Natalia first joined CatholicMatch as part of a deal she made with a friend whom she was trying to encourage to begin online dating.
She used the one-month special offer, and she never needed to renew her subscription after meeting Richard. “Best $20 I ever spent!” she says.
Natalia lived in Colombia, but when she visited Miami, she changed her location in the app and immediately got a message from Richard who had joined after having “absolutely abysmal results with other dating apps.”
They were both only signed up on CatholicMatch for one month.
They dated for six months while living on different continents!
After they met in person for the first time, the two exchanged numbers, and their long-distance romance began. It wasn’t hard for them to decide to continue going out after their first date, and they fit in as many dates as they could before Natalia had to go back home. Natalia lived in Colombia, and Richard lived in the United States, so the two could only meet in person on rare occasions. But they stayed in touch, had video calls every day, and Richard would often send her gifts to let her know he was thinking of her.
Both Richard and Natalia say long distance was the most challenging part of their relationship, but it was all worth it in the end. Dating long-distance gave them time to prayerfully discern their relationship and ask God what He wanted for their future.
One of Natalia’s favorite memories was when she missed her train after their date at Disney and her stay was extended. This gave her and Richard more time together talking. This also gave her time to give him a rosary for his birthday present. She thought it was very sweet when he was so touched that he began to cry tears of joy after receiving the gift.
He left the country for the first time to meet her family!
Soon, Richard got his passport and left the U.S. for the first time in his life to visit Natalia’s family in Colombia.
This is what told Natalia that he was serious about the relationship. Six months after they met, the couple was engaged, and they were married a year after. Richard proposed in front of a fireplace in a cabin in the snowy woods in Pennsylvania. He had ordered a custom emerald Colombian ring. Natalia was delightfully surprised and said yes!
Their wedding was in Colombia, and Natalia says that Richard “had great dance moves to show off even though he is not Latin.”
They learn more about each other every day...
They are now happily married and say that although it has been challenging to merge two cultures, two backgrounds, and two personalities, “there is a lot of happiness and beauty in serving each other.”
They say the best part of marriage has been leaving behind their “me” mentalities and learning to put the other’s needs first.
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