We’ve been told that our story gives people hope, and we couldn’t be happier to share our JDate Success Story with the world.

Brian and I had very different experiences on JDate before meeting. We were both very discouraged by dating and felt that we might never have success. He had just returned from Asia after working abroad for a year and decided he was finally ready to meet someone. So, he joined JDate. I was the first person he contacted on the site. I had been on and off of JDate for years, and had several relationships, more first dates than I want to count, and a handful of funny stories. I was two months into a 3-month membership and considering cancelling because I was very tired of the process.

Brian emailed me and we made plans to meet on March 10th, 2012. I had a friend’s bridal shower that day, and was kicking myself for scheduling a first date on a Saturday night. I briefly considered cancelling. I figured if it was horrible, I could end the date quickly and watch TV on my couch.

As I was walking to meet my date, I noticed a cute guy on the street and momentarily asked myself, “Why can’t that be the guy I am meeting tonight?” As fate would have it, Brian was that guy and I was immediately excited for our date.

We went to a little Spanish restaurant on the Upper East Side and ended up closing it down that night. Not ready for the evening to end, we went to a wine bar and again closed that bar out. It was also Daylight Savings time, so we ended our evening at about 5am. I knew there was something very special there, but was sure to stay cautiously optimistic. I often tease Brian that he was my “last first date,” but I was not his (he had previously scheduled a date that he went on after we met).

Things between us progressed quickly. We had our second date one week later, and became “official” one month after our first date. We started spending more and more time together, and moved in together in October 2012. Our relationship has been a happy whirlwind of new experiences together. I think we both knew early on that this was “it.”

On March 9th, 2013 (almost one year to the day after our first date), we were excited to celebrate our one year anniversary (or so I thought). We went out for brunch and then Brian asked me to pack a bag, but would not tell me where we were going. He had booked a beautiful suite at the Peninsula Hotel. When we checked in, the room was stocked with champagne, flowers, chocolate-covered strawberries, and wine. Completely oblivious, I thought this was all an anniversary celebration.

Brian sat me down and presented me with an amazing photo book he had made of our past year together. As I was looking through it, I got a text message from my sister with a photo of my niece holding up a sign saying, “Say YES to Uncle Brian.” At that point, I knew this was more than just our anniversary celebration and tried to compose myself. He then read me a card and proposed. I said, “Yes!” before even seeing the ring – which was amazing. Our families came in later that evening and we celebrated in the back room of the same Spanish restaurant where we had our first date.

We feel very fortunate to have found each other and have nothing but thanks to JDate for bringing us together. We cannot wait to get married and start the rest of our lives together.

People keep asking us for advice about JDate. If we have any advice to share, it would be to be truly open and realistic in the process. You will likely have more bad dates than good, and it is easy to get discouraged. It only takes one though, so don’t let the bad experiences turn you off to the process. Before I met Brian, I used to read these JDate Success Stories and think they were fake. I can now say that finding your happy ending IS possible!

Andrea and Brian
New York, New York