He says… I was about done with online dating at that point. But she looked cute, of course, and what I read seemed very appealing. She was going back and forth with me, and I said, “I hate all this texting, messaging stuff.” And she said, “why don't you give me a call?” She was a little bit more forward, which I thought was cool. She said, “Well, I'm gonna be driving back from Charleston, and we can have a phone date and kind of see how it goes.” It's at least three hours to Charleston, we talked the whole time. She mentioned that I had my kids’ pictures on my profile. I did it to show that family's important to me. We also talked some about our faith. That we had in common. We decided to go out on our first date to Napa. I remember being kind of nervous. In fact, I was worrying so much I gave myself a headache. I went next door to Harris Teeter and got some ibuprofen. So I was there really early, waiting, and she came in and gave me a big hug. But that's Julie, right? I'm just a little more cautious. We had dinner, and we talked and talked and talked. I think we were the last people there. We were able to have a discussion, and an in depth discussion, about so many different things. It wasn't like we had to try. I was like, “Wow, this is really good.” To propose to her was the real challenge, because she already knew it was happening. I packed up a picnic lunch, and I used a real backpack, put the ring in there with a bottle of champagne, ice, the cups, something to sit on, and went the wrong way — which was great. I was thinking. “Oh my god, we're burning daylight.” We had to cooperate and coordinate to find where we were going. We found a great spot, and I leaned over and said, “Let's make this forever.” Then, she said, “Hey, dude, you're not on your knee.” I look forward to us being able to do what we like to do, which is, have our coffee in the morning and be able to talk about our day at the end of the day. Life with Julie is better because she totally grounds me. She brings my anxiety down to a tolerable level. She supports me in every way possible, as well as Hugh Henry and Elliott. It's like some guy told me today. “She’s one in a million. You're really lucky.” I trust her absolutely, with everything. She's willing to do what's right every time. She has my best interests at heart at all times. It feels really good.

She says… He swiped right. In his profile pictures he had on an F3 shirt — Faith, Fellowship and Fitness — and I'd always wanted to meet a guy who was in F3, so I wrote back. But he wasn’t really communicating. I went out of town after matching with him and I was with two married girlfriends. I was explaining the Bumble app and trying to show how it works. I was telling them, "here's this picture of this one guy who just gives me one word responses; it's so frustrating.” My friend looks closer and she says, “Oh my gosh, I know him.” He was friends with her husband. She was able to give me the lowdown, and now I knew that he was okay. Then, I guess I asked why he wasn't communicating much and he said, “I hate these apps. it’s just so much easier to talk in person.” So, I said, “Well, then why don't you just call me?” We had a phone date a few days later. I'd gone to Charleston for a funeral, and we agreed to talk on the way back. We talked the whole way — for three hours. I thought as long as he's cute and he can kiss, he's the one. I could just tell because he loved the Lord and had really good character. The funeral I had been at was in a really old Catholic Church and we sang a hymn where it said something like, ”if you aren’t Catholic, you’re going to hell.” I mentioned that and he said, “Jesus is for everybody.” Some people might have said, I’m not interested in going out with her because she’s Protestant, but Dave said “God’s Grace is for everyone.” That weekend we met for a first date at Napa on Providence. We were both paranoid about getting COVID, so we found a patio. I met him there. He was standing there with his arms down by his side, all stiff and serious. I went to give him a hug and he was very taken aback. I don't remember the dinner, but we definitely talked the whole time. At the end, we kissed each other, and I think I went in for a second kiss. All of it started March 2021. We got engaged March 2024. I like that he’s kind and thoughtful. He’s fun, and up for anything. You see his strong character in how he makes decisions with his kids, his work. He has strong ethics and good judgment. He makes the right decision, even if it's not in his favor. I'm ready to be married. I’m looking forward to being together all the time, to him just being there. You know, having coffee together in the morning and not having to make plans to see each other. With him, I know everything is okay. He's my comfort, my safe place to land.

Interviews conducted by Jenn Goddu: Julie's dear friend, neighbor and biking buddy