Tom came to CatholicMatch with an open attitude toward online dating. The 38-year-old from Columbus who was studying for his degree in graphic design was looking for a second opportunity after his first marriage had been annulled by the Church.
“[Online dating] seemed like a pretty viable option,” he said.
He’d been on Match.com along with another smaller Catholic dating site, so he was spreading his profile across the gamut of sites, both Catholic and secular. He had relatively fast luck with CatholicMatch, coming across Jenny’s profile through the match system in about three months.
“I initiated chat with Jenny a couple times before asking her out on a date,” he told CatholicMatch. “I had tickets to go to the opera…I asked her to go and she accepted.” It was Jenny’s first opera and for the 38-year-old who worked in Office of Religious Education & Catechesis for the archdiocese, it was the beginning of something special.
They dated for two years, taking their time in getting to know each other, and also, Tom candidly admits, waiting for him to “get a clue” and propose. “My mom said my dad was the same way,” he said with a laugh. “I think a lot of guys are.”
It may have taken two years for this relationship to reach the proposal stage, but when it happened, it all unfolded even better than Tom planned. He invited Jenny to an evening at the Franklin Park Conservatory, where there was an event that began with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. They enjoyed the event for a little bit, went to Eucharistic Adoration for an hour and then began to walk, holding hands.
