Dear JDate,

To the JDaters thinking there is no light at the end of the dark tunnel of dating, here’s some hope! I was a bit overwhelmed at first when I signed up for JDate for the third time in October 2007.

I had been on and off for a while and I went on my fair share of dates. I must say, I met some interesting people including a few I still consider friends today.

Towards the end of my three-month stint on JDate, I decided to widen my search criteria by expanding the distance because I had seen lots of familiar faces in the Los Angeles area.

In my search I came across a profile of a handsome Jewish guy in San Diego named Dan. Not thinking too much of it, I sent him a brief email telling him I liked his profile. Within a couple days, Dan responded with the same interest level as I. I can’t say we had our hopes up too high as we both had some less than favorable dates we’d like to forget about.

After some lengthy phone conversations, Dan came up to Los Angeles and met me at Bandera in West Los Angeles on December 19. We planned on a casual happy hour drink date and decided to meet at 5 pm.

I knew instantly we had an intense connection! It was unlike anything I had ever felt in the past. What was supposed to be a quick drink turned into five hours of drinks, dinner, and great conversation! That evening I left the date so excited and anxious for his phone call for a second date.

Our second date was four days later on the evening of Schmooz-A-Palooza. Dan came up again from San Diego to go with my friends and me to the party at the House of Blues.

We were inseparable and I was so excited to have all my friends meet Dan. After that evening, it was evident we were truly both extremely excited about our new relationship and really interested in one another.

Dan went back to San Diego the next day only to return three days later to come with my brother, some friends and me to Mammoth for New Years. Let’s just say, it was the best New Years I have ever had! Dan and I had no games, no secrets, and certainly no skeletons to hide from one another. Six months later, Dan asked me to marry him. I moved to San Diego in June and we are now married and expecting our first child.

Tips for other JDaters:

For the women, you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince. Don’t lose hope! As far as profiles go, honesty is key with online dating. I had four pictures up that did not hide what I looked like. My information was accurate and genuine.

The same goes for men. Be honest and show the real you! Upload multiple pictures, be yourself in your description, and go into the JDate dating scene with an open mind. You never know what kind of pleasant surprise you might find. When I tell people about my JDate success story, I constantly hear more and more people telling me they know friends who have married someone they met on JDate. I never thought I’d meet my soul mate on JDate but I must say that I certainly did!

Jessica & Dan
San Diego, California