By Emily Stonehouse

In 2016, Jenna De Guzman had just graduated from university in Halifax, and was on her way out to a promising job opportunity in Alberta.

In the middle, she spent two months in the Toronto area, visiting family and friends. At the time, she was using a dating app, Tinder, which identifies fellow singles in the area. One night, while she was driving through a neighbourhood she hadn’t visited before in the city, she got a notification that she had a match in that area. The app is geographically-based, so location is key.

“It was serendipity,” smiled Jenna.

It was the right place, right time for the app to match Jenna with Rachel Morgan, who was at a crossroads in her life, and navigating her next steps in Toronto.

The two decided to meet for the first time, at a little cafe near Rachel’s apartment. “It was five minutes away from her place,” laughed Jenna, “and she was still late.”

Rachel had been going through some personal challenges; including her beloved dog being diagnosed with cancer. “I wasn’t in a place to date at the time,” she said, “but I remember that before we met, Jenna was texting me, and she referenced my dog, and said she understands me, and I thought that was really cool.”

So Rachel decided to go ahead with the date, “and I remember I was wearing really geeky glasses,” she chuckled, “and yes, I was late, but I walked in and saw her, and just thought she looked so cool.”

“I was totally awestruck,” said Jenna, her face mirroring the way she looked; jaw-dropped.

The two had an adventurous first date: drinks, an escape room at Casa Loma, meeting one another’s friends, karaoke in the car.

And deep down, they already knew. “I kept thinking about how this is going to suck that I am only here for two months,” said Jenna.

The couple decided to play it cool; Rachel easing her way back into the dating world after being burned a few times, and Jenna knowing that she wasn’t in a place to commit to anything long term, considering the expiration date on her Ontario visit. “But a week before she was leaving, she mumbled ‘I love you,’ and then we knew we were in it,” said Rachel.

They agreed to try long distance, with Jenna headed out west, and Rachel sticking to Ontario, but after only a few short months, they knew they couldn’t be without one another. During a visit to Niagara Falls, Rachel was ready to make it official.

It was during a wine and bike tour, “and I was just waiting for the right moment to ask her,” she shared, referencing the shiny ring she had packed in her purple backpack.

She found the moment at sunset, on a rickety dock at a winery, and although the future was uncertain with the span of Canada between them, Jenna said yes to a lifetime with Rachel.

Following their engagement, Rachel moved out to Alberta to join Jenna, and they learned the true meaning of growing together. “We had spent the majority of our relationship doing long distance,” said Jenna, “so we had learned to communicate without seeing body language. I think that helped us a lot.”

With Jenna being an extrovert and Rachel happily introverted, they ran into some problems early on, but knew that they cared about each other enough to power through. “We’re very different people, but we had rules in place,” said Rachel. “Boundaries are important,” agreed Jenna, “and we always just made sure we felt safe around one another.”

The two were married in 2019 at the Bonnie View Inn in Haliburton, but returned out west for work. By 2022, though, they were ready to come home. “I needed a break,” said Rachel, citing some personal challenges she had encountered, “I just needed a month to be surrounded by family.”

The couple returned home, and while Rachel was casually looking for work, she spotted a job as an occupational therapist, which is the exact field that Jenna was looking for work in. “And that’s when we knew that it was officially time to move home,” said Jenna.

Happily settled into the community, with a home in Minden and jobs they love, Jenna and Rachel are looking ahead; hoping to start a family, and continue their adventures together. “I’m always open to different possibilities in the future,” said Jenna, “but right now, this is where we are supposed to be.”