We met on OkCupid. His first question was about my art. What a refreshing first question... considering all the men I had had conversations with on there prior to meeting him and only one other had ever asked about this. I was so heart-heavy over my past with romantic relationships and truly believed I would never find what I was looking for. Infact, I didn't even know how to ask for it, and felt that I didn't deserve it somehow. He is independent. He had his own apartment and his own car at the time and this meant alot to me. He had (still does!) a healthy co-parenting relationship with his 9 year old daughter's mom and this was huge. He surprised me in so many different ways. He talks about his first time seeing me in person at Bar Louie in Belmar. There was something so cosmic about that date... so intrinsic, like we both knew we were being prepared for something big. I felt instantly safe. He brought gifts for Nova and I. We sat for hours, the majority of the time simply staring into each other's eyes and bursting into laughter full of disbelief. Like, "Wow, hey! here you are! didn't know when you'd get here but you're here now, so let's begin!" Any obligatory small talk awkwardly forced its way from my lips and evaporated as soon as it hit the air between us. It was clear that small talk was not for us, and thus began the big talk. the life talk. the talk of incredulous dreams, distant buried memories, the deep and raw love and pain that comes with parenting. Our similar childhood path through cult-esque religions, then atheism, and to the warm comforting glow of agnostic belief. The belief that was spurred on by moments like this one... moments where there is no choice but to trust the simmering energy brewing up all around you... Whenever I would doubt the intrinsic, trusting knowledge of our deep connection he would hold me tight and say, "Babe. This isn't going anywhere. I'm dead. Ass. Serious about you." and still, to this day, that's our tagline... but more that that, it's the true story, the promise of what we have been gifted. -Sonora's "first meeting" story

I met Sonora on OK Cupid, after years of saying I’d never be on a dating site. But I knew exactly what i was looking for and when I saw her profile, I knew she was someone worth getting to know. It was her beauty, honesty, and authenticity that caught my attention. She was very vulnerable in her bio and I thought that was a very brave thing to do. Because she took off her mask and presented her true self. When we spoke on the phone I could feel a real connection. We talked about our children, past relationships, and our love of art. I remember her saying so many things that resonated with me and I immediately knew that I wanted to be a part of her life. We met at Bar Louie a few days later for our first date. When I saw her for the first time in person, I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. She was drop dead gorgeous and I could hardly believe she was there to meet me. She was the woman I’d imagined myself with since I was a kid, literally the woman of my dreams. We really hit it off so when when 2020 rolled around, the lockdown was just a reason to spend all of our free time together and really get to know each other. I knew from that first conversation on the 7th of August in 2019 that she was special, and every day she proves that I was right to trust my intuition. She is kind, loving, understanding, and every other lovely word i can think of. And now she’s my wife. Everything is right in the Universe.