A couple of years ago, in the purgatory between Covid-19 lockdowns anddating app hell, I met Joe.
Solidly in my fun auntie (funtie?)
era, I had all but given up on love.
Photo: Ashane Bernard
After another relationship came to an end, my mum surprised me with a reassuring squeeze.
Youve got a great life, she said.
I felt her pride in my freedom spreading over my heart and chest, thick as strawberry jam.
Cynthia first met Joe while spending six months at home in Sri Lanka researching her cookbook,Rambutan.
And yet, as Maya Angelou says: Nobody can make it out here alone.
Cynthia first met Joe while spending six months at home in Sri Lanka researching her cookbook,Rambutan.
When he had to move back to the US, we politely agreed to keep in touch.
The pair met via Sri Lankan Tinder, before a fortnight-long first date.
A second lockdown hit.
And then something amazing happened.
I could afford to spend six months in Sri Lanka with my mum and dad.
After two years of long-distance dating, the couple got engaged at the close of 2023.
But the Sri Lankan Covid-19 guidelines were strict, Id need to spend a whoppingfour weeksin isolation.
Well, so what?
How bad could it be?
They married in January on the Lunuganga Estate.
Id be staying at a quarantine hotel.
There was a pool.
I could take a lot of beach selfies, and get a jump-start on my writing.
The pair met via Sri Lankan Tinder, before a fortnight-long first date.
About three weeks in, I looked in the mirror and realized:very bad indeed.
The mirror did not lie: I had reached solitary confinement levels of woo-woo.
Time to check out Sri Lankan Tinder.
At first, Sri Lankas dating app etiquette was a surprise.
Then, I found myself on the receiving end of the most unromantic chat-up line Id ever heard.
Thought Id drop you a line because were of a similar age.
Would be good to connect, wrote Joe.
Wait, is this LinkedIn?
Later, both of us hungry for human contact, we began to chat on the phone.
He was easy and kind to speak to.
He asked what it was like to write, and I told him.
Do you have enough books up there?
Joe had tracked the author down for an autograph.
What a sweetheart, I thought.
After two years of long-distance dating, the couple got engaged at the close of 2023.
They married in January on the Lunuganga Estate.
