They were both married for over 45 years, it didn’t take long for them to fall in love again.
Both Mimi and Phillip recently suffered the loss of a spouse. Mimi lost her husband in July of 2022; Phillip lost his wife in the beginning of 2023.
They were urged by their loved ones to sign up for Catholic Match.
Less than two weeks later, they found each other. Concerning those first few weeks, Mimi recalled, “I used to look forward to sitting down at my computer to look for his messages, and if he missed a day, I was worrying about him.”
They had an endless trove of topics to discuss. They had both lived such full and beautiful lives. “Sometimes our written messages seemed like the pages of a book.”
They were both excited to plan a date.
It wasn’t long before they made plans to meet in person; however, Mimi unfortunately had to give it more thought, “I got nervous and canceled.”
Meeting someone online comes with a lot of extra worries, especially regarding safety. They both worked to make their first meeting safe and comfortable.
“Phil was very careful to give me lots of information about him before we actually met.” Mimi shared his information with her friends. “The internet is a wealth of information when you are vetting someone.”
They decided to reschedule their date. Phillip had a plan. He asked Mimi to start their day with Mass, and then to plan the rest of the day since he was coming to her. Phillip was driving 70 miles to meet Mimi! They met for Mass, went out for breakfast, then they spent hours walking and talking in the park, but they still weren’t finished!
The date was going so well that they decided to order takeout and continue their date at Mimi’s home.
“It was very hard to say goodbye. That was a clue.”
Their relationship continued to blossom. They went on several more dates and started each one by attending a Mass. “Then one day at the end of June, Phil said ‘let's go get a ring.’” They both missed having someone to love and to be with, a companion. It was clear to them that they were in love and that this was a real thing that they both wanted to commit to.
By June, they were engaged!
Initially, their families had a hard time accepting the situation.
“Our children were not as thrilled as we were though, and it took some time before they were accepting of the idea.” Eventually, they grew more comfortable and the whole wedding became a family affair. Phillip’s son was his best man, Mimi’s two daughters were her maids of honor, and Mimi’s four sons were ushers. Mimi said, “My former in-laws even came and were so happy for us.”
Mimi and Phillip are enjoying their married life. “We still can’t believe we're married. We are really a great match. We laugh a lot and will lay in bed and talk until 1 am.” They are still discovering new things about each other every day. “It has really been an easy adjustment.”
“We often say we feel like teenagers. But age is against us so we’re celebrating every day.”
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