In honor of our one year anniversary this week (last week, by the time you read this), I decided I would share my story of getting lucky. I got so lucky last summer, it’s unbelievable. I met my fiancé, John, on Tinder. We started dating, got engaged, and will be together forever!

For those of you who don’t know, Tinder is an app for both Android and iOS, typically used on smartphones. It mimics “dating websites” such as eHarmony and Match in the idea, but the main difference is that Tinder is strictly an app, not a website. You also must have a Facebook profile to use Tinder, but it does not post or show up on your Facebook at all. The app is free, but towards the end of my usage I believe they added a paid feature regarding the number of swipes you can have per hour (or day?). The way Tinder works is that you go through pictures of other users and either swipe right or left. Swiping right means you “like” the person, in a sense, and if they also swipe right on you then you have the opportunity to message that person. You can only message a person that you like and that likes you back. I am forever thankful that John and I swept right on each other.

John messaged me first. The very first thing he sent me was an offer: he asked if I wanted a free Chipotle meal. Now, mind you, my profile said something about my love for Netflix and Chipotle, so I did this to myself. However, with this type of app, and in this situation, this was a red flag for me. Typically for me, when guys wanted to just meet you without talking much or getting to know you, two things would happen. One, I assumed they were a serial killer and two, I assumed they didn’t care about getting to know me, so what was the point? Luckily, John wasn’t like some of the other people on Tinder. He wanted to get to know me, to meet me, and to buy me dinner. He never gave up, which I am so grateful for. Here’s a little known fact about John and I’s first date: it wasn’t supposed to be our first date. We had set up a coffee date at the end of July, what would have been our actual first date...and I blew him off (sorry babe!). There were a few reasons as to why I did this, but I shouldn’t have. The next week when I wanted to reschedule, John was on a family vacation in North Carolina. All hope was lost in my mind.

John returned home from halfway across the country and tried again. We messaged a lot more. He asked me out. We talked on the phone for a good hour before our date on the same day. We went on our first date, and the rest is history. Yes, Tinder gets a bad reputation because of the people who use it for the wrong reasons. However, John and I are living proof that not everyone who uses the app is bad news. There is hope!