HER:
On the 12th of May of this year, after about 20 years on and off this site, I was approached by a guy from Australia calling himself RJewReady4me. He claimed to be cheeky, romantic and wearing his heart on his sleeve. He said good morning in Afrikaans and I thought he was sweet so I wrote back!

HIM:
I was on a mission to find myself a nice, Jewish meidle so I joined your site and started making lists. I was determined to find her and I knew I would because, after all, my mother had said she was out there!

Lesley’s profile read like a short story; it just went on and on. I figured that no other guy was bothering to read it in its entirety, but I am like no other guy and besides, the more I read the more I realized that here was a girl who ticked all my boxes. I even found myself drawing more boxes.



HER:
For the next couple of weeks Baruch and I sent each other a couple of emails here and there. He had asked me for my WhatsApp but I felt that getting to know about each other on email was more likely as it gives the person time to reflect on what they are saying. Also time to go back and check what was said before.

HIM:
I was frustrated that Lesley wouldn’t give me her number, but I went ahead reading her long and detailed emails and answering her as best as I could in fewer words. Some letters were so long I needed a coffee break halfway through (others needed a lunch break)

HER:
I had kept Baruch a secret, I’m not sure why but I hardly told anyone about him. I figured I had plenty of time and would meet him when I took a trip I had already planned to Australia in December. I certainly didn’t want my dad to know as I knew he would get all excited while I was really not sure if anything was going to come of it.


HIM:
Lesley was having surgery on her heal and she would be convalescing at home for a couple of weeks. I wished her luck and took a gamble…

HER:
It was days after surgery and I still hasn’t heard from Baruch. I couldn’t believe he hadn’t even bothered to check to see if I had even survived the anesthetic. .

HIM:
I waited patiently for Lesley to miss me and the waiting paid off.

HER:
I was 18 days post surgery and this rude guy still hadn’t checked in. I was so bugged on one hand but on the other hand I was really missing his company. I decided, to hell with it, I’d give him one last chance. I sent him a WhatsApp…

HIM:
At long last my persistence and patience paid off, she sent me a gif saying ‘surprise’. I replied immediately with mazaltov (that’s she’s finally used WhatsApp) followed by a phone call.

HER:
I was not at all ready for a call, way too early in the relationship in my mind but I answered anyway. He asked me to switch on my video and considering that I was in bed, in pajamas, certainly not looking my best and most importantly IT WAS AGAINST MY RULES (always meet in person first) I declined. My cousin had flown up from Cape Town to convalesce together with me and he decided that he would take the call. I let him. They spoke on video for about 20 minutes and I slowly got jealous and more and more curious. My turn. Video off of course.

I cannot tell you what switched, but after saying hello I just decided to throw caution to the wind and put the video back on.

HIM:
There is an eight hour time difference between Sydney and Johannesburg. It’s insane and yet we still managed to speak every single day (except shabbes) I was getting up early, going to be bed late and doing whatever I could to make sure I spoke to her. We managed to clock around 5-6 hours every single day. I was doing a trade show in Melbourne and I asked my parents to fly down and bring me my passport. I was determined to meet her sooner rather than later.

HER:
One day I was laminating pages in the storeroom at school. He called from Melbourne and told me he was making a plan to visit. Something changed in that call, I can’t say exactly what, but we had shifted a gear. I started to get really excited but I was also worried because I knew that he was already smitten while I still had him stuck in the friend zone. I obviously cared about him because my biggest concern was hurting him.

HIM:
I had to get back to Sydney for work but I knew she was special and that I had to get to her. As soon as I got home I was on a mission and soon my ticket was booked.

HER:
The gears had shifted once again and I was struggling to contain my excitement. I had also, finally, told my family. I started preparing my home for my special visitor. This included searching for anything orange to put in his room as he is obsessed with the color.

HIM:
I arrived in Johannesburg after an excruciatingly long flight. I was not able to relax at all as I waited to finally meet my girl.

HER:
And there he was in all his colors and so so tall. I scooted across the airport (post surgery I was still using a knee trolley) to be swept up into his arms and we held each other in pure disbelief.

HIM:
Two days later we booked flights to Cape Town to meet her parents. I took them labolla (an African tradition to take live animals as a bride price, mine where only plastic but my intention was the same)

HER:
A week later, just after dinner in a lovely kosher restaurant, he asked me to close my eyes and daven for our soldiers and hostages. When I was done he quietly proposed with a magnificent ring we had designed together. He had also had chocolates made with our faces on them. He had organized for my closest friends to be on standby and they all arrived at the restaurant a short while later. With sparkling wine and lots of excitement we celebrated out on the pavement while more and more well wishes arrived.

It is like we have always been together. We are so comfortable in each other’s space. There are no boundaries , no barriers. We are 100% authentically ourselves. We just celebrated with a second engagement party in Cape Town where my family live (last week in Joburg) we have a third planned for Australia in December and a wedding please G-d in March. We could not possibly be happier than we already are while spreading light and joy on our way.