At 22 and 21 years old, neither Abby nor Ben believed they would find the person of their dreams at a bar, so they turned to JDate.

Abby sent Ben a Flirt and he instant messaged her. They talked briefly and exchanged phone numbers. Ben, however, did not seem to put any effort in, so the communication stopped after a few texts.

Abby was the event planner at UConn Hillel. With many Jewish names saved in her phone, Ben received multiple event invitation texts throughout the following months. Each invite resulted in the same “how do I know you conversation,” ending once it was figured out.

As Ben always puts it, luck and timing eventually played a factor to bring them together. Ben was at his Bubby and Poppy’s house when he received an invite to the UConn Dairy Bar. Whereas Ben was not seriously looking during the first few interactions, this time he decided to look Abby up on JDate again.

That Monday he instant messaged her on JDate and they talked for over an hour. The conversation and witty comments flew back and forth. Abby recognized the change and asked if Ben was taking her to dinner the following night. Ben, appreciative of her forward and uncommon approach, was intrigued.

Abby, who is from Pennsylvania and not keen on Connecticut geography, asked Ben to pick her up on the way to dinner. Connecting through music and more witty comments, the two had completely broken the ice by the time they arrived. It was not until later that Abby realized she had made Ben go 30 minutes out of his way to drive her.

Natural, fun, and getting-to-know-each-other conversation made dinner a blast. When they got to the car, Ben went to the passenger door, only to say he had forgotten he parked backwards, but while there he would open the door for Abby. Ben joked that Abby shouldn’t get used to it and she believed him. They then went to see the newly renovated Hillel building. After playing pool and getting better acquainted, Ben tried to play the same joke in the parking lot. Abby, however, recognized he had parallel parked and called his bluff — he has opened every door for her since. Abby half-joked about the frustration that she had met Ben right after paying for a 6-month subscription on JDate. Ben continued the joke, saying “only five more months until we can officially date!”

The next few dates were thoughtfully planned, including more pool, buying and putting puzzles together, and making banana pancakes. Two years later, Abby and Ben are happily engaged and couldn’t be more grateful for JDate bringing them together.

Abby and Benjamin
Groton, Connecticut