They Attended the Same University But Met Years Later on CatholicMatch! 

“If we had actually met in college, we never would have dated.” 

Sometimes, we get a glimpse of the Divine Providence of God’s great plan. In 2012, John and Alex both ran in the same circles at Seton Hall University, New Jersey, but never met until they connected on CatholicMatch almost 9 years later. “I never would have looked twice at John,” Alex admits, sharing how the stigma of dating a younger man would have been a turn off in her early 20s.

This was a blessing, because John admits that he was a bit immature during his time in undergrad, spending more time on sports than on studies. Alex, a proud “bookworm” had hoped to meet her future spouse there at Seton Hall, but upon graduating in 2014 she figured the opportunity had passed. 

Years later, Alex, 30, agreed to try online dating. Her lifelong friend who had met her husband online convinced her to give it a try. One day, with the help of her two best friends, she created her profile. 

For John, online dating seemed a lot like baseball: “three strikes and he’s out!”

John, 28, resolved to give online dating another try after two previous relationships from CatholicMatch did not pan out. Broadening his search radius a bit wider from the suburbs of New York City, he found Alex’s profile and immediately spotted some similarities. He sent her a message in December 2021, but waited three months for a reply. 

In March, after Alex had wrapped up some other prospective conversations from CatholicMatch, she noticed John’s message. Seeing that he was also a Seton Hall grad, she recognized his face along with his brother’s in one of his photos. This intrigued her, wondering if they had ever crossed paths in college. She replied, and the two began messaging from there. 

On Palm Sunday, they attempted their first video call.

Despite their distance of two hours, they agreed to meet halfway for their first in-person date on May 1st in Princeton, NJ. It was a thoughtful date, meeting for lunch and then walking around the town looking at used bookstores, which John suspected Alex might enjoy. 

“Alex, I think he’s the one!” 

Throughout that summer, they continued talking on a weekly basis and seeing each other in person as sparingly as their busy schedules allowed. One weekend John came to visit Alex in her hometown and meet her parents. At Sunday Mass, Alex introduced John to her best friend’s mom, who is like a second mother to Alex. When John walked away, the “second mother” leaned over to Alex and whispered, “Alex, I think he’s the one!” 

Later on a good friend of Alex’s also met John, and quickly said in front of both of them, “Ooh, I smell a Seton Hall wedding!” 

These comments, though maybe a bit premature, eventually proved to be prophetic. Towards the end of the summer, Alex and John agreed that they were dating to discern marriage. 

One of their favorite memories from that summer, they attended a minor league baseball game at a favorite ballpark from John’s childhood. They met up for Sunday Mass before the game at a nearby church, Saint Ann’s. As they were leaving the game later that day, John suddenly blurted out, “Alex, I think I love you!”

Though Alex was not quite ready to reciprocate this, she later wrote John a letter. “I’m not ready to say it, I think I will be at some point but until then, be patient.” 

A while later, they met up again at the Church of Saint Ann for Mass before John umpired for a baseball game. After Mass they said a rosary together, and then Alex took that moment to tell John, “I love you.” Saint Ann’s then became their “place” since it played such a significant role in the forming of their relationship. “The significance of it being the Church of Saint Ann was not lost on me,” Alex shares. “I prayed many novenas to Saint Ann to meet John.” 

“Is it alright if I put this on your daughter's finger in a couple of weeks?”

As summer turned into fall, the couple began thinking more seriously about marriage. In November, John started looking for rings, but they did not want to be in a huge rush. 

“A colleague of mine told me that you need to spend all four seasons together at least once,” John says. They held to this, and though it seemed quite clear, they knew that engagement “should never be a question mark, it should be a confirmation.” Continuing on through their relationship with much intention, they soon approached their first-year anniversary of dating. 

Before popping the question, John knew he needed to ask Alex’s parents for their blessing. While visiting her parents one day, John waited for Alex to leave the room for a moment. Pulling up a picture of the engagement ring on his phone, he showed it to Alex’s dad and asked, “Hey, is it alright if I put this on your daughter’s finger in a couple of weeks?” 

With her parents’ blessing, they returned to Saint Ann’s for Sunday Mass on May 28, 2023. Alex, suspecting that something might happen, fittingly wore the same dress she had worn on their first date. John brought Alex her favorite flowers, sunflowers, and pink roses for the Blessed Virgin Mary. Before Mass began, by a statue of Mary, John proposed and Alex said yes! 

A wedding at the very chapel where Alex prayed for her future husband! 

On July 13, 2024, the two Seton Hall graduates returned to South Orange, NJ to Seton Hall University, where they exchanged their vows before friends and family in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception. Deciding to have the wedding there was significant, since it was a place that had meant so much to both of them. 

“I always wanted to get married there,” Alex shares, remembering how she would pray for her future husband in that chapel while she was a student. Many of their wedding guests had also gotten married at Seton Hall, and an average of 30 people in attendance had some affiliation with the university. 

The beginnings of married life have been blessed, enjoying each others’ companionship and growing in their love of God and each other. John admits that he found a lot of hope from reading other Success Stories on CatholicMatch, and now that they have their own story to share, they hope it offers the same encouragement to others!