You know that saying, “You circle your soulmate until the timing is right”? Jo doesn’t really believe in soulmates — and I didn’t think that’s how it worked either… but here we are. Jo and I share a mutual best friend, Henry. When my life finally started to align, I asked Henry to keep me in mind if he had anyone worth meeting. A few months later, he told me he had a friend he wanted to introduce me to — at the fire station. So Easton and I showed up, excited to meet this mysterious “friend”… who never appeared. Turns out Jo was there the whole time, napping in the watch room. Attempt #1: failed. Fast forward six months to Henry’s gender reveal. Easton (then two) runs through the party, bumps into Jo, and falls. Jo kindly picks him up, and when I looked up, I immediately thought he was cute and had the best energy. I couldn’t stop noticing him — though there was another girl very clearly doing the same. After the party, I asked for Jo’s number, texted him… and got left on read. Message received. Attempt #2: failed. A year later, we both ended up on dating apps. I saw Jo on Hinge, hesitated, then swiped right — something told me I had to. Nothing came of it, but Jo later admitted he did see that I swiped right and was interested. He’d always been told, “If you hesitate, don’t do it,” and by the time he made up his mind, he’d waited too long and swiped left. Attempt #3: failed. Soon after, we found ourselves at Henry’s baby’s first birthday party. I told Henry (with a little attitude) that I wasn’t speaking to Jo unless he approached me. About an hour later, Jo struck up a conversation — and the rest really is history. We couldn’t stop talking or laughing, even sharing deeper conversations. People noticed, and Henry’s sister stopped by our table to say, “We are all rooting for y’all.” Jo asked for my socials, reached out two days later, and our first date followed shortly after. On that first date, I felt something I don’t usually feel — safe. I typically don’t hold hands on a first date (it gives me the ick and feels like a boundary being crossed), but as Jo was driving me home, he jokingly grabbed my hand… and it just felt right, so I let him. The more we talked, the more I knew I had found my soulmate. Jo says he’s grateful we met when we did — that it wouldn’t have worked nearly as well if we’d met any of the other times because he wasn’t ready for something serious. When we finally met for real, he was ready to find a partner. And now… he’s stuck with me for the rest of his life 🤍