Andrew had been right in the middle of deleting his CatholicMatch profile when Aubrey messaged him.
“We came so close to never actually meeting, and that thought haunts me to this day, but God clearly had other plans for us!” Andrew remembers. “I. . . had never managed to find a woman that I clicked with or shared a worldview with, which left me feeling empty and hollow.”
It was September 2023, and Andrew had joined CatholicMatch at the referral of some different couples in his parish.
It was right before his auto-renew date that he went to delete his profile and met Aubrey.
“Her well-crafted and clearly thought-out message was enough for me to put off canceling my account- and even renewing it!” Andrew says. “I was captivated by her; she was gorgeous and her love of Christ shone through all she wrote and did.”
Aubrey’s writing work was actually published on CatholicMatch a number of times, so in addition to viewing her profile, Andrew got to read her articles and form a detailed picture of who Aubrey was–including that she was in Washington, which was outside of his local Canadian search radius.
If it wasn’t for the “Match” feature and Aubrey’s timing, they never would have met!
While the two got to know each other, they ran into some glitches of their own. In November, Andrew accidentally ghosted Aubrey because he went camping in an out-of-service cellular site. Another time, he mixed up her phone number with that of an old coworker.
“I had a week-long conversation with them, confused the entire time why ‘she’ didn't seem to remember me, until a video call made me realize I had the wrong person!” Andrew remembers. Thankfully, Aubrey took it all in stride, and after connecting over video chat–with the right girl this time!--they set up a first date.
And like all long-distance dates, it didn’t come cheap. A 10-hour flight or 12+ hours of driving, complete with a ferry ride, would be necessary to get to each other.
In lieu of this difficulty, they met up halfway in Seattle, Washington.
“Of course, the day I landed I forgot a bag with my passport, wallet, keys, and other necessities on the side of the street in the port district,” Andrew laughs. “By God's grace alone, it was still there when I had the taxi make a panicked return, as losing my passport and ID in a foreign country would have ended our date before it began!”
When he finally saw Aubrey in person, he was immediately captivated by her lively femininity. They attended Mass together and toured the city over the weekend before going their separate ways.
“When I took the ferry home, I reflected that I had clearly met my future wife and could only pray she felt the same about me,” Andrew recalls. Soon, they decided to deactivate their CatholicMatch accounts together and focus on the budding relationship between them. They began taking turns flying to see each other for a weekend each month. They went to each others’ parishes and met family and friends, who heartily gave their approval of the match. One particular moment stuck out to Aubrey. They had traveled to British Columbia to meet one of Andrew’s friends, and they spent time at the beach.
“It occurred to me then as I sat there watching him smile . . . that I not only wanted Andrew for myself, but that I wanted him as the father for my future children. I couldn't imagine someone who would love them more than Andrew,” Aubrey remembers.
They also learned they’d both been through crushing breakups in the past, and found common experiences in how they’d grown from rejection.
Long distance came pretty naturally to Andrew, since Andrew was active duty military, and that had impacted those past relationships. But Aubrey took to it naturally and their infrequent time together felt sacred. Aubrey recalls there being a profound sense of peace in the dating process.
“It was a similar feeling to that of being one on one with Jesus in the Eucharist during Adoration. There was this sense of calm, of being known and loved. That was something that I discovered over time with Andrew,” Aubrey describes.
The two decided to complete a marriage discernment program called Next Step by Theology of the Body Institute during this time. Her brother teased that she was making Andrew do homework! But the couple credits the program with helping them grow together and understand each other more easily, as well as bring up important issues.
“I have heard some couples say that they knew that they had met "the one" immediately, but for me, it was more gradual,” Aubrey remembers. “ I was very cautious and hesitant to open myself up again after having dealt with heartbreak. Andrew was patient and gentle . . . solid and unwavering in his feelings for me. I never had any doubt about how Andrew felt or what he thought.”
One year to the day since their first date, Andrew took Aubrey to a private Adoration chapel at her church, where he got down on one knee and proposed.
A few months later, they wed in a beautiful Latin Mass ceremony in Victoria, Canada. Aubrey applied for permanent residency in the new country, and moved to be with Andrew. They are expecting their first baby in February of 2026!
“It almost never happened so many times, and never would have if I didn't take that first, scary step into putting myself out there and putting my success in God's hands, and I am forever grateful that I did!”
“I've heard it said that good relationships are not fragile. That's not to say that you can be careless, but in my experience, if you are in the right relationship, a healthy, stable relationship, it can withstand being challenged!” Aubrey says. “I hope and I pray that all those who long for a spouse find their vocation soon . . . I would encourage others by saying that it's never too late to find your spouse. Keep trusting God and put yourself out there!”
