Meeting My Wife Within Five Minutes of Being on JDate…Life is Good

Yes, I met the 2nd love of my life on JDate. It was June 8th, 2009 at approximately 7:00 pm when my daughter, Kimberly (27) and son Jason (25) suggested I get my life back on track. You see, my late wife, Cydra, passed away a couple of years ago. Cydra and I had been married for 32 years and, of those years, she was very sick for all but about 10 of them. I took care of her, was loyal and devoted and showered her with love and good times always. Our two great kids understand the struggles that life deals you and how you must continue on.

So, on June 8th, Kimberly suggested I should log on to JDate and try and meet someone. I had never heard of JDate, so I went to my laptop and signed up for three months. I figured within three months I should be able to strike up a conversation with someone and perhaps go on a date. Well, within five minutes of posting my initial profile and picture, I was contacted via text by a woman who asked me if I would be interested in chatting. After about 10 minutes of texting back and forth, I wrote…”Listen, I am not an axe murderer…I truly am a nice guy. Here is my home phone number if you would like to call me and talk rather than text.” Several minutes later my phone rang and found out this sweet and articulate women’s name was Ilana.

I found out Ilana had been on and off JDate for several years and went on a number of dates which never materialized into any type of relationship. In our initial discussion, I found out Ilana was 52 yrs. old (I was 56), divorced for 17 years and the mother to two kids, Keren (25) and Yoni (24). I also found out Ilana and her kids lived only nine miles from me and mine.

Ilana and I continued to speak each day. One night we spoke for over eight hours until the early morning of the next day. What were we talking about? Well, I prepared a number of questions on various topics so we could get to know each other before we met. We discussed our political views, our professions, favorite sport teams, music interests, religion, cooking recipes, family and compared notes on raising kids and the art of becoming an empty nester, among other things.

When we finally did meet for the first time, it felt that we had known each other for a while and yes, it was love at first sight! In January 2010, Ilana and I became engaged. We were married on December 18, 2010 at the Garden City Hotel in Garden City, NY. Rabbi Martin S. Cohen officiated. Afterwards, our honeymoon was a 10 day cruise to the Caribbean, visiting five islands in all. It was all unbelievable; a dream come true.

I look forward to beginning the next chapter of my life with my new love, Ilana, and our newly extended family. All four kids get along great. I am so fortunate to have found Ilana. She is educated, balanced, spirited, has the zest for life and is willing to experience new frontiers together, with me, her future, her soul mate. I know we will live our remaining years in true love; sharing and caring for each other while discovering the highs and lows that life throws our way. We owe it all to JDate for bringing us together.

Ilana & Bruce
Roslyn Heights, New York