Our Love Story

Fast forward two months and a few exchanged texts later, Matt used David’s upcoming birthday as the perfect excuse to fly to Chicago and take Mimi on a date. He asked if he could stop by for a drink before dinner only to bring her a dozen pink roses (which he did not realize were her favorite flower). They then walked down the street to a neighborhood Italian spot Torchio’s, as recommended to Matt by David, and sat outside on the patio.

The more they got to know each other over pasta and wine, they quickly realized just how opposite they were. At the time Matt lived in a cabin on a lake with his dog Gunner in a very small East Texas town, while Mimi lived in a high-rise apartment building in the middle of downtown Chicago. Matt grew up playing sports with his brother and she grew up going shopping with her sister. Matt is a fiery outgoing Aries (which he learned that night) and she is a grounded, quieter Taurus. They also realized that, despite these differences, they had a lot in common. Both love animals, being on the water, and traveling; both had roots in the south and were extremely competitive. Most importantly, they shared a deep love for being aunt and uncle to their favorite people, Mimi’s niece Margot and Matt’s nephew Luke.

Other than having a great time continuing to get to know each other, there were a lot of signs from the universe that made their first date feel meant to be. Mimi happened to wear a polka dot dress- not realizing that polka dots were good luck in Matt’s Filipino culture- and during dinner, a ladybug landed on his hand, another sign of good luck. Mimi later learned that ladybugs were a favorite of her late uncle and now feels it was his way of giving his blessing. They ended the night walking down the street to the riverwalk, which Matt had planned initially to watch the sunset- but the date went a little longer than expected.

The rest of the summer Matt spent flying up to Chicago almost every other weekend (12 times to be exact) to take her on more dates— even flying there once during a 24-hour layover she had between international trips. Eventually when the weather cooled, she made her way down to Texas to meet his dog, Gunner, and fell in love immediately.

The next year Matt (and Gunner) moved to Chicago, where he and Mimi are now neighbors with their friends Cecilia and David who introduced them. They enjoy boating, playing tennis, biking, traveling, and taking Gunner to all the dog parks in the city. They also enjoy playing cards—Matt taught Mimi the Filipino game he grew up playing, Posoy, and she taught him Gin Rummy, a favorite she learned from both of her grandfathers. Most importantly, Mimi and Matt have loved spending time with each others’ families. They have gotten to know each other’s niece and nephew, and they both welcomed new nephews over the past two years- Matt’s nephew David and Mimi’s nephew JT.

They have visited Mexico City twice since meeting there, and plan to continue visiting every year. On their trip in 2024 they returned to the restaurant where they met and had the same thought as they walked into the beautiful foyer- Mimi thinking it would be a lovely place to be proposed to and Matt thinking this is where he should propose. Neither of them shared these thoughts with each other until their most recent visit in May, when he took her back to the restaurant and got down on one knee right there.