It was October 2020, and the world was full of uncertainties. Covid caused a global shutdown seven months earlier, a vaccine was still months away, and we were on the heels of a very divided presidential election. Monica had chosen to leave the Valley after 20 years to purchase a home in Orange County, to be closer to her family. Oddly enough, Jay was already living in the Valley, just three miles from the apartment Monica moved away from. But since Jay only left the house for work and Fatburger, the chances of them running into each other were scarce. Enter Match.com… Despite the biggest pandemic in over 100 years, being single, Monica and Jay were still trying to find a spark of human connection somewhere, even if it was virtually. Both experienced plenty of bad dates before finding each other’s profiles. They quickly connected over common interests, including bourbon, politics, movies, and dogs. However, with Monica outside of Jay’s 10-mile dating radius (!), he thought it would be better if they just remained friends. (In the chaos of moving, Monica had forgotten to change her Match.com location from Toluca Lake to Anaheim.) Thus, two years went by with Monica and Jay dating exceptionally unexceptional people. In the background, they continued texting each other daily with memes and photos, life updates, and began cultivating a meaningful, albeit distant, friendship. Heading into the summer of 2022, Monica was required to return to the Disney offices. This was a lightbulb moment for Jay who was still under the impression Monica worked near Disneyland. Once he understood she worked in Burbank and would just be minutes away, for a few days a week, Jay formally asked Monica out on a date. (For the record, Monica did NOT KNOW this was a date but rather two friends FINALLY meeting.) Their first non-date / date was dinner and martinis at the famous Smokehouse in Burbank. Monica arrived nearly an hour late. Thanks, LA traffic! But the evening went so well, Monica and Jay were ushered out by the valet, because the restaurant was closing. Although there was no first kiss that night, Jay requested a second date, which turned into a third, fourth, etc.. In the last nearly three years, Monica and Jay have been weaving each other’s lives together, having experienced the ups and downs of life, including the loss of parents, traveling together, cheering on each other’s personal accomplishments, and blending their fur babies together in not-so-perfect harmony. Finding love at this stage of life has been the sweetest reward. So now we're here: Someone who never saw themself getting married (Monica) and someone who never saw themself getting married again (Jay). We have each found that person who brings the best parts out of us and allows us to be the best partner for each other.