I met Nicole on JDate back in April of 2012. I saw that someone had viewed my profile, and it was Nicole. However, I was only looking to meet people from Florida and Nicole was from Long Island, New York. There was something about her profile though that just drew me in. She was beautiful from the picture I saw and I had to contact her.
I sent Nicole a quick message about how I was surprised no one had scooped her up yet. Nicole responded that she had been married once before and it didn’t work out. So we continued to chat and get to know each other through JDate.
We decided to video chat so we could see each other and talk. We must have chatted for six hours the first time we talked this way. I loved talking to Nicole so much that I didn’t want to stop chatting. We chatted late into the night, laughing and smiling. We continued to talk this way for the next month, every day talking and getting to know each other better and better. We talked about how my dad lives about an hour from Nicole in New York, how Nicole was just in Miami not too far from where I lived, and how she often comes down to Florida with her family.
After about a month of talking this way every day, Nicole and I decided to meet. Nicole was coming to Florida with a friend and was going to be staying about 20 minutes from me. She was going to come down on a Friday and stay until Monday night. I tried to get her to book a flight for Thursday, but she said she had already booked her flight. On that Thursday night though, I was about 20 minutes from getting off work at my job as an armed guard for a gated community, when a car pulled up and it was Nicole who surprised me at work. I was so happy to see her. We hung out after work and had a great time talking and getting to know each other even more.
The whole weekend was great. We went to SunFest a five-day music festival in West Palm Beach and had a blast with each other. We also went on an air boat ride in the Everglades and to a nice dinner. As Monday came, we decided to officially start dating. Nicole then flew back to New York and I went back to work. I could just tell from being with Nicole for the weekend how amazing she was. I was offered a new job three days later, so I flew to New York and spent a month hanging out with Nicole before my new job started. We went all over Long Island and into the city. Over the time we spent together, we fell in love. Nicole was one of a kind. I was so happy I met her.
Nicole finished up the school year as she was a teacher in the Islip School District. However, when the year ended, Nicole found out the district was cutting back on teachers and she would not have a job in Islip anymore. Nicole decided to come to Florida and stay with me while she was looking for a job in Florida. I was to leave with the Coast Guard at the end of the summer and Nicole was going to go back to New York until I returned. After spending the summer and living with Nicole, however, I did not want to leave for the Coast Guard. So, I didn’t. I stayed with my new job, and Nicole and I got an apartment together. Nicole found a job teaching in Palm Beach County as a special education teacher.
Fast-forward two months and Nicole and I had been dating for five months. I was working for Florida Atlantic University in the athletic department. Nicole had moved to Broward County Schools and loved her job even more than the first. I had taken Nicole to a place called “Seaside,” which is in Florida near Destin. Nicole met my parents at their beach house and they fell in love with her. They thought she was the best girl I had dated yet. They invited us to visit Ohio for an Ohio State Buckeyes football game. Nicole fell in love with my family, and Ohio, on that visit.
A few months later we decided to go back to my mom’s house in Ohio for Thanksgiving and to Nicole’s home in Long Island for Christmas. I took Nicole to “The Game,” as in Ohio State vs. Michigan, over Thanksgiving. She loved it and loved meeting the rest of my family. Thanksgiving was a huge success. When it came time for Christmas, Nicole and I had been dating for nine months. We are buying a house together and are so excited to move in. We close this March. In the next few months I will own a home with the love of my life.
However, my biggest excitement came when I spoke to Nicole’s father and asked for his blessing to marry Nicole. He said YES! So, on January 26th, I had Nicole do a scavenger hunt with our friends Kyle and Meghan. At the end of the scavenger hunt, Nicole was to come to my dad’s boat for the last clue. When Nicole got to the boat, she had to decode marine signal flags. The flags spelled out, “Will you marry me?” As Nicole finished decoding the flags, I came up from the engine room and surprised her. I then asked her to marry me. Nicole said, “Yes!” and we are now engaged.
If it was not for JDate, I would never have met Nicole and my life would not be where it is now.
Nicole and Matthew
Boca Raton, Florida