eHarmony Sweepstakes!!

I am sooo excited that I get to be a part of this sweepstakes! One of my readers will win a $100 Visa gift card! More about that later...

First I want to tell you about two people who never fail to make me laugh: Lynn and Dan. You may remember them, even though I never mentioned them by name, from the time when Olivia SHAT ON THEIR FLOOR. And yes, they are still friends with me after that. The only thing I don't like about Lynn and Dan is they live too far away from me!

Possibly a little-known fact about Lynn and Dan is they met on eHarmony. It seems like there is a sort of stigma attached to online dating, and seriously, I don't know why. I know so many people who met and are happily married thanks to online dating sites. (Myself included!) I asked Lynn and Dan to talk about their experience. Enjoy!

How did you choose eHarmony over other dating sites?

Lynn: I was 25, living in a city far away from all my friends and family and working in a sales job (read I did not go to an office everyday). I mention these things because I was DESPERATE to meet people and didn’t feel that I was going to be able to without some online assistance. It’s not considered widely acceptable for a girl to go pick up a dude at the bar. For guys this is ok but not so much for girls. I liked that eHarmony didn’t post pictures. I was convinced I didn’t want creepers just creeping on me because they liked my photo.

Tell us about your first date!

Lynn: Our first date was to the very romantic spot of Ruby Tuesday in Austintown, OH. Dan was living in Cuyahoga Falls at the time, and I was in Pittsburgh on business. We picked it out of convenience, really, halfway for both of us.

We sat in the bar area and ordered something really exciting like chicken fingers. I ran to the restroom, and Dan ran out! He realized he’d forgotten his cigarettes, SO HE LEFT while I was in the bathroom to run to the Sheetz next door to get them. He was convinced he would be able to make it back before I returned.

Anyway, he didn’t make it back before I made it out of the restroom (shocking, I know), but he left his jacket. I guess that was the love note to me letting me know he was coming back. Either that or it was a Dear John letter. Well, we’re married now so I guess you know it wasn’t a Dear John.

We sat and talked and drank for hours and generally had a great time. At one point he reached across the table, grabbed my hands and said, “Some day we’ll tell our kids about this.” That should have been creepy. It wasn’t. I guess that’s when I knew.

Dan: Obviously it went well. I did, in fact, tell a girl I had known for an hour that we would tell our kids about this night. We only have one kid, but I fully intend to tell him the story as soon as I can get him to settle down and listen.

Did you meet anyone else on eHarmony before you met each other?

Lynn: I did not. Dan was my first. I was an eHarmony virgin, I suppose.

Dan: I had been using eHarmony for a while to meet girls. I never had any intention of meeting “the one”. Rather, I found eHarmony a good way to meet girls who were easy to talk to based on our similar likes, etc.

How and when did you know that Lynn/Dan was "the one?"

Lynn: Almost immediately, really. We both told the truth in our answers we gave. It’s amazing how you find someone just like you if you tell the truth.

Dan: Seriously, within about an hour or so I was planning the rest of my life with this person across the table from me. This should have been slightly creepy or should have at least given one of us pause. However, it felt right, and we both went with it.


Do you feel like there is a stigma attached to meeting on an online dating site? Did you tell people, or did you have an alternate story you told people?

Lynn: At the time there definitely was. We were pioneers in 2005. We did this before it was cool…or accepted. We actually tried to concoct a story on that first date. We didn’t want to HAVE TO TELL anyone that we met…O N L I N E!!

Dan: Back then, only people seeking to have sex and people offering up anonymous sex at a rest area used the internet to hook up. At least that’s what people thought. It’s strange because if you were going on a date with someone you met in a bar no one would freak out. That said, if you were going on a date with someone that you met on the INTERNET, you needed to tell someone where you would be lest you be murdered. The fact that I like to keep a tarp, 10 gallons of lye, and a hatchet on my front seat may be unintentionally reinforcing that particular fallacy.

What is your life like now? Married? Kids? Crapping Rainbows?

Lynn: We just celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary. It’s crazy really. We’re in our second home, and I think we both feel like someone's mom is going to come down the stairs and ask us why we are here. We are really lucky to have all that we do.

Humbly, I think we both get that we are luckier than we deserve to be. The real fairy tale part of all of this is we never would have met if it weren’t for that job, which moved me from my family and friends. We never would have met if I wouldn’t have been SO lonely I resorted to the internets bringing me a man. I’m not a big believer in the “everything happens for a reason” thing; I feel like stupid people say that to make themselves feel better when they make a mistake or something, but I can’t think of a better way to put it. So there ya have it.

We have one smart, beautiful, funny little monster. His name is Jason, and I think we both agree that he has changed our lives for the better. I don’t remember my life before that Tuesday, but I know it couldn’t possibly have been this cool. We’re amazed, daily, about how well Jason is turning out (given that neither of us can be trusted to keep a house plant alive).


Would you recommend online dating/eHaromony to other people? Why or why not?

Lynn: I would… IF (and this is a big one)…you tell the truth. I don’t go to church. I drink too much. I can’t hide those things…they're part of my charm. So I didn’t lie. I told the truth, and so did he. It’s amazing how well matched the internets can make a couple if you just tell the truth


Dan: I would. As Lynn stated, because we both told the truth we were PERFECTLY matched. I know several people who have used eHarmony and were incredibly dishonest in building their profile. Not surprisingly, they did not find what they were looking for.

Additionally, we do not have an officially recognized marriage in the eyes of eHarmony. We met so quickly Lynn was able to cancel her membership and get her money back. Therefore, eHarmony did not send us a wedding present.

When the eHarmony commercials first came out everyone who knows us inquired as to why we weren’t in a commercial. I had to explain that due to Lynn’s desperate financial condition at the time she was forced to game the system. Now that I think about it, perhaps we should be the ones to send the eHarmony people a gift.
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SO!!!! As I mentioned, this post is part of a pretty sweet sweepstakes through BlogHer and eHarmony! One reader will win a $100 Visa gift card.

How to Win...The Rules!:

All you have to do is answer a simple question: What is the most important character trait your partner must have and why?

Rules:

No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 2/14/2012 - 3/15/2012.

Visit the BlogHer.com eHarmony page to check out more blogger success stories and for more chances to win!