Hannah had been on CatholicMatch for a year and a half before meeting Jeff. After a failed long-distance relationship and a number of conversations that hadn’t progressed in any particular direction, Hannah decided that she would renew her membership once more for the lowest amount of time possible.
Hannah told herself “If I don’t meet someone this time, it’s not worth it.”
Meanwhile, frustrated with secular dating sites, Jeff wanted to meet someone who shared the same faith. After some coercion from his mother, Jeff joined CatholicMatch with the idea that he, too, would take a break from dating if he didn’t meet anyone.
Shortly after, Hannah and Jeff matched.
The two looked at each other’s profiles a few times before Hannah eventually reached out with a smiley face emoji and Jeff responded with a smiley face of his own. The two joked that “it all started with a smile!”
Jeff explained that he was initially attracted to Hannah because of their shared faith, hobbies, and her work as an EMT. At the time, Jeff was working in home-health, so he appreciated their mutual interest in the healthcare field.
After about three months of video chatting online through CatholicMatch, Hannah and Jeff met for their first date at the Crayola factory in Easton, Pennsylvania. At the factory, Hannah and Jeff held hands for the first time as they dipped them into wax to make a casting. Hannah still has the mold as a memento from their date! After the Crayola factory, the two continued on to have dinner at Applebee’s and talk for hours.
Jeff shared that right before the date he felt “a rush of excitement as well as nerves” even though the two were already good friends at that point. However, those nerves soon faded, and the success of Jeff and Hannah’s first date paved the way for many more to follow.
But, like many couples, the 2020 pandemic put their relationship on pause...
Hannah and Jeff shared how their relationship was impacted by the Covid pandemic as Jeff suddenly found himself out of work and Hannah was constantly exposed to the virus through her job as an EMT. Due to these things, as well as Jeff’s mother’s health issues, the two found it difficult to spend time together and the stress caused them to take a break from the relationship.
During their time apart, Hannah and Jeff still remained very close friends, supporting each other through their difficult situations. Fortunately, a few months later, the two “naturally fell back together as a couple and have been together since.” Hannah shared that the separation showed her that she needed Jeff in her life. Likewise, Jeff “didn’t want a good thing to slip away.”
Jeff proposed on Christmas Day!
Six months before December 2022, Jeff’s mother gave him the idea to propose on Christmas Day, and immediately following Christmas Mass, Jeff asked Hannah to marry him in front of the Altar.
Hannah was completely caught by surprise since Jeff had always told her that he didn’t want to propose on a holiday. Naturally, when he got down on one knee as the two were taking their annual Christmas photo, Hannah couldn’t hold back her tears of joy. She remarked that the proposal showed her that Jeff “was making our faith a priority for our future.”
The couple also reminisced about an endearing moment a month before Jeff proposed. The two spent Thanksgiving day with Hannah’s family, and Hannah recalled how her little niece and nephews showered both her and Jeff in hugs. Her nephew had even made place cards for everyone at the table, and Jeff’s card said, “soon to be Uncle Jeff.”
At that moment, Hannah knew that Jeff was fully accepted into her family.
Hannah and Jeffery are currently planning a wedding surrounded by their family and friends for the fall of 2025. They both are excited about growing with each other and sharing in the Catholic faith together.
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