We met on Hinge and started chatting pretty quickly. We both had a good feeling about it. After a few messages, we made plans to meet at the Botanical Gardens in Sydney. Nadia showed up an hour late, but she bought Tom a beer, so all was forgiven. Once we sat down and started talking, it felt easy. We covered everything from future plans to big life moves. Tom was getting ready to move to Israel, and Nadia was thinking about going back to Argentina. It didn’t make much sense timing-wise, but somehow, it just worked. By our third date, we were already talking about going to Israel together. Two months later, we booked the tickets, ready to leave together.

After ten months of living together and moving from Australia to Argentina and then to Israel, our relationship only grew stronger. While visiting Eilat, we saw a missile intercepted in the sky and then the sirens started. We ended up in a bomb shelter, shaken and overwhelmed. Once we recovered, we took the long bus ride back to Tel Aviv. On the way, we learned there had been a terror attack right outside our apartment. It was a lot to take in. In the middle of that fear and uncertainty, Tom turned to Nadia and said, “I don’t know where we’ll be or what the future holds, but I know I want to be with you.” He proposed right then, without a ring, but with a lot of love. At first, Nadia asked if it was a joke. Then she said yes. The next day, Tom rushed to buy a ring. Two weeks later, he had a plan to propose again, this time with the ring hidden inside an empanada. So, on the beach at sunset, with empanadas and beers, Nadia found the ring. Tom took it, got down on one knee, and proposed again. Properly this time. Again, she said yes.