“Do you believe in destiny? Do you believe in faith? I do! I met my husband in the most unexpected way and unusual circumstance. Maybe it was God intervening in my life, or maybe it was just a coincidence. Either way, I am grateful for the moment.
In 2011, I was living in Trinidad and Tobago. I fell in love with ‘Words with Friends’ and was playing daily. I was only playing friends at the time, and I was pretty much beating them all. I would send multiple requests to get them to play me again. At the same time, Adam was working and living in Virginia. He had recently moved away from his family for work and was bored and depressed. He was playing multiple games with his mother, but it wasn’t enough.
This is my favorite part of our story, because this is where divine intervention and the mystique of true love come to pass. There is a virtual button, called ‘Random Opponent,’ on ‘Words with Friends,’ which allows you to find additional opponents to play against. Adam and I literally pressed the button at the same time. I was in Trinidad and he was in Virginia, 2000 miles away… and the game connected us.
So, we played each other, and he beat me. At this point, we didn’t see each other’s profile pictures, only fictitious screen names. We played several games and he kept beating me, which drove me crazy because I am a very competitive person. Eventually, he reached out via the chat box in the game and said, ‘Hey, can I get some competition here?’ I laughed, but I did get pissed. I said, ‘Don’t worry, I will beat you.’
That message lead to a friendly exchange of interactions and asking about one another. This went on for a while, all via the ‘Words with Friends’ chat box. We eventually found each other on Facebook. I was pleasantly surprised when I found his profile. I thought to myself, ‘Wow, he is so cute.’ He had one of the most beautiful smiles I had ever seen.
We eventually exchanged phones numbers, and I can remember him calling me immediately. I was so nervous to answer, but I did. I heard the most handsome and confident voice over the phone; it was so comforting. I remember feeling my heart flutter and my hands were shaking. But, it was one of the best conversations of my life. We laughed and joked, spoke about our lives, and just got to know each other. We spent over an hour talking on the phone. I remember coming off the phone and smiling to myself, uncontrollably. There was just something about our conversation that touched me that day. As time went by, we maintained a long-distance friendship — reconnecting to check on each other and to wish each other Happy Birthday or Happy New Year as the years went by.
Over the years, I dated guys who made me feel undervalued and unappreciated. I was unhappy and knew I deserved better. One night, I laid in bed talking to God, praying He would hear me and answer my prayer. I prayed to God asking Him to give me a sign, to tell me what to do, to send me someone who would love me unconditionally, someone He saw fit for me. Days went by and nothing happened. Then, one night, I dreamed of Adam. I didn’t go to bed with him on my mind. Out of nowhere, I dreamed I met him. The dream felt so real! When I woke up, I felt all warm and tingly… I felt overwhelming joy! I took that as my sign and decided to go for it. I had not spoken to Adam in almost a year. But, what did I have to lose?
In August of 2015, I reached out to Adam via Facebook and initiated a conversation. I worked into asking if he had a girlfriend, and he said no. I was so happy when he said that. Apparently, he had recently gotten out of a relationship. What are the odds of that? My timing was perfect. We spent the next five months really getting to know each other. We called and video chatted almost every day, sometimes multiples times a day. It was a long-distance romance. I don’t recall who said ‘I love you’ first, but we were definitely saying ‘I love you’ to each other, all the time.
We eventually worked up the courage to decide to meet in person. We came to the conclusion it was best for us to meet in New York, because Adam had an elderly dog, and I didn’t want him to be away from his best friend, should anything go wrong. When we told our families of our plan, they said we were crazy. My friends and family were very concerned for my safety, but I knew in my heart I could trust him. His friends believed he was being catfished. It’s crazy when I think back about it, but I knew God had a plan. I genuinely believed this, because a few weeks before I was scheduled to go visit Adam, some clients of mine went on vacation to the United States and coincidentally met Adam at his place of work. What are the chances of something like that happening?
Adam met the couple, and they mentioned they were from Trinidad. He then proceeded to tell them he had a girlfriend living in Trinidad, and showed them a picture of me. They were like, ‘No way, we know her!’ Adam was in great disbelief. I remember him calling at work and saying, ‘I just met someone who knows you.’ I did not believe him, and then he put his phone on speaker, and I spoke to them. Let’s just say, I was in awe the way everything happened.
With my family’s blessings, in January of 2016, I got on a plane and flew 2,200 miles to meet the love of my life, not knowing where it would lead. But, I didn’t want to look back and regret not taking the chance. I flew into JKF, and my high school friend picked me up from the airport. Adam and I were schedule to meet the next evening. I remember being flushed with emotions — one moment I was excited, and the next moment, I was extremely nervous and second guessing what I was doing. That evening, on his drive up to meet me, Adam called me. We talked his entire ride up. That really helped us calm our nerves, because that’s what we were used to; we were used to hearing each other’s voice.
We spoke on the phone until Adam was standing in the foyer of my friend’s apartment building. I walked out and there he was, the man I had known for five years and fallen in love with, was finally standing in front of me. It was so surreal. We were so nervous. My heart was pounding in my chest. Adam promised when he finally saw me in person, he would put a deep kiss on me. He chickened out. I saw how nervous he was, so I took the opportunity, and I gave him the ask.
Later that evening, after our first dinner date, which was chaperoned by my friend, I decided to take the drive back to New Jersey with Adam. That drive was one of the longest drives of my life, at that point, and a million thoughts were going through my mind. Adam was such a gentleman. When we got to his place, he offered to put me up in a hotel to ensure I was comfortable. I declined because I felt safe, and I longed to be with him for so long, I didn’t want to spend any time apart. That night, I laid in his arms and we talked for hours, just looking into each other’s eyes. We were finally together!
The next two weeks were magical. It was my first time visiting the United States, and Adam made sure I had a wonderful experience. On the last day of my trip, we were both sad and wondering when we would see each other again. I made two more trips, and in June of 2016, I made the decision to leave my job, apartment, car, and family to be with him. It was the biggest risk of my life, but I knew how strongly I felt for him, and how special our love was. So, I did it.
I stayed as long as my visa would allow. We had such a beautiful summer together; it was a summer love like no other. Unfortunately, Adam’s dog passed away that summer. But, I was happy I got to meet him.
As the time on my visa was coming to an end, I flew back to Trinidad and my college graduation. Adam came, met my family, and was quickly embraced with love. My family was very happy to finally meet the man who stole my heart and took me miles away. They were very grateful for how loving and kind he was to me.
Adam flew back a few days later, and we were back to square one. We were long-distance again, and missing each other insanely. So, I flew back in December and spent Christmas with his family. His parents were so welcoming; they immediately made me feel loved and cared for. I stayed for six months. During that time, we went on trips and grew deeper in love. They say time flies when you’re having fun.
Once again, my visa was up, and we had to make the difficult choice: should I stay, or should I go? Where does our fairy tale go now? Adam looked at me and said, ‘Ana, I can’t live without you. Will you marry me?’ It caught me off guard. I was so happy and shocked! I immediately screamed, ‘YES!’ We had a small simple wedding with Adam’s friends and family. Our plan is to eventually have our dream wedding in Trinidad and Tobago, with my friends and family. A wedding to match our amazing love story.
We recently celebrated our third anniversary and purchased our new home. We are working on growing our family, and we recently got a puppy, named Bailey. He has brought so much joy and happiness into our life. We love having this opportunity to take care of, love, and train him together. I know God still has more plans for us, and with His blessings, we will soon have children to complete our love story. Do you believe in destiny? Do you believe in faith?”
This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Adam and Anastacia DeMarco (aka CocoCaviar) of New Jersey. You can follow their journey on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Submit your own story here. Be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.
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