(As Told by Bailey)

On a chilly Saturday evening in January 2020, Monish and I matched on Hinge (an online dating app). He sent a sweet yet playful opening line, which immediately caught my attention. We began chatting on the app and the next morning, he asked if he could take me on a date. Upon saying “yes” to a date, he mentioned that he wouldn’t be available to meet until the following weekend. I did not want to wait that long, so I suggested we meet that evening, and Monish eagerly agreed. He recommended that we meet at Tout Suite, a local coffee shop that was close to where we both lived at the time.

Before leaving to go meet him, I set my rice cooker to 2 hours and turned a timer on my phone (that way I’d have a good excuse to leave if the date went south). To my surprise, he was incredibly easy to talk to, and we instantly connected over a few things such as our love for travel, how we handle our finances, fitness goals and, strangely, that we both watched the documentary, The Game Changers, and how we were both interested in transitioning into a plant-based lifestyle.

When my timer went off, I snoozed it a few times then decided to text my roommates and ask them to turn off the rice cooker because we were having such a great time, and I didn’t want to leave just yet! As it started to get late, we finally had to part ways. Monish gave me a hug and asked for my number. Before I could complete the 7-minute drive home, I already had a text from him, thanking me for a great evening and asking when we’d be able to meet again… And I knew that night that this was the man that I was going to marry.

Our second date was on a Tuesday evening at a sushi restaurant after I completed a Camp Gladiator workout (as I was not going to miss a workout for a man), so I warned him that I might be a little gross and sweaty. Monish responded, “I can go workout before I meet you so that you don’t have to be sweaty in the restaurant alone,” and my heart melted. I could tell that he was a thoughtful, loving person and I couldn’t wait to get to know him more!

A week later, we went on our “third date”, which was not your typical date. It was a Thursday evening and I asked if he wanted to come over and hang out before my friends came to help me move into a new house. He arrived a bit late with coffee in-hand and asked if I liked receiving flowers, to which I replied, “hell no! My Nana always said that flowers are a waste because they just die on the table and that potted plants are a better gift. I agree with my Nana, but I don’t like potted plants either.” When my friends arrived to help me move, to my surprise, Monish stayed and helped. He even offered to transport some things in his car to help everything go faster. How sweet! I was taking some things to his car when he abruptly stopped me and said, “no! Let me take that.” I thought nothing of it, but I found out 3 months later that he was late because he had a hard time picking out which flowers to bring to me. Then when he arrived, he panicked because he thought I might not like flowers, so he left them in the car and decided to ask me first. So, because I told him that I didn’t like getting flowers, he intercepted me on the way to his car so he could hide them. This story still makes me laugh each time I retell it!

After helping me move, I treated Monish to some pizza at Frank’s Pizza and we stayed waaay too late, talking nonstop and dreaming about traveling together to places such as India and Disneyland. Before the night ended, Moni asked me a question that I’d been waiting to hear since the first day we met, “do you want to be my girlfriend?” While that may not be verbatim, it was the giant leap that sent us soaring into the beautiful relationship that we have today.

Since becoming an official couple on January 31st, 2020, Moni and I have survived the global pandemic, moved into two different apartments, traveled all around the United States and the world, completed numerous 5K runs and Spartan Races together, gotten our first ever pug puppy (Duke), supported each other’s goals, and more! Moni encouraged me to start college for the first time and pursue my dream of becoming a fashion designer, and I encouraged him to take guitar lessons as he’s always wanted to learn to play. While we will never be perfect people, we are absolutely perfect for each other. I am so excited to finally become Mrs. Thakore, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with my best friend!