Harry and I met through JDate in January of 2010. He was a widower who had been married for 43 years and made a New Year’s resolution that it was time to stop being depressed and move on to a new chapter of his life. After getting up the courage to join JDate, he painstakingly created a profile. After a long marriage and being divorced for over a year, I joined JDate for a trial membership that was set to expire the next day. 

Harry sent me a message and we chatted online for an hour. He said he was new to this dating thing, not too comfortable talking online and could he call me? We talked on the phone for a few hours and decided to meet on Saturday morning at a theater to see Live at The Met. I walked in and recognized him right away from his picture. I was so pleased to meet someone who had put a current picture on his profile and I thought he was really handsome. When he saw me, he said he was pleasantly surprised and that he found me to be an absolutely beautiful woman. We went into the opera, were both nervous, and couldn’t talk much.  After the opera, we went for coffee and talked for a few hours. He asked me if I wanted a ride to my car. I had never even given anyone my last name, and yet this felt so right that I went with him and he drove me to my car. We were both nervous and shook hands goodbye.

Harry had started taking cooking classes and decided to prepare a roast. Having spent no time in a kitchen, he had no clue how many people it would feed. He called me on Monday and asked if I would come for dinner on Tuesday. We had a lovely evening, talking about many different topics and made plans to see each other again that week. We both knew that although this was very quick there was a definite connection.

We went out several times and talked about everything from our previous marriages to children, grandchildren and what we were looking for in the future. By Valentine’s Day, we knew that this was “it.”  We have JDate to thank for bringing us together. Then, after dating a few months, we found out that two mutual friends were planning on introducing us. It really was beshert that we met at this time in our lives.

In November, we went out to dinner with ten of Harry’s friends. Two of his friends walked into the restaurant carrying an eight-foot sign that said, “Laurie, will you marry me?” Love, Harry. We became engaged and left on a cruise the next morning.

On July 7, 2011 we were married in the first Jewish wedding on top of the Rock of Gibraltar by Rabbi Ron Hassid, the Chief Rabbi of Gibraltar. The chuppah overlooked Spain, Africa and Gibraltar. This was a fairytale come true!

The best suggestion we can give for others on JDate is to not be afraid to take a risk. It is never too late to start over. When creating a profile, be honest and you will have a better chance of meeting someone who can change the course of your life.

Laurie and Harry
Las Vegas, Nevada