Looking for a good Christmas present for your adult children?
What about a CatholicMatch subscription?
That’s what Maggie’s mom did around Christmas of 2016. Then 21, Maggie played along with her mom’s plans and started using the profile to meet eligible Catholic gentlemen. But none of the conversations turned into a serious relationship.
But that might be because Liam didn’t join Catholic Match until May of 2017, five months after Maggie joined. Right around the 4th of July of 2017 (holiday count #2), Maggie saw the native New Yorker’s relatively new profile. He wasn’t exactly close to her Massachusetts home, but that didn’t deter her interest. His blue eyes, Irish name, and career goals struck her particular interest.
“He was everything I was looking for in my match so I went ahead and sent him a smile emoji,” she recalls. She didn’t hold out a lot of hope that Liam would reply.
Then 25, Liam perused Maggie’s profile and immediately noticed her beauty and ambition.
This lovely lady not only planned to attend veterinary school, but she was also an ideal height! Obviously he had to reply to her, and decided to take her personalized quiz.
Back in Massachusetts that very night, Maggie was at a theatre production with her mom. Her phone blinged a CatholicMatch notification: Liam had answered her quiz! He’d left the cheeky note "Did I pass?" at the end! Maggie’s mom noticed her daughter smiling at her phone, and asked who exactly she was talking to.
Maggie openly shared this new CatholicMatch interest. “She nodded in approval and smiled, then reminded me that she was the one who had advised me to sign up for Catholic Match!” Maggie laughs. Mother really did know best, after all!
Maggie and Liam continued to talk online for a short while before exchanging numbers.
They texted frequently and began talking on the phone over weekends. In a couple of months, they knew it was time to meet in person.
Their first date was in October of 2017 at a Halloween Frightfest in Massachusetts. (Holiday count #3!) The two rode the carnival rides and walked through the haunted attractions after dark, enjoying the creepy celebrations. They snagged a quick late dinner at McDonald’s at a rest stop on their way home. Maggie recalls handsome Liam’s sweet manners most of all. “It was the perfect first date, though I remember being shy and nervous the whole time,” she says.
Liam met her brothers and parents that same night after their first date. They spent the next day at another festival and watching a Halloween movie before Liam returned to New York. He was quick to text Maggie to make plans to see each other over Thanksgiving. (Holiday count #4! Holidays had brought happiness to them so far, why stop now?)
They began alternating trips between Massachusetts and New York for the next year.
They watched favorite television shows, took trips to the zoo, and vacationed with family to Cape May in New Jersey. That vacation turned into one of their favorite memories, complete with swimming, hiking, playing Jeopardy, and playing in the sand on the beach. Even though they called each other frequently and texted daily, they were not immune to the difficulty long distance relationships bring. Plus, their current life plans would not close the driving gap.
“Initially I had planned to go on to veterinary school in Massachusetts after graduation. This would mean living in Massachusetts for at least the next four years,” Maggie remembers. With Liam’s work being in New York City, their relationship would have to continue mostly through texting, calling, and occasional visits. Liam was one hundred percent supportive of Maggie’s educational and career goals.
“We would make it work no matter what,” Liam stated.
Loyalty in the face of long distance, potential years apart, and little time in person: If that’s not true love, what is? Maggie could tell how much he loved and cared about her by this attitude alone. So she reevaluated how she wanted the rest of her twenties to look. “Ultimately, I have chosen to pursue a medical career I believe better suited for me AND allows us to be together while in school,” she says.
On November 10 of 2018, Liam took Maggie to Westhampton beach in New York, where they’d had their second date. He proposed at sunset! Saying yes to him was the easiest decision Maggie had ever made. The next seven months was a frenzy of wedding planning. On June 15, 2019 they said their vows in Maggie’s Massachusetts home parish. The reception followed at a venue beside the train station where the couple used to meet and leave each other on all those trips back and forth.
They returned to Liam’s home in New York, where they took a day off before returning to work.
Maggie got to meet some surprises too! “Even though I didn't plan to get cats, I adopted two just for Maggie before she moved in,” Liam remembers. They spent their day off at the Bronx Zoo and a Yankees game. Soon after, they took a week long honeymoon at Disneyland.
Liam adores having his beloved close with him every day. “What I appreciate most about Maggie is how she takes care of me and keeps me faithful,” he says.
As they settled into married life, one challenge has been Liam’s demanding work as a corporate attorney, which often requires him to work overtime and weekends. Maggie spends those extra alone hours preparing applications to medical school between her shifts in a medical office. She greatly misses her family, but couldn’t be happier married to the love of her life.
“I can't thank my mom enough for signing me up for CatholicMatch, and I encourage others to try it as well!” she says “The right person was out there for me; we’re together forever!”
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