We met on May 13th 2023 at Johnny Mac’s bar in Asbury Park. On that spring night our lives changed and all for the better. We were both there with friends and began to get to know each other better. It was so easy and the chemistry was there immediately. I talked to Mariana about Jiu Jitsu and my dog Rosie. Mariana talked about the books she liked, her interests in writing and places she wanted to travel. We even talked about what a nightmare online dating was at our age and shared some stories of bad experiences.

We spent all night laughing, drinking, dancing & connecting more and more. We kissed and at the end of the night I walked Mariana to her ride and she yelled “Open the door for me!!”. Mariana went home and I couldn’t believe how great of a night they had together.  Such a great night in fact, that I forgot to get her number.

A week later I found her on the same dating app we shared our stories about. I messaged her that we kissed last week and asked if she remembered, and she did. We spent everyday since then falling in love with each other. It didn’t take long for us to know that this love was real and one we wanted to have forever. We got an apartment together June 15th 2024 and 6 months later On Dec 8th 2024 I proposed to Mariana at The Consulate in Midtown, we celebrated at dinner and afterwards went to the Nutcracker Ballet a show I had always promised to take Mariana too. We are thrilled to have the rest of our lives together and celebrate our love with everyone on June 13th 2026!