Adam, 31, and Bridgette, 29, had already met when they found each other on CatholicMatch. This wasn’t a case of being in the same parish or community and then bumping into one another online. She lived in New York, where she was working as a secretary. He was originally from the Green Bay area and was serving in the Air Force. When they came to CatholicMatch, they had already crossed paths on another online dating site. Adam had cut off contact.
“Yeah, it stung,” Bridgette recalled. “…when I joined CatholicMatch two years later and saw that he was also a member, I was determined to ignore him.”
The cold war continued for two more years, as he repeatedly looked at her profile, trying to figure out why she looked familiar, and she kept her vow to steer clear of him.
It was around Christmas 2009 that hearts softened and a new era began. Both Adam and Bridgette were praying for a special someone to enter their life. Adam broke the thaw with an emotigram that said simply “Nice haircut."
Bridgette felt compelled to respond, if only out of politeness, and thanked him. Which encouraged him to write. Which encouraged her to read something he said and laugh.
That led to a chat request.
“I was stubborn and still held onto my grudge,” Bridgette recalled. “But at the last second, as I moved the cursor, I accepted the request.”
By the time the chat was over the past was officially the past and it only took one week for Adam to ask for the chance to visit.
A big part of this was opportunity. He serves his country in the Air Force and was stationed in Japan, but was going to be stateside. So as it turned out, on Valentine’s Day they met for the first time.
“He was the same in person as he was online,” Bridgette told CatholicMatch. “And our relationship deepened even more.”
When Adam returned to Japan, they knew that making communication an active priority was vital, so that made use of Skype in addition to the customary e-mails and instant messages and spent up to 15 hours a week in touch with each other.
It wasn’t until November they had the chance to visit again, as he made an extended return home and gave her a promise ring.
Bridgette’s father was retired Navy, so she was no stranger to the challenges of military life. This past February she and Adam had a talk about marriage, a subject they never shied away from throughout their relationship and decided to set a date when he returned home and could make their engagement official.
This was supposed to happen in April, but readers undoubtedly recall that things changed dramatically in Japan in March when a tsunami devastated the country. Adam was safe and able to immediately communicate with Bridgette. But all hands were needed on deck in East Asia and he had to stay back to help rebuild the country.
In May, Adam was able to return home. They wanted to have professional photos taken together by Bridgette’s sister. At one point during the shoot, Adam stood up and knelt down in front of Bridgette. Knowing what was to transpire, Bridgette didn’t hesitate.
“He teases me that I said yes before he even got the question out,” she recalled.
The wedding will take place in November. Adam and Bridgette have their entire lives still in front of them. They remain grateful that God enabled their paths to cross a second time.
