Our Story
Every Detour Led Us Here
ne humid day in July, as fate would have it, she slipped on the slick floor of a local coffee shop while reaching for a croissant. She fell—right into the guy standing in line. His coffee spilled. His face turned as red as the lid of his to-go cup.
She scrambled to stand, knocking over a sugar jar in the process. Sugar rained down like confetti, and their mutual embarrassment hit peak levels. He handed her a napkin with a nervous smile, and she took it—clumsily—promptly knocking over the napkin dispenser. A true rom-com disaster.
They both froze. Everyone in the café was watching. Then he cracked a joke about whether she came with a warranty. She laughed a little too loudly. By the end of the chaos, they’d exchanged names and numbers. And so, with that first crash into each other, fate decided their love story would always have a little extra sugar sprinkled on top.
At least, that’s what we tell some people. Other times, we say we met in a grocery aisle collision. Or during a case of traffic-related road rage that turned romantic.
But the truth? We matched on Bumble.
Justin swiped right because Eli had a killer smile. Eli swiped right because Justin looked mentally stable—a rare find these days.
He was an eligible bachelor from a good family in Pampanga. She was a single mom designing baby clothes and building a soft, weird little world of her own.
Somewhere between video calls, dates squeezed between playdates, and dancing barefoot in the kitchen after Lukas finally fell asleep, something just… clicked. What started with a swipe became something real, something steady, and somehow—sweeter than any croissant.
Then, in November 2024, Justin decided he didn’t want to just dip his toes into this little family of two—he wanted in. All in.
On the 21st, he gathered the people closest to them, rented a pool house, and popped the most important question to date. And for the first time in her life, without hesitation or doubt, Eli gave the firmest yes she’s ever spoken.
One might say that after all the heartbreaks, healing, and chaos they had to grow through, maybe they should’ve met earlier—back when life felt simpler. But the truth is, every detour, every delay, every scar shaped them into the exact people they needed to be for each other. And honestly? That’s a better love story than any meet-cute in a café.
So no, they weren’t late.
They were just in time.
#justintimeforeli
