Bumble Success Story: Lauren + Gabriel
Lauren and Gabriel are a military success story as well as a Bumble one – Lauren is a military helicopter pilot and Gabe is a Marine. They matched on March 19, 2017 and are now married!
Because this is a very special success story, we’re including the details from Lauren and Gabriel’s adorable wedding website in this post in addition to their answers to our Success Story questions. We know you’ll love their story as much as we do!
Bumbling Along: How We Met
April 19, 2017: Gabe’s and Lauren’s story started with two Bumble profiles – one with bad puns, the other with really short shorts. It was late on a Wednesday night and both Lauren and Gabe were killing some time with some (mostly left) swipes when Lauren came across a very right swipe-worthy guy. In one photo, he was really rockin’ some “silkies” (non-military friends and family: “silkies” are really short athletic shorts that many men don’t have the confidence… or the legs… to pull off) and in another photo, he was holding a dog. She was SOLD! He right swiped back, and the two began to chat. They ended up staying up till almost 1 a.m. messaging back and forth. The next day, Lauren’s plans fell through and Gabe skipped class to meet her. It was the best bad decision he’d ever made! A last-minute date, a bacon chili cheese hotdog, and an impromptu speakeasy bar crawl later, and these two were linked! Since then, the two of them have shared travels, laughter, tears, countless PATH rides, hours of bad reality television, contagious naps, scraped knees, and a particularly cringe-worthy performance of the opening song from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Let’s Do It: The Proposal
About two months into dating, Lauren brushed an eyelash off Gabe’s cheek, presented it to him, and told him to make a wish. Gabe smiled and made a wish. Two-ish months later, on August 16, Lauren and Gabe were having just another lazy, Netflix night at home.One conversation topic led to another, and the gist of it is this:
Lauren: blah blah blah… marriage… blah blah blah… not to scare you away or anything.
Gabe: You’re not going to scare me away. Let’s do it.
Lauren: Wait. What? Really?
Gabe: Yeah, I mean, I wanted to get to Texas and ask your parents and all that (*side note: Lauren ruins surprises), but yeah, let’s do it!
Lauren: You’re serious!?! You’re sure? Really!?!
Gabe: Yes.
Lauren: Say the words?
Gabe Will you marry me?
Lauren: YES!!!
(By the way, Gabe’s eyelash wish from a few months before was “I want to marry this woman.” Spoiler: It came true!)
Amazing, right? Now we’ll share their answers to our Success Story questions. We know you’re probably dying to know more about this amazing couple just like we were!
How long did it take to meet up after matching? What did you do for your first date?
After matching and talking late into the night on 4/19/17, Lauren texted Gabe the next day. They decided to meet up on the evening of 4/20/17. For their first date, they met at what would be the first of three bars (two speakeasies and a dive) that evening in West Village, NY.
Lauren, what was the first message you sent on Bumble?
“Hey Gabriel! How’s it going?”
Gabe, what was your first reply back?
“Hey there, I just got back from watching a play.”
Lauren, how did this match feel different?
A few weeks before meeting Gabe, I told a friend of mine that my ideal guy would be a “hot nerd with caring and compassion for others.” Well, I knew Gabe was incredibly good looking from his photos, and the conversation flowed – it was easy. How often do you find someone who has served in the Marines Corps, is an engineer, and also likes to go to plays?
Gabe, how did this match feel different?
Having served in the Marine Corps, this match was interesting because Lauren happened to be active duty in the military. Finding someone with a common bond of military service was really refreshing and something we immediately connected on. Plus the fact that she was a helicopter pilot was incredibly impressive.
Lauren, what was your first impression of Gabe? How did you feel before the first date?
I was so excited to meet him! But, I had a busy work schedule and actually already had a date scheduled for the next evening. Around 4pm or so, my date canceled on me so I jumped at the opening in my schedule and texted Gabe to see if he was available. He had class, but skipped out early to meet me. We met at the Five Guys in West Village (it has a speakeasy upstairs) and when he walked in, I was shoving a bacon chili cheese hot dog in my face. (What? I hadn’t eaten dinner yet and knew I needed something in my stomach before getting drinks.) The first thing I noticed was how handsome he looked in slacks and a button down and the confidence he had walking up to me. I got to check out how good he looked walking away when he got up to close out the tab before we went to the next bar. (He has a really cute butt!)
Gabe, what was your first impression of Lauren? How did you feel before the first date?
When first meeting Lauren I was immediately drawn to two things: her ability to eat a bacon chili cheese dog in record time and her eyes. My first impression completely drowned out my initial expectations for the date. Being a skeptical person, I thought she might be rather elitist because of the drastic military rank difference between her and I (even though I’m no longer active duty).
Lauren, what do you consider a unique aspect of your relationship now?
Gabe is a perfect complement to me. He calms me down and I pull him out of his shell. I’d rather be around him than anyone else in the world.
Gabe, what do you consider a unique aspect of your relationship now?
The uniqueness of our relationship is that we are both eclectic in nature. We’re equally comfortable attending galas in evening formal wear and watching The Bachelorette in sweatpants.
Where are you now? Where are you headed in the future? (Traveling, next steps, etc.)
We just got married! We wanted a wedding that was just about us, so we told our friends individually, kept it off social media, and kept it low key. We had an amazing ceremony in Washington Square Park that came together perfectly with the help of our friends. Lili officiated, Jay played the guitar, Sean did our photography, Ron managed to call in a last-minute favor to have Mounted NYPD Police Officers attend the ceremony – everything just came together beautifully and we couldn’t be happier. We’re saving up to do some remodeling on Lauren’s TINY New York apartment (so we can fit two people into 388 sq ft!). Once that’s done, we’ll be moving in together. We’re also planning our honeymoon!
We absolutely love this story. Lauren and Gabe, thank you so much for sharing your success story with us! We couldn’t be happier for you two!
Nothing makes us more excited than hearing Bumble success stories. To submit your own success story, email stories@team.bumble.com!