Anyone who's ever online dated knows how not-fun it can be. We also have all met people who it worked out for--and if you haven't; well, you have now :) We both grew up in PA in neighboring counties but never met. Our first phone conversation was over 3 hours long. (and, during our discussion, we talked about the Biblical Patriarchs...!) We are about two hours apart and initially met up for dates in Gaffney, Spartanburg, and Greenville. One of our first dates was ax-throwing (thanks, Amanda, for finding us a backup plan to our backup plan!) and we love spending time at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte. In fact, it was on one of our dates to the whitewater center that I suspected Darren would be proposing to me that day (although I was wrong about where he asked). He recreated two of our early dates on the day he asked---and I said, "Yes!"

I had been looking online for love for years with terrible results. The culture of online dating was toxic and shallow, resulting in very few people for me to be interested in, let alone anyone who reciprocated interest. And then I found Brianna... Day 1 conversation was full and deep, delving into our spiritual and personal values. We texted for several hours, then talked on the phone for 3 more hours! We clicked so well, I was rocked to my core. We agreed on the big things and liked similar leisure activities. We've spent hours and hours playing board games, enjoying outdoor activities, and sharing our favorite movies. She made all my previous relationships feel so shallow and a waste of time! And to think, the day before, friends were telling me to give up looking. We grew up so close to each other but never met and now I can't imagine being without her! Here's to us... and thanks to the online dating community for keeping me looking for better!