Bumble Success Story: Bernadette + Peter
Amazing couple Bernadette and Peter matched on Bumble on March 12, 2016. Essentials about the couple include the fact that Bernadette is deeply Filipino and Peter's bedtime is typically 9PM. Below is their adorable story in their own words!
What was the first move?
Bernadette: "(This was mortifying to look back on) '... This is so much pressure! Hi!'"
Peter: "How Bumble's turned the tables! Don't worry, you did great. Deep breath... hi!"
How did this match feel different?
Bernadette: "I had only been on dating apps for about a week and a half before I matched with Peter, so I didn't have a crazy amount of experience. The fact that Peter was timely in his responses and gave really great text (on-point punctuation, asked open-ended questions, GIF game 100) made me want to pay attention."
Peter: "The thing that stood out to me was her willingness to actually show up. I heard too many stories of people getting ghosted after what seemed like solid, let's-go-on-a-date type conversations. So to have her bumbling (sorry) down the street to meet with me was 'different' in a great way."
How long did it take to meet up? What did you do for your first meet up/date?
Bernadette: "I think we were messaging for a solid two days before the 'Let's see each other's real faces' convo came up. I'll never forget how it came up, though: I was like, 'How's your day?' And he goes, 'I found $30 on the floor today! I'm gonna use it to take you out.' I was like, *eyeroll*. I remember screenshotting that conversation and sending it to several group text friend-committees like, 'Look at this d-bag. He for sure sends this to a thousand girls a day.'
But his grammar was on point, so I felt it safe to proceed. Peter covers the logistics below, but what I remember was that we both got lucky in that 1) it was Trivia Night (built-in convo!) and 2) the first round was about sailing. He'd spent 2 summers on a boat, so he dazzled me with words I didn't understand. We stayed at that bar until the staff literally kicked us out by mopping around our feet."
Peter: "Like Berna said, it took two-ish days for us to get together. Berna suggested we meet at a bar in downtown SF, but when I looked into that place it was reserved for the next two days. After offering an alternative, we met up at Bar Basic. It turned out to be a wonderful opportunity to see how we worked as a team, dealt with defeat, saw how the other handled a situation, their level of competitiveness, and each other's openness to an unexpected situation. It went well enough to talk on the phone for three hours the next day, and close out Little Star Pizza the day after that."
What's a unique aspect of your relationship?
Bernadette: "On our quest to crush our student loans as quickly as possible this year, we have both become deeply, annoyingly passionate about personal finance, a.k.a. coloring in our super-nerdy debt posters twice a month, leaving our whack big banks, hacking credit card reward point/mileage systems, finally understanding investing, etc. We trade finance books and podcasts and largely irritate the crap out of our friends, but it's really awesome to be building good finance/life-organization habits together for the future. :) I was incredibly millennial (read: a financial hot garbage pile) before I met Peter and we decided to kick each other's asses about it.
Oh! One other thing: I work at Instagram, and Instagram used one of our videos when we launched IG Stories. 600 million IG users had to watch a random video of us going down a slide! It ended up all over worldwide press, including the Wall Street Journal and Good Morning America. Kewl moment."
Peter: "People are usually surprised when I mention we're living with her family, but people who pay $2K+ rent in the Bay Area give an exhausted, understanding nod. They wonder a lot of things: if I get along with her family, if it's put strain on our relationship. Is it weird if she's traveling and I'm hanging out with them? Do you get privacy?
There are compromises with any living situation. Considering I'm away from my family (Michigan) and don't get to see them often, it's nice to come home to people that care about me and help fill that familial need we all have."
Where are you now? Where will you be headed in the future? (Next adventure, etc):
Bernadette: "We've been together for about a year and two months now! In that time, we've traveled a ton, run two half-marathons together (he made me a runner, begrudgingly), and moved in together with my family. (Listen, I know, but it's actually been really wonderful.) He's my dad's new best friend. They go on man-dates when I'm gone, running and brunching and sending me selfies. Also, it's really dope to wake up laughing with my bestie every morning.
One of the major reasons we took my family up on their offer to move in and pay ~waaay below SF market rent~ was that we both want to crush our student loans before we make any further life moves together. We made nerdy debt-tracking posters last year; I'm happy to report we'll both be done with our student loans by this August! Planning our next half-marathon in August to celebrate that."
Peter: "Right now Berna and I are planning for what's ahead, both long-term and tomorrow. We're hunkering down on student loans and hoping to find out what it's like to not have half (or more) of a paycheck go *poof* into nothingness. I've hit it off with Berna's family - important since we live with them - and they're into crafts and DIY things, which I've gotten into as well. Lately leathercraft has become a hobby; I've made Berna a daily planner cover, some wallets for family, and some camera accessories for friends. That plus running and some traveling has kept us busy! We're hoping to visit Hawaii sometime soon, hopefully on some credit card points we've been hoarding for a special occasion!"
Thanks so much to Bernadette and Peter for sharing your story with us! We're so happy for you!
Nothing makes us happier at than seeing Bumble success stories! To submit your story, please email stories@team.bumble.com.
Xo,
The Bumble Hive