christina says. “We help each other grow into better people, and we have been there for each other during difficult times and joyful times. I thank God every day!”
The two married in April of 2022 during a traditional Latin nuptial Mass.
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