When the Thanksgiving season briefly brought this couple to the same city, a last-minute lunch date turned into something magical. Carlotta and Stephen matched in November 2015 and were married almost exactly two years later. Talk about holiday cheer!

Carlotta, how long did it take to meet up after matching? What did you do for your first meet up/date?

We met one or two days after matching. I was writing a grad school paper with a friend at Panera Bread. Stephen was only visiting his family in Albuquerque for a few days, and I was leaving to visit family the next day.

When we realized this was our only chance to meet, I asked Stephen to meet me at the Panera before I had class. Since I had never met anyone online before, I asked the friend I was with to it a table away, act like she wasn’t with me, and spy on us in case anything went wrong. We had coffee and laughed a lot.

What was your first move? 

I wrote, “Granada as in Spain?” His profile said he studied in Granada, and I had also studied in Spain and loved Granada. 

Stephen, what was your first reply back? 

“Yeah! Have you been?” After talking more, we found out we were both Real Madrid fans, so Carlotta said, “Well, I should let you know that Sergio Ramos is my boyfriend.” And I said, “Well then we have a problem, because he’s my boyfriend too.” 

Carlotta, how did this match feel different?

This was my first match, but it felt different from the start. I knew Stephen was it from the first date. It was just easy and comfortable — I was laughing so hard and being so open with this stranger right away!

Stephen, how did this match feel different for you? 

Before meeting Carlotta, I was kind of jaded from past dating experiences. It felt like people only wanted to date you if you could benefit them somehow, not for who you were.

Carlotta, what was your first impression of Stephen? How did you feel before the first date?

I didn’t really have time to be nervous or anything since we decided to meet so spontaneously. But I remember when he first walked in and hugged me, I loved his broad shoulders.

Stephen, what was your first impression of Carlotta? How did you feel before the first date?

I honestly wondered if she was a fake profile. I didn’t think much of the date though since we would have been long distance. I didn’t think either of us would want to put in the effort!

Carlotta, what do you consider a unique aspect of your relationship now?

I think a unique aspect of our relationship is that we never want to stop learning. We want to learn what makes each other tick, learn how to make each other laugh, learn how to better love each other, and even learn how to better fight each other.

Stephen, what do you consider a unique aspect of your relationship now?

We are both willing to put great effort into our relationship. We want it to be the best that it can be. And in order to reach that potential, we both have to work to be the best person we can be in the relationship. If you love this person and want the best for them, even in arguments you have to be kind — or at least respectful of one another.

Where are you now? Where are you headed in the future? 

We got married on November 4th, 2017 and spent two weeks in Hawaii on our honeymoon! We live in Denver and are loving settling in together. This year has been so crazy that we are just looking forward to sitting on a couch together, cuddling our dogs and laughing. 

Finally, what are your favorite things to do together?

We like to hike, climb, and spend time with our dogs, Chance and Bentley. We love to spend time with our friends and get really competitive when playing cards. When I can get Stephen out dancing we have a lot of fun too.

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