Not many women messaged me first
“The thing that first attracted me to Zaidy was her assertiveness. It wasn't common for me to get messaged first," shares Emmanuel, 32, from New Jersey. "It was hard not to be flattered when a confident and beautiful woman like Zaidy took the time to send me a message."
In late May of 2016, Zaidy chose to send Emmanuel an emotigram and message because she liked his name and what he wrote in his profile added to her interest. She also liked that Emmanuel shared her values.
“He seemed like a great person to know,” says Zaidy, 32, from New York City.
They both wanted a second date
On June 5th, for their first date, they made plans to meet at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York for Mass. “I remember feeling nervous before meeting her,” he shares. “It was raining, and we had some trouble finding one another because Saint Patrick's has several entrances. It was a relief when we found each other.”
After Mass, they went to the Shake Shack at Grand Central Station. “The conversation went smoothly, and it was enjoyable,” he says. “There was a sense that we both wanted to continue the conversation on another date.”
Zaidy agreed, “He was very sweet on our first date! I decided to go on a second date because I saw Manny as a potential partner, and I wanted to know more about him.”
Getting to know Emmanuel, she learned that he was kind, hardworking, and funny. She could see that they both shared the same dream of having kids and raising them with Catholic values.
Fireworks...literally and figuratively
On the Fourth of July 2016, several weeks into Zaidy and Emmanuel’s relationship, Emmanuel recalls the first
time that they kissed.
“I ordered us tickets to take a boat with other couples to view the fireworks by the Statue of Liberty and the Macy's Day Parade fireworks. The experience was nothing short of magical. We ended up having our first kiss there, and we had a great time dancing together on the second floor of the boat.”
I loved his family
Emmanuel’s family and friends didn’t mind that he had met Zaidy online. “I had a friend who met someone online and my family understood the importance of me wanting to meet a good Catholic,” he explains.
Zaidy also had a supportive friend who had met her spouse online, but she chose not to share with her family that she’d found Emmanuel on CatholicMatch. “My dad is very old-fashioned, and I didn't give too many details to my parents,” she says.
Zaidy fell in love with Emmanuel’s family, and to his surprise, she wanted them to spend more time with his folks.
“While I saw my family every couple weeks—and I had a fairly close relationship with them—it was easy for me to be independent of them for long periods. It wasn't that I didn't love my family, it was just how I was accustomed to interacting with them at the time,” he says.
Zaidy encouraged Emmanuel to make plans for them to visit his family even more regularly. “It was an adjustment for me, but one that I was happy that she pushed for. I come from a very loving family, and offering them some more time was an important change for me to make,” he shares.
Emmanuel adds, “The thing I appreciate the most about Zaidy is her willingness to work through things—both big and small. I feel a lot of the success of our relationship, and now our marriage is tied to her openness, her understanding, and her capacity to find a solution to just about anything.”
Uh, the flowers are just a nice perk for New Year's
On New Year’s Day 2018, Emmanuel popped the question. He and Zaidy were having a romantic dinner at a restaurant when he asked her to marry him. “I let the restaurant know beforehand that I would be proposing to her, and they ordered flowers for our table. I had to divert her attention from the flower display explaining that it was simply a nice option that they offered for decorating the table on New Year’s Eve.
Just after midnight, when our meal was finished, I walked to her side of the table, bent down, and asked her to be my wife.”
Zaidy cried tears of happiness. “It was a beautiful and innocent moment between the two of us,” they recall.
On July 4th, 2018, Zaidy and Emmanuel were joined in Holy Matrimony at Holy Spirit Church in Long Island, New York.
Figuring out life together
The couple shares that being married has been a wonderful overall experience, but they had to make some adjustments.
"For me, the greatest challenge was finding the right balance between spending time with Zaidy and having some time to myself," Emmanuel explains. "Being receptive to her needs was important and while it took a couple of adjustments, we’ve worked out that balance that works for the two of us."
One of the things they enjoy most is spending time with each other. "Even without children yet, it already feels like we have a loving place to live with one another, and we look forward to moving to that next stage in our lives that will let us share that with children of our own," he says.
