ESSENCE AND JOEL: ICE CREAM... FOREVER

From Essence:

Before trying BLK, I was on another dating app, but the experience was frustrating—most of the men were inconsistent, and I rarely matched with anyone who truly caught my interest. It felt like endless swiping with little reward. I was looking for someone who was not only consistent but also family-oriented—someone who could genuinely add value to my life and my son’s.

Then, I met Joel.

Our first date was completely unplanned—a spontaneous ice cream run to Cold Stone. What was supposed to be a quick meetup turned into hours of effortless conversation. We stayed there until closing, only to continue our adventure with a late-night walk to Wawa because Joel insisted I had to try their lemonade. According to him, it was the best.

After our Wawa detour, we ended up sitting in his car, talking for hours. Time seemed to disappear as we got lost in conversation, enjoying each other’s company so much that neither of us wanted the night to end. Although I was tempted to keep the evening going, the tiny voice in my head reminded me that I had just met this man—who’s to say he wasn’t a serial killer?

What I did know for sure was that his profile had stuck with me—those sparkly brown eyes, that deep dimple, and the fact that he was an elementary art teacher who loved creativity as much as I did. That night, as we wrapped up our first date, we both knew there would be a second. And maybe, just maybe, something even more.

From Joel:

Before hopping on BLK, I told myself I was in my self-work era—focused, disciplined, doing my thing. And yet, somehow, I still ended up making a BLK profile. Wild, right? 😂

Meeting Essence was a funny situation because, at the time, I had connected with two other women. But then, boom—Essence and I super-liked each other’s profiles. I was looking for someone with a strong relationship with God, family-oriented, and who genuinely enjoyed living life. And let me tell you, if I hadn’t subscribed to that premium version, we definitely wouldn’t be doing this interview right now because I wouldn’t have even known who super-liked me! We still go back and forth about who actually hit the super-like first.

Our first date happened because I randomly texted her one morning at work and asked her out. Simple. But then I found out she lived in Baltimore County, and as a true DC native, I was like, sheesh, do I need to book a flight to get out there? ✈️😂

We met at Cold Stone near her place, and what was supposed to be a casual ice cream date turned into us talking for hours—until they politely kicked us out. The convo was flowing, and I had been hyping up Wawa lemonade like it was liquid gold, so of course, we had to take a little detour there. After the Wawa run, we ended up chilling in my car, talking for even more hours before realizing how late it had gotten. I wasn’t trying to leave, but at the same time, I wasn’t about to go back to her spot and risk getting chained to the bed like in Misery either. 😂

Obviously, the date was a success because we planned another one. But let’s be real—Essence conveniently left out the part where she was out here enjoying some straight-up soupy ice cream. To this day, that’s still one of our favorite things to laugh about.

What caught my eye from her profile? That infectious smile, those beautiful brown eyes, and the fact that she was a dedicated single mom. From that first super-like to now, I knew she was something special.

We're most thankful to God for him continuing to push us together and we are also thankful for Blk matching us together because without it we'd still be in the wild dating pool.