I had been an on-again, off-again JDate member for a few years after my divorce when I decided to renew my membership last January and test the waters again. I was looking at the profiles and one immediately caught my eye. This woman’s profile was funny, witty, and sarcastic. It did not hurt that her profile picture was adorable as well. I thought to myself, this woman knows exactly what she wants. So, I opted to send her an email and hoped for the best. Little did I know, this woman would one day become my wife.

The woman responded quickly to my email. Her name was Calanit. We emailed back and forth, and set a time to meet later that week. A couple of days passed and it was date night. I found it odd, but we never talked on the phone prior to meeting. A few minutes before we were to meet, Calanit texted me asking if we were still planning on meeting — or was I bailing? I texted back, “I am not bailing and will be there soon.”

We met at a local spot for tapas and drinks. Calanit was waiting for me when I walked in. She looked even better than in her profile picture. We hit it off immediately, talking and laughing for four hours straight. The night ended and I could not wait to see her again.

I called Calanit a few days later. The conversation picked up right where we left off, so we made plans for a second date. We went to a sporting event on our second date, but neither one of us really paid attention to the game. We just focused on each other. After the date, I knew our developing relationship was going to be something special.

Many dates followed after that, and each date was as wonderful as the first two. Now, a year and a half later, Calanit and I are getting married in June in Haifa, Israel. In Calanit, I have found my soul mate, partner in life, and best friend. Thank you JDate for introducing us; I am eternally grateful.

There are a few things I learned that I think would help other JDaters in their search for love:

• Be ready to date
• Be honest when filling out your profile
• Make sure your profile has current photos
• Keep the end goal in sight… sometimes you have to sift through a lot of dirt before you find your gold
• Don’t focus on finding a relationship in the beginning, just keep a positive mindset about meeting new people and let the relationship blossom naturally
• Don’t take rejection personally

Calanit and Alan
Marietta, Georgia