Anthony and Regine met through the popular online dating app Coffee Meets Bagel. The circumstances of how they even connected was quite unique. They have no mutual friends, which is the main way CMB connects people. Anthony was Regine’s first match, while Anthony had to toil for 2 long years before he met Regine. They connected in December 2017 as Regine was about to leave for Korea for 3 weeks. Anthony was hesitant to accommodate to the situation, but decided that it was worth trying. During her vacation, Regine stayed up late at night talking to Anthony, even though she originally planned not to chat with anyone while on vacation and there is a 16 hour time difference. This was Anthony’s first hint that Regine was interested in him. When Regine returned, the two scheduled their first meet-up in Sacramento. Anthony was ok with driving 90 minutes to meet with Regine, but Regine’s mom was not comfortable with the idea of having her daughter meet with somebody she just met online, because meeting people this way was not typical in Filipino culture. Her mom requested that Anthony pick Regine up from her house, so she could meet him. Anthony felt weird about meeting someone’s mother on the first date, but was understanding of her mom’s concerns and agreed to the terms. Regine was originally very shy during the first date, but Anthony tried to ask questions to help her open up. What Regine fondly remembers about the date happened towards the end of the night. Anthony decided to sing a popular Christian song to her and she was so moved that she was speechless. After the first date, they realized there was enough chemistry between them to continue talking.

After the first date, the couple went on a few more dates until Anthony asked Regine to be his girlfriend. She was initially shy and didn’t want to respond, but she couldn’t help but say yes as they stood next to the water under the elegantly lit Bay Bridge. Anthony came up with an idea to remember their anniversary. February Twenty-One: 2 becoming 1, as the goal of their dating is to get married. The two continued to date for less than 2 years. The week before the proposal, the couple planned a trip to NYC. Just before they left for the trip, Anthony asked Regine’s mom for her blessing to marry Regine. She said yes, but accidentally tipped her off about their meeting. During the trip, Regine constantly asked when Anthony would propose. As a joke, Anthony constantly pretended to pull out a ring to make Regine feel uncomfortable because she wasn’t dressed for the occasion. This became an amusing joke for Anthony to pull for the whole trip, while Regine wasn’t amused. After they came back, Anthony started to plan the engagement. He tried to be subtle by asking Regine to dress up to go out to dinner, even though they have never done that before. As a diversion, he decided to take her to a rose garden close to his house before dinner to kill time. Little did she know, Anthony’s friends were camped out in the garden ready to capture the engagement as it happened. Anthony walked Regine into the middle of the rose garden and suddenly Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me to the Moon started playing from a speaker set up near them. Regine was confused as Anthony asked her dance. They awkwardly danced as the song played and Anthony was getting ready to make his move. As he dipped her at the end of the song, he pulled out the ring to propose to her. She said “Yes!” Finally, the couple came home to get ready for dinner. They were happily greeted by friends who were invited to celebrate with them. They enjoyed celebrating with them and were excited for the year of planning ahead of them.