Sukarna and I first started talking at the end of 2021 when I was home sick with COVID-19. I was supposed to be traveling to Minnesota with my friends to watch the Blues play in the Winter Classic.

I was extremely upset that we weren't able to go, but I was so sick I could barely get out of bed. One day while bored and in bed, I got a notification from Facebook that they were launching a dating site. From my past experiences with dating sites, I knew a Facebook version would be hilarious, so I downloaded it to make fun of people with my friends and help us all cheer up from having to cancel our trip. I was right, it was so funny and the people were crazy.

Then one day I was quickly scrolling through and I saw Sukarna's profile. From his pictures, I thought he was cute, but he had no bio or anything, so I swiped left. Who makes a dating profile without a bio?!?!? I kinda regretted swiping left and thankfully, Facebook dating gave you the option to go back and look through people you swiped left on, so I went back and matched him.

We started talking and then exchanged Instagram profiles.

Our first "date" was at Seoul Taco in Chesterfield, and I remember I had just started my health journey so I didn't want to eat a lot. When I said I didn't want fries, Sukarna couldn't believe it and said "come on, let's just share some sweet potato fries then!!" It was hilarious and from that moment, I knew I wanted to spend more time with him.

Our next date was at Olivette Lanes. I was nervous because I knew I was awful at bowling, but it worked out well because I ended up winning all 3 games we played. I finally found someone that was worse at bowling than me!! It was amazing!

I'm not sure if I was hyped up from winning the first time we went bowling, or if Sukarna wanted to try to redeem himself, but our third date was also at Olivette Lanes. At that point, I knew I liked him so at the end of the night when we were leaving, I went to give him a lil side hug. He put his hand out because he thought I was shaking his hand. It was the most awkward, funniest moment ever. We laughed about it then gave each other a real hug. After that night, I texted my friends and I told them, "This is the one. If I don't marry him, I'm done dating forever." They even nicknamed me "J.D.B.", which stood for "Johnna's down bad", because I liked this guy so much, lol!

As time went on, we continued to spend time together and we became an "official" couple in February of 2022, and the relationship only got better and better as time went on. We discovered so many new things about each other, became the healthiest versions of ourselves with each other, and improved our lives in all aspects. We moved in together, became pet parents to the sweetest Momo and Miso, did lots of travelling together, and went through some of the hardest parts of our lives together. Sukarna quickly became one of the most important parts of my life.

Now, we are getting married! I get to spend the rest of my life with the one I love! We get to travel to Nepal for our traditional Nepalese wedding with Sukarna's friends and family in December, and cannot wait to come back to St. Louis and celebrate with you all in March!

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Wentzville St Louis West, an IHG Hotel

Budget Inn

Hilton Garden Inn St. Louis/O'Fallon MO