Michael and Sarah: A Dating Success Story That Started Online
Sarah and Michael have been searching for their perfect matches for some time before they met on the Once dating website. It is the shared love for cooking that brought them together, and to this day they enjoy making meals together and exploring the fine dining scene of Austin, Texas.
Sarah: “I knew Michael was the one when he made the best vegan risotto I’ve ever tried in my whole life”
Austin is a big city, and there is a lot happening at all times. I’ve been using different online dating apps on and off for years, but have never thought that I’d actually meet the love of my life there. For my generation, dating via the internet is normalized but still feels a bit weird, if you know what I mean. I’ve been going on dates here and there, but wasn’t really banking on those.
That all changed when I registered with Once. At first, I was a bit overwhelmed as I got so many chat requests and interest from guys on the platform. I’m really into food and cooking, so I was kind of asking everyone this test question: “What would you cook for me for our first date?”. Most answers were underwhelming, but Michael has really surprised me.
He said he’d make me a vegan risotto which is already a green flag, but the way he described in great detail exactly how he would make it, the ingredients he’d put in, and how they would contribute to the taste palette – I knew I stumbled upon someone caring and special.
Obviously, I didn’t come over for our first date, we met at a nice restaurant downtown, but I did make him cook that risotto for me eventually, and, oh boy, he did not disappoint!
Michael turned out to be just as attentive to everything else, and he immediately made me feel safe and protected from the moment we met. The longest we've been separated since then were my business trips for a few days, and honestly, I don’t want to be far from him for a long time ever. He is my soulmate for sure, and I’ve never been happier that I gave online dating another chance!
Michael: “She’s the woman of my dreams”
I don’t think I’ll ever forget those first few days of chatting with Sarah. It felt really weird because I’ve not even met her yet, but it felt like we had this awesome connection, as if we had known each other for years and years.
I knew we’d get along because we liked the same movies and shared many views on how we wanted to live our lives, the future we saw for ourselves and our country, places we wanted to visit, etc. And then she asked me what kind of meal I’d prepare for her on our first date. You won’t believe how much time I’ve spent thinking about it. I had like ten recipes that I wanted to share, but I also didn’t want to freak her out. I settled on risotto at the end, and it looks like it worked!
We’re both very much into cooking and spend many nights prepping something while listening to YouTube videos in the background. I genuinely haven’t felt this happy in a long time, and I owe it all to her.
Our tips for singles
Don’t try to fit in to make people like you. When you’re dating, online or offline, it’s easy to meet someone amazing and think “Okay, I need to impress them, so I’ll make up this whole new persona”. Don’t do that, we’ve both been guilty of our own “cool girl” moments, and it’s never worth it. Do what you do, believe what you believe in, be unapologetic about it, and the right person will find you.
Also, don’t waste your time giving chances to people you know deep down you’re not completely blown away by. It’s better to wait for someone truly special, and also not give false hopes to someone else. Don’t rush the dating game, it pays off to take it slow and be mindful.
