More evidence that online dating indeed works: Marylyle McCue, 33, met Jordan Reiter, 32, on OkCupid, a free dating site. This was back in the summer of 2005. The site rated them 80 percent compatible so they felt fairly confident sparks might fly—after all, they grew up 10 miles apart and attended the same high school, Western Albemarle (she was a senior, he was a freshman)—so they decided to go out on a date.
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Marylyle McCue and Jordan Reiter |
Marylyle has an ear for “bizarre indie rock” and world music, so she took Jordan to a rock show at Buddhist Biker Bar & Grill to hear the band B.C. There, it was immediately clear there was potential for (at the very least) a strong friendship. “We were so comfortable with each other,” says Marylyle. They shared a romantic rest of the summer together, but by fall, Jordan left for London to pursue a master’s in international studies.
Despite their feelings for each other, Jordan’s hop across the pond made way for a bit of ambivalence, which was compounded by his gnawing wanderlust. “I thought, I’m going to travel the world and be a diplomat,” he says. “I had to do it. I was possessed.” No sooner had he returned to Charlottesville, he was off to Egypt. Though the couple had a rendezvous in ultra-romantic Paris, Marylyle was somewhat concerned Jordan would never put down roots. She went ahead and moved to Philadelphia to pursue a master’s in library science.
But while in Egypt—a traditional society where there is no such thing as dating, only marriage—a moment of clarity came. “I would show Egyptian friends pictures of Marylyle, and they’d say, ‘She’s so pretty, you should marry her, why don’t you marry her?’” says Jordan. “It simplified things for me—why wouldn’t I marry her?” So when he got back from Egypt he moved posthaste to Philadelphia to be with Marylyle. They promptly moved in together. Jordan now works as a freelance computer programmer and Marylyle is a librarian.
On August 15 of last year, they got engaged, and spent the next year planning a cross-cultural wedding extravaganza, to be held in Charlottesville, that paid tribute to her Celtic roots and his Sephardic Jewish heritage. The wedding took place a year and a day after their engagement—August 16—and featured belly dancing (Marylyle does it as a hobby), henna tattoos for the bridal party, and the African-American tradition of the bride and groom jumping over a broom.
Not surprisingly, the couple now recommend OkCupid to all their friends.