When God writes your love story, distance is no obstacle. Just ask Nikka and Zach, whose relationship began 9,000 miles apart and grew quickly into a marriage founded on faith, prayer, and deep love.
Meeting across continents...
Nikka was living in Davao City, Philippines, while Zach was in Baltimore, Maryland, when they first connected on CatholicMatch in September 2022.
“At the time, I was 25 and Zach was 28,” Nikka shared. Despite the distance, the two knew early on that they had found something extraordinary.
Nikka and Zach’s love story is a testimony to the power of honest, upfront communication. From the get-go, both were brutally honest about their intentions.
They spent significant time talking about their faith, values, and life goals.
Their first “date” was a three-hour voice call discussing culture, hobbies, and faith. “The key topic which we kept returning to was our shared love of the Catholic faith,” Zach shared.
Just four months after meeting, they were engaged.
Even though they only briefly knew each other before getting engaged, the connection was deep and intentional.
Their first date—over a WhatsApp call—was memorable for both of them. “We talked for 3 hours on a Sunday, discussing all manner of topics,” Zach said. “The key topic which we kept returning to was our shared love of the Catholic faith.”
“From our earliest communications, we established to each other that we were interested in marriage and children,” Zach explained. “By the time I visited Nikka in January 2023, we had already determined after a great deal of prayer and reflection that we both loved each other deeply and were in love with each other. We both knew that marriage was inevitable for us.”
They had to overcome distance and the many different obstacles it brought.
The couple faced their biggest challenge in the immense physical distance separating them. Coordinating visits, finding affordable flights, and managing the logistics of travel proved to be both exhausting and stressful.
On top of the visa challenges, the couple also had to figure out how to bring Nikka’s cat, JJ, to the U.S. Bringing a pet across international borders is far more complicated than for people, with strict vaccination requirements, health certificates, and airline rules to navigate. For Nikka and Zach, it turned an already stressful process into a true logistical puzzle.
The pressure nearly broke them. “Three weeks before Nikka arrived in May 2024, I broke down in tears on a video call,” Zach confessed. “It did not seem as if it would be possible.”
But Nikka refused to give up. “After I did a bit more digging, we figured out arrangements to get JJ to the States,” she said. “And praise God, JJ is licking herself 6 feet from us right now.”
Faith is their true foundation!
Throughout the ups and downs, prayer and the sacraments kept them grounded. “After a few weeks of voice calls, we moved to long video calls, during which we would often pray the rosary together,” Nikka shared. “What a lovely joy it was!”
Now, they're looking back with gratitude...
Both Nikka and Zach had never been married before and had no children, but they both knew what they were seeking: a faithful Catholic spouse who would put love first.
For Zach, who had limited dating experience, the difference with Nikka was striking. “Previous potential partners were unwilling or incapable of putting effort into any relationship that was logistically inconvenient,” he said. “For Nikka, the logistic inconvenience demonstrated the difficulty which I would overcome purely for her sake.”
Even when the time zones, travel, and paperwork weighed heavily on them, their faith and commitment to one another prevailed.
Today, they’re happily married, grateful for the way CatholicMatch brought them together across continents.
“Praise God,” Nikka said simply, “we’re finally together.”
