The Beginning

We met on Bumble.

Yes, I know what you’re thinking.

I didn’t think it would work either; I didn’t think it would last. As a matter of fact, I didn’t even think it would develop into anything, let alone anything serious.

To give you some context, I had gone out on a few first dates with guys I had met on that site. It was a failure. Most were not looking for anything serious or wanted to “take things slow.” *insert eye roll*

However, my encounter with Dre was different. The first time I saw that he tried to match with me, I went over his profile. A few things got my attention, he was a Cal State Fullerton student, liked rap, was 32 years old, AND had tons of freckles!

My first thought was, “he’s so handsome! But there is no way he is 32. He looks 25.”

So I didn’t hit the match button. To my surprise, he extended the match for another 24 hours. I thought it didn’t hurt to start a conversation with him. So I did.

For the next week and a half, we exchanged messages asking questions and getting to know each other. Then this freckled guy asked if I wanted to go to dinner with him. I agreed. I thought that if he was younger, he’d probably make a good friend but not so much a partner. We had many things in common.

Out of all places, we agreed on Denny’s. We met at the entrance, and the first thing I blurted out was not, “hey, how are you?” or, “how was the drive?” NO. It was, “Oh my god! You’re so handsome!” and made him blush. I think that lightened up the mood, though.

We had breakfast for dinner. Eggs benedict for him and a breakfast sandwich for me. One of the many things we had in common was our love for breakfast. We had about a three-hour-long conversation. We talked about so many things– things that mattered. We’re both English majors, we both like rap (he likes to rap as well), we want to be in the education field, we want children in the future, we want to get our Master’s, we had tough upbringings, but in different ways, and right off the bat he said he was looking for a serious relationship, he was dating to marry.

“I’m going to need to see an ID.”

He took out his ID. He wasn’t joking. He really was 32.

We saw each other for one month straight after that. Yes, every single day. The chemistry was palpable. On October 26th, 2021, he asked me if I wanted to be his girlfriend. Not in those words… it was more like, “We’ve been hanging out every day, we have a lot in common, and I really like you. I’m ready to make it official. Are you?”

AND well, here we are. We’ve been each other’s support system through difficult times (the death of both of our dads 6 months apart from each other), as well as the joyful ones (him getting his Bachelor’s degree and me beating cancer for a second time). Almost a year and a half later… We are now engaged, living together, and ready for the next chapter of our lives.

If you’re reading this, Dre… I LOVE YOU. Let the (small/intimate) wedding plans begin!