Neither Joseph nor Estela were really into the whole concept of online dating. Joseph wasn’t a big user of the Internet in general. But both decided to try.
He had been in a previous relationship and learned the hard way about the need to build a relationship on shared core beliefs. Estela had never been married, and CatholicMatch came recommended to her by a friend. In spite of her reluctance, she decided a one-month membership was worth trying.
On the surface, a shared faith and skepticism about their prospects on CatholicMatch would seem all that Joseph and Estela had in common. “What are the chances that an ironworker who was not looking for a house would meet a real estate agent?”, she asked in wonderment. Estela was raised in Ecuador, while Joseph is proud of his Canadian roots and culture. “We are proof that hockey and Latin dancing can co-exist,” he joked to CatholicMatch.
They came across each other online one day after Estela’s one-month membership had expired. She’d met a few men in her self-imposed trial period and while they were nice, she didn’t feel a connection. When Joseph sent her an e-mail, she checked out his profile and photos. While there was attraction and Estela thought his daughter was beautiful, she was ready to say that maybe it wasn’t meant to be. But after a week her curiosity got the best of her, so she renewed her membership to read the e-mail. And from there things moved quickly.
They met in person at a coffee shop two weeks after that initial contact and even though their interests were different, the connection was made nonetheless. “It was as if we had known each other for years,”, Joseph said. “Within weeks we were finishing each other’s sentences and laughing at jokes were knew were coming.” And even though they had different interests, they both were open to learning new things and allowed the other person to help them grow.
After dating four months, Joseph proposed. “What I remember from that day was a beautiful rainbow which means a good sign to me,” Estela recalled. “I believe that soulmates exist and we are so lucky because we found each other.”
