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angli and bernie Angil Tarach didn't waste any time tracking down Bernie Ritchey on OkCupid last September. Ritchey had just signed onto the site and was still filling out his profile information when Tarach messaged the fellow Ann Arbor, Mich. resident.

"He just seemed like a good guy," said Tarach, 49, who owns a senior home-care company. "I messaged him, and he messaged me back. We were on IM till 1, 2 o'clock in the morning. We spent hours talking. That was on a Sunday, and we met Thursday."

That first date wasn't at a bar or restaurant -- Tarach invited Ritchey right over to her home.

"Everybody I ever met online, I've met in a public place. I don't know what possessed me to do that," she admits. "He looked better than his picture. He had a suit on and had long-stem roses."

Ritchey, 43, who runs a sales company, was immediately attracted to Tarach's compassion.

"When I met Angil and found out she had this love for old people and was an advocate for Alzheimer's, I said, 'Wow, I wish I had met you a long time ago,'" says Ritchey, whose mother passed from the disease. "She is the most compassionate person I had ever met."

The two divorced parents, who have five kids between them, both knew they wanted something more serious right away.

"I knew I wanted a relationship, and it was about three months in when I was ready to get married," Ritchey said. "I swore I never would get married [again]."

The two became engaged just a day shy of the one-year anniversary of their online meeting and wed this past Valentine's Day weekend in Mexico.

"We both like music and spending time on the Internet," Tarach said of the things she and Ritchey share in common. "We're both open to things. If I want to get up and go, he'll go. Whether we're hanging out or doing nothing, we have a good time."

While Ritchey needed some prodding from a friend to sign up for OKCupid, Tarach had dated online before. She encourages others to try it not to meet a future spouse, but to get to know different people.

"Just do it," she said. "You don't necessarily have to have a relationship with them. Everyone says there are no men out there, but I found a good man. I feel very, very lucky."





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