A few months after meeting on CatholicMatch, Mike pulled aside Crystal’s dad and privately asked him for her hand in marriage. Her father was so excited that he burst out of the room and announced to everyone there that he had a new son-in-law. “Way to ruin the surprise, Poppy,” Crystal said. “It was like a sitcom,” Mike said. “It wasn’t even five minutes.”
Mike, in his 30’s, and Crystal, 26, had met after Mike saw an ad for CatholicMatch in his church bulletin. He was on the site for three years and had met a few women. "None of them really got very far. Some first dates, I had one second date, and that was it.” He also dated a Southern Baptist, which caused some issues due to his Catholic faith. “I was tired of being the bad guy,” Mike said. “And then I ended up dating an atheist, and then I was just a bad guy for religion in general, so I was like, ‘I'm gonna go someplace where I will share the same foundation with the person. I don't want to have that argument. I just want to start on a good step.’”
Crystal was on the site for a week when she messaged Mike first.
He responded a few days later. “I thought she was a robot,” Mike said. “Her photo was very attractive, and that's not been my luck over the years, so…”
They met in person right away. Mike drove from Oklahoma to Houston, Texas, for their first date. They met to go country dancing, which Mike had never done. During dinner, Crystal started choking on her salad and ran to the restroom to cough it out. Mike thought she was faking. “I figured she was sneaking out the back,” Mike remembered. After that, they danced, and she kissed him, surprising Mike. “He's used to getting a handshake, or not even a hug,” Crystal said. “But I’m just like, ‘Well, yeah, I like you.’”
A week later, Mike made the 10-hour drive from Oklahoma to Houston again for another date.
“I got there around 10 p.m., and that ended around midnight, when they kicked us out of the building. After that, I was like, ‘Well, I gotta lock things down.’”
They both said it was beneficial to go on a few trips together so they could get to know each other under those circumstances. “That’s a good test of how people handle relationships,” Mike said. “Adversity happens. But we never snapped at each other. Everything was great.”
Mike was planning to officially propose marriage on a trip to Disney Land in California. Crystal had hinted at the kind of ring she wanted, but it wasn’t available, so Mike had to get it custom-made. That’s when Mike asked Crystal’s dad for permission to marry her, and he celebrated by revealing the surprise. “Before we even got proposed, he was already referring to me as son-in-law,” Mike said. “Family’s been very supportive, so that wasn't really an issue.”
They got engaged in June 2023 and married at Holy Name Catholic Church in Houston in August 2024.
The church was packed with friends and family. Crystal recalled being moved by seeing Mike cry as she approached the altar. “He won't admit to it, but, you know, he cried seeing me down the aisle.”
Afterward, a piano player played songs for cocktail hour, and the guests did traditional Spanish folk dancing. The deacon who guided them through Pre-Cana training was present, and Crystal’s godparents placed a lasso rope around the couple as they knelt and prayed with a Rosary to signify their new union. “It's supposed to be from a couple that's married in the Catholic Church, kind of giving you that blessing for your future marriage,” Crystal said.
A mariachi band played at the celebration. “It was the same mariachis that performed at my grandma's funeral, so that was meaningful to have them there,” Crystal said. All of their grandparents had already passed away, but the couple had a section of photos of their grandparents so they could be present in that way. “It was really beautiful. Definitely one of my favorite days,” Crystal said.
The couple also performed a ritual of exchanging coins.
They both exchanged 12 coins in each other’s hands. “It's supposed to be for good fortune,” Crystal said. “So I get the coins, and I put it in his hands, and then he puts it in my hands, and then we give it back to the couple that gave it to us.”
They honeymooned in Hawaii a couple of months later, then purchased a new house that can accommodate the family they plan to have. They hosted a Christmas dinner for 33 guests at their new home. “It was a really nice, full-circle moment, being married and hosting in our own house.”
Since being married, Crystal and Mike said that their biggest challenge has been trying to be frugal after they purchased their new house. “A highlight is getting the house, because it's beautiful, something we can build together,” she said. Another highlight was adopting their new shitzu dog, Otis.
Regarding CatholicMatch, Crystal advised, “Meet sooner rather than later, because sometimes people are really good talkers or writers, but once you meet in person, that energy clicks or doesn't click. So the sooner you have a date or meet up in person, the sooner you can see where it's at versus just having a fantasy of what you think someone is. You get to see them for face value and get to know them on that level.”
“Also, apparently, I'm not the best texter,” Mike chuckled.
“Mike was on there for three years,” Crystal noted. “I was on one month, because you have to pay for at least a month.” Despite the timing, geographical distance, and slight age gap, Crystal, in the end, said that their relationship can be encapsulated by the Toto song “Hold the Line”: “Hold the Line / Love Isn’t Always On Time”.
