Melissa wasn’t just trying to fill the empty spots on her dance-card. She wanted to experience the love of a lifetime! Our site looked like the answer to her prayers. “What inspired me was the belief that true love can be found online,” she explains. “I knew there was a real possibility I would find my perfect mate.”

Keith was in the same boat—single, but not particularly ecstatic about it. Assuming he found the right woman first, he was ready to settle down. “I was inspired to try online dating because I believed it would broaden my chances of finding my perfect match,” he says. 

Their confidence wasn’t unrealistic—in fact, it proved to be entirely warranted. Melissa was a member of our site for just two weeks and Keith seven days (!) when they found each other. “He reached out to me through an email,” Melissa recalls. “My first impression was that this great guy couldn’t be real! But he turned out to be that, plus more.”

To this day, Melissa can’t believe how quickly she and Keith went from perfect strangers to a perfect match. “It started out with a simple message, then led to instant messaging and emails to phone calls and video chats. We would talk for hours.”

Keith wasn’t the type to engage in idle chitchat. There was something important happening here. As he tells us, “My first impression was that she was the total package, and I loved hearing her voice on the phone.”

While communicating became an important part of their routine pretty quickly, it took awhile for this couple to formulate a plan for their first in-person interaction. It’s not that Melissa didn’t trust Keith, but she did want to be sure she felt comfortable with him. “I decided I was ready to meet for a date after two months of talking literally every day and learning so much about him. I felt safe enough and was excited to go ahead and make that leap,” Melissa recounts.

And what did they wind up doing on Date No. 1? “He arranged a date of dinner and a concert,” says Melissa. Meeting in person, these singles could see in each other’s eyes that there was no disappointment in this first impression. Explains Melissa, “My first thought was ‘Wow, he IS real!’ The most surprising thing about our first date was how much of a gentleman he was, and how I felt so sure about ‘us’ during our first meeting.”

Laying eyes on her for the first time, Keith knew Melissa’s profile had done her wrong. “She was gorgeous,” he relays. “Her photos did not do her justice!” What surprised Keith the most about that night was “how well we clicked, right away. Even though we had talked long distance for months, we were both nervous about meeting in person. But within the first 15 seconds, we were already comfortable around one another.”

Melissa didn’t doubt for a second that something special was happening here. “After our first date, I was sure we would go out again,” she says.

Keith concurs. “I didn’t want our first date to end, and in a sense it never has! After months of talking through emails, video chat, phone conversations, etc., I was really excited to get some face-to-face time, feel her touch, hear and see her laugh. It was the perfect first date, something I will always remember.”As the dates came and went, one after the other, the focus went from fun Fridays and Saturdays to a more committed involvement in each other’s lives. “He is so funny and caring, and I don’t think I would have ever realized to what extent, just from his profile,” says Melissa. “He not only meets my standards for a ‘type,’ but he exceeds them because he treats me in a way I would never have expected to be treated by a man.”

“She was exactly what I was looking for, and she’s exceeded any expectations I could have ever conjured up,” Keith declares. “She’s my road-trip partner, my soul mate, and my best friend, all in one person. And her sense of humor is bar none! She was witty in her profile, but nothing compares to her lively personality [in real life]. She’s also really sweet and caring. The type of woman you bring home to mom, which I have done multiple times.”

With all those warm and fuzzies going back and forth, the relationship progressed along with the deepening of their feelings. Eventually it became clear that a greater commitment would be warmly welcomed by both sides. “He proposed during a trip we made to Montreal, Canada,” says Melissa. “Keith booked a beautiful suite right near the ski slopes and, after a plan to propose on a horse-drawn carriage ride fell through, he decided to just pop the question in our suite.

He started out with all the things he loved about me, then just asked me to marry him. I was totally surprised!”“I was honestly starting to give up on love until I found Melissa,” Keith confides. “I was just trying to find a friendship with the possibility of something more. A year ago, I would have never thought I’d be engaged and planning a family with the woman of my dreams. She brings me out of my comfort zone. She’s all the things I’m not and more, but that’s exactly what I needed.”

“Finding love has brought so much brightness and sunshine into my life,” says Melissa. “I love being with Keith, and I honestly consider him my best friend as well as my partner in life.”

Not everyone has a Keith or Melissa in their lives—yet—so what can we learn from the experience these two had on our site? “I would say to be patient and take your time getting to know someone before passing judgment, or rushing to meet them in person,” advises Melissa. “You have to know more about them. Also, I would say keep an open mind, because although you get to pick and choose your preferences for a perfect mate, you could come across the profile of a person who surprises you!”

We asked Keith for his advice as well. “Don’t be in a rush,” he suggests. “Practice patience with online dating. It’s very rare to find someone right off the bat. The best thing to do is to be open-minded, sit back and see what’s in store!”

Going into this, Melissa had no idea what was in store for her. Today her heart is filled with gratitude. “My feelings grew from simply being interested to totally shocked that I found someone I could legitimately see myself with for the rest of my life. He proposed a year later and we are now planning our beautiful wedding. Thanks!”