Andy first liked Jordan on Hinge, and she thought wow, this guy looks nice, handsome, fun, genuine, and #regular. Plus, he likes McDonald's (his Hinge prompt response to Jordan was "Finally putting breakfast sandwiches on the 24 hour menu was life changing - 2am McMuffins are magical"). She stalked him on Instagram and saw they had a mutual friend, who had nothing but great things to say about Andy. Fast forward, Andy ghosts Jordan and she doesn't see him again on Hinge for another 3 months...after Covid hit. Jordan was attending a Covid-friendly-outside-6-feet-apart social gathering with the same mutual friend and asked the other two girls she was with if they knew Andy Palmer. They both shouted "OMG WE LOVE ANDY!" He didn't ghost her this time, and instead asked her out on a date at Golden Gardens. It was the BEST.FIRST.DATE! He actually was the nice, handsome, fun, genuine, and #regular guy she had in mind. GUYS LIKE THIS ACTUALLY EXIST!?! They drank white claw, watched the sunset, and laughed a lot. You know the rest. #ad #sponsoredby #hinge #whiteclaw #mcdonalds

Dating apps are a wild place, and slightly intimidating if not in the right mindset. To be transparent the thought of a blind date terrified me. Food/No food? Casual/classy? Date before 6pm too early? After 8pm too late? What if conversation runs dry? Is silence okay? What about the goodbye? Do you smooch? Hug? Side hug? Fist pound? Booty bump? Ahhhh! So much to think about. The “ghosting” in Jordan’s excerpt above was a classic case of paralysis from over-analysis. This beautiful down to earth woman was interested in me and I choked. I totally blew it, froze under pressure - 2 weeks later the 1st case of covid hit the US and dating became an afterthought. Fast forward 3 months later - pandemic is in full swing - Joe Exotic is most famous man in America - I look like Tom hanks in castaway after being stuck in my apartment for 8 weeks - good time for a re-set. After some serious self reflection it was time to revisit the dating apps, but this time with intent to actually meet someone. Lucky for me that was the same time Jordan attended the “Covid-friendly-outside-6-feet-apart social gathering” (thanks for the assist Jaimee). When Jordan's familiar (gorgeous) face popped up again I knew the timing was right this time. Jordan blew me away with her subtle confidence, self assured-ness, lighthearted humor, cheerful aura and humility in our first date. Never wanted to leave golden gardens that night- the park rangers had to kick us out. Little did we know that first kiss we shared at sunset would be the first of a lifetime filled with them. I feel like the luckiest man alive.