When someone says “break a leg,” they actually mean “good luck.” But nobody told Andrew, because he took this saying way too literally!
Tristen, who was 38, and Andrew, who was 44, were on their very first date after connecting on CatholicMatch.
Each had tried every other dating method possible, including blind dates, apps, and set-ups. But both eventually realized that what they truly longed for was a Catholic partner who could share their faith and their future.
“Tennessee is only 7% Catholic and only about 3% unmarried. We both wanted to marry an active Catholic but needed CatholicMatch’s help to find someone against the odds in our area,” they recall. They first crossed paths online, even though they both lived near Nashville, and messaged for three weeks before setting up a first date.
They went out to dinner and had a great time...so after that, they exchanged phone numbers.
“{Our} relationship began in the sweet, simple way so many do—with hikes in the sunshine, dinners filled with laughter, and little adventures,” they remember.
The whole thing seemed delightful and easy...until the rooftop incident.
See, Andrew had offered to help fix a leak on Tristen’s roof, a thoughtful gesture that she thought was sweet and caring. Unfortunately, while he was navigating the shingles, he slipped and fell twelve feet!
The crash broke his leg badly, and Tristen rushed to his side and called 911. The EMTs arrived soon, and Tristen found herself frantically trying to answer the detailed questions about things like Andrew’s date of birth and blood type.
Their relationship was very new, and Tristen had almost no answers!
“Tristen followed the ambulance to the hospital without hesitation,” Andrew says. She joined him in the emergency room and sat by his hospital bed all night. She took his phone and called his parents to tell them what was happening, and ask them to come as soon as possible.
“What began as a terrifying accident soon became a defining moment in {our} relationship,” Tristen says.
Their sweet and simple start turned into a relationship of recovery and physical therapy. Andrew was on crutches for quite some time, and well after he could walk, still had a lot of strength to regain. And, well before Andrew could walk alone again, they realized that they were meant to walk together.
“Not just through fun and adventure, but also through trials and hardship!” they state. From the accident, they knew they were called together to the vocation of marriage, in sickness and in health, forever.
Nine months after their first date, Andrew sent Tristen on a scavenger hunt. Each stop had flowers and a clue to the next location, and at her fourth stop, Tristen spotted Andrew standing there with a bouquet of flowers and a proposal!
The two wed and now reside in Nashville, Tennessee, where Tristen works for a nonprofit Catholic fundraising charity and Andrew owns his own business.
