The Perfect Blend

(Jairo) We met on Match in March of 2019, after I had suffered a great loss. For me, it was divine timing. I noticed Malarie's profile right away. I thought to myself that I have to contact her. Malarie was new to match, and I was about ready to give up on it. I am so glad I did not. She had many of the the same interests that I did from comic books to music and movies, so I reached out to her right away. After two days of conversation, I asked her out to dinner that ended up with us having coffee at the starbucks across the street. After our date ended, and we both arrived home, we talked late into the night and had one of the most amazing conversations we both had in a long time. As time went on, we continued to grow closer. We shared everything from our past to our faith and goals. I was amazed how alike we were in pretty much every way. Malarie told me she would never date anyone that did not like coffee, so thankfully I passed the test, lol. Before I knew it, she had become my best friend. And well, the rest....is history.

(Malarie) I was on Spring Break in March of 2021 from a very rigorous graduate school program and Jairo asked if I could make time because he wanted to take me on a surprise trip. I immediately thought "I have no time, and I need sleep!" lol, but something about spending time with him any chance I got warmed my soul, so I cleared my schedule. He got us tickets to Philadelphia, and one day into my vacation we flew out. I knew this trip would be meaningful because Jairo loves Rocky Balboa, and visiting the Rocky Statue and the Philadelphia Museum of Art had always been a dream of his so I was excited to share it with him. When we arrived, we checked into our hotel and he asked me "Do you feel like taking a walk to the Museum?". I said "Sure! I'd love to!", and we took a beautiful walk through downtown Philadelphia to the Art museum. As soon as we arrived, we both took pictures by the infamous Rocky Balboa Statue, and I ran (Well, walked lol) to the top so that I could record Jairo taking his victory run up the steps in true Rocky Balboa fashion. At the top, we both looked out on to the city and took in the beauty of Jairo being able to fulfil one of his lifelong dreams. He asked me to get a picture of him posing in a winning boxers pose, and I captured the perfect shot. Then, he asked me to make the same pose so he could photograph me. After what felt like an eternity, he captured the perfect shot and as I turned around to face him, he was down on one knee in front of everyone, making his request known to myself and God that he desired me to be his wife, and stand in his corner forever. He called me "His Adrian", a term of endearment only true Rocky Fan would understand. In that moment, my world stood still. I stared into his eyes speechless, but excited to say yes and accept an invitation to marry my best friend.

We love Coffee!!!! We also love Comic book films, Cartoons, Video Games, Reading, and Music (Especially Jazz and Classical). We also love to laugh and find that humor feeds our souls and is the foundation of our relationship. We're both foodies, and we love to try new dishes in Chicago, and every time we travel to a new city. Most importantly, we love talking and sharing our hopes and dreams with each other.