In 2019, Alex swiped right on a jSwipe profile. It wasn’t Jodi’s. He was intrigued by the “Ask me about the Jews Cruise” in her profile. They matched, he asked, and in late 2019 Alex went on the Jews Cruise. He had such a great time that when they had the next cruise in 2022, he went again. On Memorial Day weekend of 2022, Jodi’s friends talked her into going on the Jews Cruise. On the cruise Jodi and Alex connected through Jewish learning, life discussion, Disney trivia, and food. They miraculously managed to have their first date the day they got off the cruise ship.

Two weeks in, after discussing all the important questions, Alex and Jodi knew they were right for each other. However, Jodi still wanted the relationship to develop a bit slower. She likes to use a train analogy. She knew where the train was heading, wanted to go there, but really wanted to walk along the tracks, or maybe take the local train and enjoy all the stops. Somehow she ended up on the express train. Alex had bought a first class ticket with all of the amenities for the express train. Jodi upgraded to first class, with amenities, and joined Alex on the express track.

Love, laughter, and delicious food! Their love story continued with a romantic proposal on October 17th, 2023, amidst a specially curated Japanese tasting menu in a private restaurant setting. Alex and Jodi will see you on May 26th, 2024 with more delicious food!

Alex: In 2019 Alex discovered the Jews Cruise. On a whim, knowing no one he decided to go on. The first cruise was such a great time he and his roommate, now one of his close friends, Jared, decided to book again for the 2022 cruise.

Jodi: Over Memorial Day Weekend in 2022, I was spending time with some friends at the beach and pool. One of the women, the organizer of the Jewish 20s & 30s group knew of a Jew Cruise happening and convinced everyone to sign up. I figured why not? Vacations are fun, and who knows, I could meet my future husband!

Alex: Alex went on the cruise to reconnect with friends met in 2019 and expand his Jewish community. On the first day we were grouped by color. I was in group yellow, my favorite color. I remember Jodi sitting across the group during introductions and sharing her favorite ice cream flavor was mint chocolate chip.

Jodi: I don't remember Alex from that at all. I did remember meeting him at dinner. Day 2, during our first cohort of the day a cruise friend and I paired up and took a walk for our learning to the free champagne, causing us to be late for session 2. I ended up sitting next to Alex as we talked about whether or not Judaism allows you to declare someone who went overboard dead based on how much of the shoreline you can see. Alex had some interesting points and he liked my points too, so when it came time to pair off, we both knew we were pairing together. We started off talking about Rabbis and shipwrecks, whether to use a plank of wood or not, and morphed into talk about about our lives, what we do for work, and learning more about each other. At one point, I noticed everyone else had regrouped, and we probably should too. As we rejoined the group, I remember thinking, I want to talk to him more.

Alex: She said it perfectly.

Jodi: I remember joining Alex, the girls from home, and some others for Disney Trivia, which really came down to Alex, me, and Steph. He had saved me space right next to him on the floor. We tied for first place, and then I won the tiebreaker! I have no recollection of when this happened during the cruise. I also remember giving him my hat to wear at some point while I was in the hot tub.

Alex: During the tie breaker question I hummed the remaining part of Colors of the Wind from Pocahontas. We were given a 1-second snippet. Then Jodi yelled out the answer and our group won. 100% correct on answers. And she held my hand.

Jodi: I don’t remember that. The last night of the cruise, I was talked into an upgraded dinner, found out Alex was also going, and we talked about sitting next to each other so we could share food. He did not save me a seat. After dinner, we went to watch a Family Feud style game show during which Alex put his arm around me, and I realized I could get into this. He also asked me if I wanted to hang out the next day after we were off the ship, and I said yes.

Alex: I did want to save her a seat, but didn't rock the boat, ship, with our now good friend Dan, by asking people to move since the remaining seats were at opposite ends of the table. I get to go have amazing food and quality time with Jodi regardless of sharing our food on this night.

Jodi: I wasn't sure if Alex meant a date by asking to hang out, but I wanted one, and he asked me twice, so I was waiting. He never called. I didn't have his number, but I saw someone named Alex commented on the group chat for the first time. When that Alex asked if anyone wanted to hang out in Boynton, I knew it was my Alex. I sent him a message asking if we were still on, and he said yes. We determined a time and place to meet up.

Alex: My experience in using the word "date" hasn't always been met with positive engagement. People have wanted a more casual term in getting to know each other before dating. Since my goal was to get to know Jodi better to see if we were a good fit, I used the term hang out, knowing full well the term was interchangeable with "date." I also have found that recently there is a trend for dating as a way to get free dinner. Dating is wild and understanding intention for the goal was getting more difficult when looking for a life partner when someone else just wants a free meal.

Jodi: I showed up at Bond Street Cafe, not sure if this was a date or not. We met up, walked inside, and I determined my order. I ordered my food, and paused to see if he would pay for me. He did not. (Knowing what I know now, he was probably overwhelmed by the menu). This left me leaning towards the not-a-date camp.

Alex: I now know where Bond Street Cafe is. It is almost walking distance from our home. When I got there I had no idea what I wanted to eat. I was nervous that the same cruise connection wouldn't hit land. I took too long to decide and Jodi finished ordering and I was still looking through the menu.

Jodi: We talked for about 3 hours. I don't even remember everything we talked about. Just that it was easy, I wasn't bored, and I knew we had been there for a while and he had a long drive ahead of him. I would have been ok staying for another hour, but I didn't want him to get home super late. When we said goodbye, I got a friendly hug, and he left. I was still unsure if we had a date or not, The beginning and end led me to think no, but the middle felt really datey.

Alex: We walked to the car and continued talking, despite the looming drive. I almost kissed her. I wanted to give her a kiss goodbye, but I didn't want to be too forward. So I gave a long hug. At least, I remember giving a long hug and holding her close.

Jodi: I don't remember a long hug - but then again, I have CRS :-)

Jodi: We started texting daily, which turned into phone calls where we talked about anything and everything. The more we talked, the more we realized we were on the same page about everything. Alex was unable to come visit me until late December, but that didn't work for me. I needed to know that I was actually interested in him if I was going to invest so much time, so I went to see him 2 weeks after the cruise for our second date.

Alex: If you are old enough and reading this you remember the time before cell phones and were waiting for the phone call on the landline. That is how I felt. The conversation was so easy no matter how it was happening. And between each break in conversation I was waiting for that next piece of information to learn more about Jodi.

Jodi: In true Jodi fashion, I was super late - it was totally the traffic, and the last time I drove to Orlando on a Friday afternoon. We still made it to the wine walk, then went for some empanadas, and back home where we watched/played Harry Potter trivia until late at night. Saturday we slept in, had a lazy day around the house, then went out for dinner and dueling pianos. It was a perfect weekend, and I left knowing that this was someone I wanted a future with.

Alex: Honestly, no more to add. I talk about how perfect this date weekend was. Especially spending hours playing trivia and Harry Potter specific trivia.

Jodi: It was pretty perfect - and we discovered our love of Harry Potter! By date 3, we were in relationship territory, even though I wasn't quite ready. I came back to Orlando since Alex had tickets to Hadestown, and I met his parents - who weren't as scary as I thought. Saturday morning we had brunch with Mom and I got to meet Aaron. Then we headed down south to Boynton. Sunday night we went to Dan and Jordana's for Chanukah night 1, where everyone was surprised to see Alex.

Alex: I have to admit, I was a little nervous on the meet. It wasn't that I didn't think Jodi would like my family or that my family wouldn't like Jodi it was I didn't want to "scare" her away. But Jodi has said many times; "You can't say the wrong thing to the right person."

Jodi: I had asked Ilysse about bringing a plus one to her NYE party. Upon trying to introduce her and Ross to Alex at the Chanukah party, we discovered that Ross and Alex already knew each other and were friends. We had a great night, seeing lots of common friends and hanging out. By the end of the night, it was just me, Alex, Dan and Jordana. Then they all ganged up on me.

Alex: I have no recollection of teaming up on being a relationship. We talked about being exclusive and that Jodi didn't want labels. However, I knew that I wanted to be on the same page for direction. We had been dating nearly 2 months and I wanted to establish a direction of the future.

Jodi: Now, who's the one with memory issues? I wasn't comfortable with titles, but I finally admitted we were in a relationship - much to Dan's and probably Alex's happiness. The next night we had dinner with Jess and Ary. Jess congratulated me on finally finding a good guy, and also forced me into using the terms boyfriend and girlfriend.

Alex: Thank you Jess and Ary.

Jodi: On Saturday, we met my parents for brunch. I called them an hour before to let them know I was bringing Someone. It was freezing, and colder inside the restaurant we went to than outside. I was so afraid that Mom wouldn't like Alex, but apparently I didn't have to worry. I also didn't realize that I fell for someone who's very similar to my Dad - sometimes that still scares me.

Alex: While I may have been prepped I didn't need to worry. The cold helped bring the common small talk of all people: the weather. You would have thought the meeting of the parents would have been scary. It wasn't. I know I thought to myself then, these could be my parents too. I'm thinking I made an impression too, leaving it open for what kind of impression, but we decided to go to the Orange Bowl together within a week. I'd say the meeting of the parents was a success.

Jodi: The decision of whether to live in Boynton or Orlando was an easy one -at least it seemed that way to me. We both have a large group of friends and a community in Boynton, and I would have to build that in Orlando. The process of moving in wasn't as smooth.

Alex: We did consider Orlando briefly. It wasn't as easy a decision for me as it was for Jodi in my moving. I have friends and family here and while it is only a few hours away, it changes the whole dynamic immediately. I didn't want those changes in how I connected with people. There will now need to be intention in those. Jodi was right though, the community in Boynton Beach that we both had, helped with this choice. The intercostal water view from the balcony, the walking distance restaurants, and the walking distance beach were also a big help.

Jodi: I bought my condo in February 2021, gutted it, and designed everything in it exactly the way I wanted it, with furniture from previous houses that I absolutely love. Then Alex comes in putting his stuff in my spaces, and I had a *few* breakdowns. Like the day I came home to find 2 floor to ceiling cabinets in the bedroom. Or the soundbar I didn't know was going in front of the tv. Alex had to put up with a lot, but luckily, he loved me enough to get through it all.

Alex: This is true, I do love her. The hardest part for me was letting go. I have been gaining "stuff" for the past 13 years of living in Florida and took a hard look at purging and downsizing.

Jodi: I truly appreciated all of the efforts Alex went through with the move and how difficult it was for him to condense his life. I moved my desk out of my office and into the bedroom as a surprise for Alex, because he couldn't be fully moved in if he was still working at the dining room table.

Alex: I always "thought" I was living there since I spent more than half of the week in Boynton Beach. After all the downsizing to my life this gesture to change something to have me be a part of the household, to have a space to work was an amazing change. I was surprised and happy coming back home and seeing the change to move from the dining room table to the office.

Jodi: Jess Siegel (I mean Lehrer) told me that she had entered a charity raffle for an Omikase seating for 2, and that there weren't that many entries for the number of seatings, so she had a pretty good shot of winning. She was also pretty sure the dinner was when Ary was going to be out of town. She asked if I was interested in going with her. Of course I said yes. When she won the raffle, she told me when it was, and calendars were blocked off.

Alex: I had known for weeks this would happen and coordinated with Jess and Jared. I way over estimated what would give it away though. I wanted to keep it a surprise so I booked a reservation on a night I was normally in Orlando and took off of work. However, I blocked my calendar with meetings instead of off in case Jodi looked at my calendar. The night before Jodi helped me load something into my car. The morning of, I got in my car at 6 am and drove to my friend Jared's across town to lay low for the day. At some point I had texted Jodi about something happening at work. Continuing my path of "business as usual". When I got to the restaurant I planned with Jess where we would stand so the whole thing could be documented. I knew I had to be asked on arrival because it was obvious since I wasn't supposed to be in Boynton.

Jodi: On the way to the restaurant, agitated because I was running late (in true Jodi fashion), I had this weird, fleeting thought of what if Alex isn't in Orlando, but instead is in the restaurant. Other than that moment, I had no clue of what was about to happen. I even wore a ring on my left hand ring finger. I walked into the restaurant, and the first thing I saw was Alex! I quickly processed what was about to happen, although I still couldn't quite believe it.

Jodi: I was completely overwhelmed, in shock, and relieved. Alex at one point hinted that he would push the proposal to April which had me a bit crazy. I loved that he got us a private dinner to just be together and sit in the moment. It was super special. I left that dinner super full of amazing food, and super excited to begin our lives together. I couldn't love this man more, and I am so lucky that I met him!