Two people did the hard healing, made space for each other, and when love finally knocked, they opened the door and let a whole new life walk in. She once asked Paul when he’d fallen in love with her. His answer was warm and disarming: “I’ve always loved you; I just didn’t know you yet.” She hadn’t believed in love at first sight until it happened to her.
They first connected on social media after a family tragedy. He reached out with condolences, and they realized they had friends in common. He was so tied to her family that he even escorted her grandmother down the aisle at her sister’s wedding. Still, life kept them apart. Later, they would call that distance protection, like the timing had to be right before they could meet.
In those in-between months, messages faded and life went on. She dated a little, hoping something real might appear, but nothing fit. She was recovering body, mind, spirit, and social life. Years earlier, stress had caused a major stroke. Now, as a single mother of three who quietly longed for marriage, she was rebuilding routines that brought peace. She worked through childhood hurts and a young marriage that had taught her hard lessons. Diagnosed with PTSD, she refused to let it define her future.
Six months before Paul’s brave message, she began writing “Dear Future Husband” in a journal, one entry daily. She described how she hoped he’d love her children, how they’d spend time together, and the kind of character she prayed he’d have. Three weeks before that message, she ended every casual relationship. Sitting in a gas-station parking lot, she told one man, kindly but clearly, that she was a wife at heart and wanted a true love story. She made room for the main character before he appeared.
Paul had his own chapter of healing. He’d married young and adored his wife, but their divorce was painful and messy, casting a shadow over his view of marriage. He focused on his five kids and kept dating at arm’s length. Then, on May 8, 2017, a motorcycle crash nearly killed him. Doctors gave him less than a forty percent chance of living. He fought back, learned to walk again, and then looked at his whole life with new eyes. He decided he still wanted to be a husband. It felt like the “breaking” that had been foretold to both of them.
On September 17, 2017, at 2 p.m., Paul finally messaged her: he didn’t know much beyond her posts, but would she like to hang out one day? He apologized for asking that way; he was old-school and preferred to do it face-to-face. The sincerity in his words cut through her hesitation. She said yes. Their first date was a flop. Her walls were sky-high, and he would’ve needed wings to clear them. It felt more like an interrogation than a date. That night, neither slept well. She realized that boundaries aren’t supposed to be brick walls; they’re lines that help love enter safely. She apologized, and they tried again.
The second date felt like a movie. Before leaving home, she prayed: could there be red long-stemmed roses if he was the one? She wore her grandmother’s bracelet and chose to relax. Paul had planned dinner overlooking the ocean in Malibu. He didn’t bring roses, but he did get a box. He handed it to her and said, “Many women want flowers on a date, but you deserve a lot more.” Those words were exactly what her heart needed. The evening unfolded beautifully, and both knew their long season of work and healing had led to this moment.
Ten months after that first message, they exchanged vows in front of their children, family, and friends. They understood their story wasn’t only about the two of them. Together they raise eight kids, and before they ever dated seriously, they promised that if it wasn’t right for the children, it wasn’t right for them. Blending a family hasn’t been without bumps, especially with co-parents disagreeing with the new arrangement. But they keep choosing patience, grace, and the bigger picture.
They dream in tandem of owning apartment buildings to help single parents, building businesses together, and encouraging others to do the inner work that makes lasting love possible. Their message is simple: you can write your own love story, it’s never too late for the real thing, and you can’t skip the recovery that prepares you.
