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Interracial Marriage

Gloria & Andy

Engaged September 2013

Her Rant Ended with a Ring

She hadn’t found the love she was looking for, so Gloria decided to sign up on our site. “I wanted to broaden my search for my soulmate,” Gloria explains. “I had tried a couple before, but this site appeared be different…”

“This was not my first experience with online dating,” says Andy, the man she is set to marry. “I was inspired because it was focused on interracial dating and that’s what I was looking for. It was nice to not have to find out if the person you are contacting was into interracial dating or not.”

“I was extremely confident, so confident that I only purchased a one-month membership,” laughs Gloria. “I was sure I would find the one within that time, or I was not renewing!”

“I was pretty confident,” Andy says to describe his stance on the efficacy of online personals. “I believe it has benefits over meeting people in different environments. Less crowds and distractions, just one-on-one conversations to really get to know each other.”

Miraculously, Gloria met her match before the month was out. At that point Andy had been a member, off and on, for a few years. They found themselves in our on-site chat room at the same time. “I thought he was funny and the most interesting person in the chat room,” Gloria remembers. So she chatted up the member who went by “MindTrippin.”

“I thought she was funny,” Andy says of “Glo4u2,” which was Gloria’s handle. “She looked at my profile picture and called me a beatnik. She made me write her a poem. Which I did!”

They took the conversation off-line pretty quickly and went through a lot of anytime minutes on their mobile plans. “After talking for weeks, and for hours and hours at a time, we really got to know each other and talked about everything that was important to us in a relationship. We talked so much and got comfortable with each other early on.”

On the night of their first date, Gloria needed some extra time getting ready. She says she was relieved to learn “he hadn’t left already, because I was running late!” Then, when she arrived, she was pleased to find “he looked like his picture.”

Andy remembers the first moment he laid eyes on Gloria in person. “She came around the corner and I saw the most beautiful woman in the world,” Andy says, perhaps giving us a glimpse of the poetry he composed for Gloria. “She was everything I thought she would be, and more. I was happy she looked like her pictures and she was who she said she was.”

Asked what was most surprising about their first date, Gloria jokes, “I was surprised I lost my purse that night!” but adds, “things still went great.” Andy’s answer to the same question? “I wasn’t too surprised, but it felt SO natural being around each other.”

When she got home that night, Gloria was already looking forward to their next meeting. “Our connection was so amazing that I was certain I wanted to see him many more times after,” she says.

Andy felt certain another date was a good idea. “It was the best date I’d ever had. It was so much fun and we got even closer — if that was even possible!”

Over time, the happy surprises kept coming. Andy says that Gloria’s profile hadn’t mentioned her culinary skills. He was delighted to learn that “she cooks, and she happens to be the best cook!” He was also surprised to find that “she is very creative.” Gloria was pleased to discover that Andy is “a simple person who thrives off the love he gives and receives from others.”

This pairing was just meant to be, it seems. Andy notes that “she is my type in every way. I really am lucky.” And Gloria adds, “I never really had a type before, but if I did, he would be it!”

As their relationship deepened and passed the test of time, it reached a critical threshold. Would they get engaged? “I was not expecting it,” Gloria says of Andy’s marriage proposal. “One night I was upset about a few things and went on a rant about it. When we finally sat down for dinner, he grabbed me from the table and I had no idea why. When I was not looking he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I said ‘yes’ and we kissed!”

Andy wanted to make Gloria his wife and keep going a relationship that had affected him profoundly. “It made me happy and full of life,” he says of his bond with Gloria. “I’ve been through some rough times and when I met her, my whole world changed. I am the happiest I have ever been in a relationship and life.”

“I’m more excited about what the future holds,” Gloria says of her outlook with Andy in her life. “I was afraid I would spend life alone, but now I look forward to all the love I can share with him.”

She tells single women to be proactive in their online search. “Don’t just wait for Mr. Right to come to you — go out and find him! Message, flirt, and let them know you’re interested. It may mean finding him sooner rather than later.”

Andy chimes in, “Yes — be patient, be open and don’t get discouraged. It does work!”

Andy and Gloria are living proof.