Both thoughtful communicators from large families, William and Mary seniors Jacob and Olivia* have never had trouble finding a point of connection. It’s no wonder the pair clicked instantly after matching through the Marriage Pact survey almost 2 years ago.
Jacob:
We were actually in the same freshman hall, but we didn’t match until the spring of our sophomore year. But when we got the initials, I had a feeling it was her.
Olivia:
Someone texted me once the initials came out and was like, “I think your match is Jacob.” And I was like, “That makes sense.”
Their hunch was confirmed when matches came out days later.
Olivia:
I was at dinner with my friend’s parents, and I was telling them about the Marriage Pact. My friend’s dad started asking about my match, so I mentioned that he was our friend Jacob from our freshman hall. I said where he lived, and my friend’s dad started drawing a map of the surrounding area and said he wanted to ask Jacob a question about it. So I took a picture and sent it to Jacob and said, “I guess we have to get married now.”
Jacob:
We were both separated over the summer, so we kept up through Snapchat and talked occasionally. One time we FaceTimed over the break, when we were at the same state at the same time. I was in the airport and had just missed my flight.
Olivia:
He messaged me asking where I was and if it was close to the airport, and I said, “Not unless you’re willing to drive 4 hours.” But I knew what it was like to be stranded in an airport alone, so I FaceTimed him and told him everything was gonna be okay.
We talked for like three hours or something. That’s the first time when I was like, “Oh no, this might be something else.”
Jacob and Olivia had their first official date on campus after returning for the fall of their junior year.
Olivia:
He asked me if I wanted to go to lunch on a Friday, and I said yes. So we ate our lunches, and he bought me a cookie afterwards. Then he walked me to this research lab I was a part of—it was my first day and I was really nervous. He gave me a hug and talked with me to help calm me down.
Jacob:
We started officially dating on October 1. We had been going on dates for about a month before then.
Jacob and Olivia’s compatibility was obvious from the get-go. While we could chalk it up to the algorithm, some of their similarities—especially those related to family— were too coincidental to be the work of anything but fate.
Olivia:
I think we have similar outlooks on life. We’re both very motivated people, academically and otherwise.
Jacob:
I think we also have a very compassionate approach towards interacting with other people, and tend to be very thoughtful.
Olivia:
We both come from big families. I think we really care about other people because we grew up in families with a lot of love.
It’s funny though, because I grew up with only brothers and he grew up with only sisters. I have 4 older brothers.
Jacob:
And I have 5 sisters.
Olivia:
The reason why his friends thought it was really funny that we started dating was because they saw me as “one of the guys.” I treated them like they were my brothers.
But I do feel like being surrounded by women means that Jacob treats women very respectfully. Growing up, my brothers have taught me to be really strong and independent. And that’s something Jacob isn’t afraid of because he has so many strong and independent sisters. I think it really provides balance.
Olivia and Jacob also say their contrasting academic interests allow them to bring unique strengths to the table.
Olivia:
Jacob is definitely more patient than I am. I’m terrible with technology, and he’s a computer science major who fixes his computers and stuff. So whenever I have the urge to throw my computer across the room, he’s like, “Okay, let’s take a step back.” I think that’s helped me have a calmer approach to other things in life unrelated to technology as well.
Jacob:
Olivia is extremely extroverted and super social. She’s an IR major, so making connections is super important. I tend to be a little more introverted—still social but on the quieter side. I always admire how much she’s able to communicate with others and how thoughtful she can be.
The pair’s favorite memories together include everything from exploring museums in the city to sneaking into hotel pools to attending Jacob’s extended family reunion.
Olivia:
One day we went to an art museum together and spent the whole day there reenacting the artwork. I've always loved going out and exploring museums and other things like that, but it’s kind of hard to find things to do near campus, so we’ve tried to find ways to do more things together. We’ve snuck into the pool at this hotel a few times to go swimming when it was really hot. Memories like that have been really fun.
Jacob:
One really fun trip that we went on last semester was to visit some of my family to celebrate my grandparents’ 60th wedding anniversary. My parents decided to invite Olivia out, too. I asked her and she decided to come with me.
We spent 4 or 5 days with the entire side of my dad’s family, so it was a bit intense. But she pulled through and was amazing. My whole family loved seeing her for the first time. We’d been dating for a little over a year at that point, so I’d obviously spoken very highly of her.
Olivia:
It was cool seeing how he interacts with his family. That was really fun for me.
Before we parted ways, Olivia shared one more anecdote from the early stages of her relationship with Jacob.
Olivia:
After we matched, we had an entire text conversation that I just went back and reread. We jokingly discussed where we were going to get married and how many kids we were going to have. I just thought it was a funny joke, but then one of his guy friends was like, “I think you have a shot.”
I was like, “What do you mean? It’s just funny.” And he was like, “No no no… you have a shot.”
Olivia couldn’t be happier that she took it.
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*To preserve the anonymity of these participants, we’ve replaced their real names with pseudonyms.