Paul L. & Laurie V.

”Because they screen their clients, I felt so safe and so protected. They were watching out for me.”

”My life is very full now. I feel happier in this relationship than I ever have before. I have never been so compatible with anyone as I am with Laurie.”

How was your dating life before you joined The Right One?
Laurie:  I was married for almost twenty years, so I hadn’t dated in a long time. I was a new widow, attending school full time. I just wanted someone to hang out with, to have fun with, to go to the movies with, to see concerts. I wanted a different facet of life.

Paul: Before joining TRO, I hadn't been on a date since before I was married in 1981. I've been divorced since 1998 and had been alone and somewhat content that way.

Were you initially skeptical of matchmakers and dating sites?
Laurie: I had tried online matchmaking service for three months and wasn’t getting anywhere because I lived in the country, and they couldn’t find any matches in my vicinity. The closest match was two hours away, but that was too far to try to build a relationship. I don’t go to church and I don’t drink, so it was really hard to figure out where to meet somebody.

Paul: I was skeptical. I had been to a couple of other sites and I didn't like that I had to join just to look. I did join a couple of them briefly, but I always came away disappointed.

What inspired you to try The Right One?
Laurie: There was a sign on the side of the road – I logged onto the website and saw all of these images of people having a good time and I thought I might as well give it a try. I just wanted someone to travel with, to do things with.

Paul: I saw their sign on the side of the road one day on the way home from work. I guess for me it was the right place and the right time.

How did you like working with them?
Laurie: They made it very easy. I just filled out my personal information. They got back to me immediately, and I met with them to do the interview. They were really friendly and helpful as far as our time schedule.

Paul: I don't remember the name of the woman who interviewed me, but she made me comfortable throughout the process.

What is the process like?
Laurie: They’re so discreet. I didn’t even know they were there. They don’t blatantly advertise, they’re just behind the scenes doing their job and are very successful, I think by word of mouth marketing. The older you get the harder it gets to meet someone. My interviewer said that after being widowed, the longer I stayed single, the lower my chances were of finding a good match… because you kind of get settled in to your routine and you’re doing your routine and you have this circle going off to the right, and he’s doing his routine and he has this circle going off to the left, and our paths never would have crossed. I have three teenagers. I don’t want to bring just anyone into my house. With The Right One, because they screen their clients, I felt so safe and so protected. They were watching out for me. They didn’t really know me but I felt that… because of the background check… this guy is who he says he is and he works where he says he works and he’s single… that proof was wonderful to me.

How long did it take from the time you went on your initial interview to the time you met?
Laurie: It took about four weeks, because they had to do background checks.

Who made the initial contact?
Laurie: I did! I was told, “As soon you get the letter, call.” People are nervous. When you get the authorization you both know what is involved, you both know what you’re looking for, so call. He said he didn't call me because he was working third shift and he needed to wait for a time to call, and he’s shy. I’m more outgoing. I called him on a Wednesday and we met on a Saturday morning.

Paul: Laurie made the first call. Unfortunately, I was working when she called and I called her back the next day.

Describe your first date. How did it go?
Laurie: He was extremely nervous. We went to IHOP. I got there a bit before him and he was there in the parking lot, nervous, wondering who I might be, looking at all the cars driving in. He saw an overweight mom with a bunch of kids and thought, “That can’t be her.”  I said I’d be waiting in the lobby. We met without exchanging photos, as they don’t want us to base our decisions on appearance. We are completely compatible on so many areas - the only thing they say that they can’t guarantee is the spark, so I’ll need to decide if the spark is there or not because the rest is there. I knew that he was 49, divorced, two children, hobbies. But most importantly, I knew he was safe.

Paul: Our first date was a breakfast date. I walked into it scared and nervous. I hadn't been on a date in over twenty-five years. I was sure that I was going to make a fool out of myself. We sat down and made small talk, and got to know each other a little bit. After breakfast, we went to a park and took a nice walk together as we talked some more. It’s a good thing Laurie is a good talker. It helped keep the conversation going. We were together about three hours. We made plans to get together again the next day.

What was your first impression?
Laurie: “Oh, he’s cute.” He looked Italian but he’s German. My husband was a huge burly Irishman with a moustache and wore extra large everything, and Paul walks in and he’s smaller in stature, but he’s handsome. We were there for about 1.5-2 hours. I asked him if he wanted to go for a walk, as there was a big park with a historical society nearby, and it was a nice day. 

Paul: My first impression was ‘Wow, she's really pretty, did I get lucky.’ I was also very impressed with the way she could keep the conversation going, because I'm not very good at it when I meet someone. And she was such a happy person considering why she was single (she's a widow). She has such a positive outlook on life.

Can you describe when you fell in love?
Laurie: Hmmm. Our first date was on a Saturday and the following Sunday there was a musical in town, so I asked him if he’d be interested in going. We met at the Park ‘n ride, and we were both nervous, we’d only known each other for a couple of hours, so we went to the festival and we had so much fun. We ate and we listened to music and we walked around and we laughed and it was like we knew each other for a long time. And at the end of the evening he gave me a kiss, it was raining, and we were standing in the parking lot, and I was like “Oooooh, I really like this guy.” We just hit it off right away. What really cemented my feelings for Paul was seeing how he interacts with his kids.

And interestingly enough, we were both the first person we each met through The Right One. You know, there could have been somebody else out there, but he was so perfect for me and I was so perfect for him that neither of us wanted to meet anyone else.

Paul: I can't say exactly when it was, but I realized after a few months that she really cared about me and would do anything for me. I had never had that before.

How has your relationship progressed?
Laurie: Wonderful. He helped me through nursing school. He’s been really supportive, even though we only see each other once a week because of the distance. We both own houses and we both have teenagers, and live about 45-50 miles apart. Our work schedules make it tough.

Paul: Unfortunately because of our conflicting work schedules, we only get to see each other once a week, sometimes twice. We speak to each other daily on the phone, even if it's for a couple of minutes when one of us is on a break. But we are always there for each other when we need to be, dealing with life’s ups and downs.

What do your friends think about how you two met?
Laurie: I tell everybody, if they ask, I’m very happy with the service and I would do it again. If anything ever happened to Paul, I would do it again. He’s the most compatible person I've ever been with. With losing my husband suddenly, nothing is guaranteed. So I tell everybody how we met, and he says that it was a blind date. He doesn’t want to tell people that we met through a dating agency. I don’t know why.

Paul: I told everybody we were set up on a blind date. I'm such a jerk.

How would you describe your life now?
Laurie: We go to sporting events. We got to concerts. We drove to New York with his daughter. We just have so much fun together. We’re looking forward to doing more traveling.

Paul: My life is very full now. I feel happier in this relationship than I ever have before. I have never been so compatible with anyone as I am with Laurie.

What are your future plans?
Laurie: I would like to get a house closer to work. Now that I've graduated from nursing school and am established with the hospital, I’m going to move first and find a home that will accommodate all of us, and then he’ll sell his house and move in with us. We went to the Phoenix area last summer to visit my family and we’re planning a trip to Cancun this summer. The passports are in the works.

Paul: We will be together for a long time. We have talked about so many things that we want to do together. I can't wait to do it all. We will eventually be living together once some issues get resolved (mainly with the children) and we both enjoy traveling so we look forward to that.

Do you have any advice for others searching for love via The Right One?
Laurie: It’s very much worth the money. At first I thought, “No way, I cannot afford that!” and after hearing their great pitch, I just dove in. It was expensive but I would have never been this happy had I not invested the money.

Paul: Just give it a try. You never know who's out there who, just like you, is looking for that special someone to complete his or her life.