Rachel&Sean

Rachel and I met on a dating app in August 2021. We had exchanged only a few messages when I suggested we meet rather than become pen pals. She agreed, and we set a date for two days later. I arrived a few minutes early and found us a table at a local Mexican restaurant.

Some background: before I met Rachel, my dating experience in Seattle had become a source of entertainment for my friends. My expectations were low, to say the least.

A few minutes after I sat down, a woman approached me. My heart sank. She looked like the woman in Rachel's pictures, only a good number of years older. I had been catfished before and thought it was happening again. Fortunately, she was looking for someone else, and I pointed her toward another gentleman I had seen sitting alone.

Moments later, Rachel arrived, looking very much like the woman in her pictures. We shared tacos and talked for more than an hour. We even called her dad on our first date. Her dad's family is from Italy, and I was planning a trip there the following spring.

Eventually, we knew we should get going. It turned out we had parked in the same garage, so I walked Rachel back to her car. As luck would have it, our cars were parked directly across from each other. I took the opportunity to ask for another date.

Rachel said she did not know what her schedule looked like. Based on my Seattle dating experience, that sounded like Seattle-ese for ‘not going to happen.’ She must have read my expression, because she quickly pulled up her calendar, and we scheduled our second date. That was the start!

1. June 2022We moved in together.
2. April 16, 2025We bought our home.