In spring 2007, Sarah found her love life lacking. She figured she'd give the virtual world a try and signed up for eHarmony. "I was on it for about a year, off and on," Sarah said. "I went on a lot of first dates."
Then in April 2008, the dating site sent her Chris' profile as a potential match. "Chris is a nurse. I liked that right away," said Sarah, whose mother, Karen, is a nurse, too. "Nurses are nice, compassionate, and sympathetic."
Nurse Chris was in class at the Frank J. Tornetta School of Anesthesia in Norristown when his phone told him someone from eHarmony had sent him a message. "It was a nice surprise" during a challenging and, at times, tedious class, he said. During the break, Chris, who had joined eHarmony a couple of weeks before, liked what he learned about Sarah, a sales trainer at Independence Blue Cross in Center City.
They exchanged messages, and then Chris called Sarah - when he knew she would be at work.
"Yes, I did it on purpose," Chris said, laughing. "You've got to gauge interest - did she really like me or not?"
She did.
"I really liked that he loved Philly sports, and loved going to Phillies games. And I liked that he was very family-oriented. He has six nieces and nephews who are young, and he talked about them a lot in his e-mails," said Sarah, who grew up in West Chester, North Jersey, Arkansas, and Delaware.
Chris, now 29, admits the first thing he noticed about Sarah is how pretty she is. But he became hooked when he learned how Sarah spends much of her free time. "She's big into volunteering. It's one of her passions," he said. Sarah, now 28, continues to volunteer with the Blue Crew, Independence Blue Cross' volunteer team. She has cooked meals for homeless women and tutored children.
During one phone conversation, Chris, upon hearing Sarah liked wine, asked her to be ready at 7 p.m. May 16 for a first date with a surprise itinerary. "I took her to the Wine School of Philadelphia at Fairmount," Chris said. "We learned about wine and what to order with what food, then went to Osteria so we could practice our new skills."
And that was the end of Internet dating and the start of dating around Chris' school schedule. He graduated in November 2009 and now works at Jeanes Hospital, part of Temple University Health System, as a nurse anesthetist.
