Isabel sat in the bustling Starbucks in Miami, wearing over-sized designer sunglasses. She had arrived early to scope out Ryan from a safe distance. If he didn’t seem to resemble his CatholicMatch profile, she was ready to get up and leave.
“Luckily, she said it was love at first sight, and it was for me too!” Ryan says
Isabel and Ryan sat in the coffee shop and talked about their faith and their CatholicMatch experience.
Ryan had been on and off the site for a while, but never found a match. He was planning to cancel his membership, but decided to give it one more month. That’s when he saw Isabel’s profile.
Ryan was impressed by her beauty and her commitment to living life by the teachings of the Church.
He decided to contact her, without much hope. He was elated when she replied.
For her part, Isabel had been reluctant to try online dating.
A coworker challenged her to sign up for a Catholic dating site so she could find a good Catholic guy. One evening, she poured a glass of wine and created her CatholicMatch profile, not knowing what to expect.
Ryan had been right about one thing, “Isabel did, in fact, receive an overwhelming amount of messages from other men, but something in her said to respond to my message.”
“The desire to find a Catholic spouse who is committed and living out their faith, and not Catholic in name only, was crucial for each of us,” Isabel says. On their third date, she asked Ryan the hard questions about whether he really believed what he said in his profile regarding issues like chastity.
They discussed core issues necessary to share in common in order to have a successful marriage. “In an age when couples often do not discuss this at all, or way too late in their relationship, we did so within the first week of knowing one another,” Ryan says.
After that first week, Ryan asked Isabel to be his girlfriend. He drove home that night knowing his life had changed forever.
As their relationship progressed, their biggest challenge was logistical.
Ryan lived in West Palm Beach, nearly two hours away from Isabel in traffic. They traveled back and forth to see each other, and there were many late night drives back home during the work week. “
On their six-month anniversary in November, Ryan immediately came home from work and went to the cabinet under his sink, where he’d hidden an engagement ring. He retrieved the ring, walked into the living room, and got down on one knee to propose. Afterward, they celebrated over dinner at an Italian restaurant.
And their story continues...
They were married a few months later on February 23rd. “The wedding Mass was a definite highlight for each of us,” Ryan remembers. “The reception was a great time for sure, but it was all a blur for us."
On the advice of a friend, Ryan had written a brief prayer entrusting their marriage to the Blessed Mother. After communion, he took Isabel to a statue of Our Lady in the church and read the prayer.
Ryan and Isabel have both found marriage to be a blessing. “Just the everyday rhythm of life has been fantastic to be able to share with the one you love.” They also enjoy the hard but edifying work of raising their baby daughter, who was born one year after their wedding.
Ryan reflects on the fact that he and Isabel met later in life, when he was 38 and she was 39. “We were both wondering if it would ever happen for either of us,” he says.
“My advice to others is do not get discouraged, and keep praying. I knew it would take a miracle for me, and with the help of CatholicMatch God made it happen.”
