Ever After Chronicles: Finding ‘The Other Half’ 💜

Morena, My Dearest Besties,

Springtime is almost here—well, at least in this part of the world.

As the ice slowly melts, the flowers begin to bloom, and we welcome a new season, I can’t help but think about new beginnings.

    And somehow, it reminds me of how my own love story began. 💜

Walter and I met at a time when I was going through so much in my life. It was a time when I had almost lost my faith—not just in love, but in marriage itself.

Yet, in the middle of all that brokenness, I found myself praying for my future husband.

At St. Patrick's Cathedral in Auckland, New Zealand- where I prayed for my future husband

It was during this season of my life that I met Walter through the youth group at our Catholic church, Singles for Christ.

Our meet cute with our twins at Singles for Christ Auckland 

We both came from the Philippines and moved to New Zealand around the same time, just three weeks apart. And as if that wasn’t already a funny little coincidence, we both have twins. Walter has a twin brother, while I have a twin sister. Even our birthdays are just a day apart—his is March 1, and mine is March 2.

For the next two years, I continued praying for my future husband at the very same church where Walter was serving.

And I was quite specific with my prayers. 😅

I prayed for someone tall, someone with a good educational and family background, someone who shared my Catholic faith, and most importantly, someone who would love and accept me despite my flaws, my imperfections, and everything I had been through.

During those years, I also watched some of my friends and mates get married and start their own families. There were moments when I wondered if I was falling behind in life.

But I chose to trust God’s timing.

Then, after two years of friendship, Walter finally asked me out on a date.

Our first date 

And somewhere in that moment, I realised something:

The person I had been praying for all those years might have been right in front of me all along.

I had prayed for someone tall. Walter is 5’11”.

I had prayed for someone with a good educational and family background. Walter came from both.

And I had prayed for someone who would love and accept me exactly as I am.

That was the prayer that mattered most.

Because Walter loved me—not despite my past and my imperfections, but with all of them.

Our relationship was never the kind that gave me butterflies every single time we were together. Instead, it was something much quieter and, in many ways, much more beautiful.

It was peaceful.

Steady.

Calm.

We spent five years together before Walter finally asked me the multi-million-dollar question—and gave me the most beautiful diamond ring. 💍

Looking back, Walter became the answer to so many of my “whys.”

Why did I have to go through those heartbreaks?

Why did some things not work out?

Why did I have to take those unexpected detours and experience those setbacks?

Perhaps I had to go through all of them to prepare me for the kind of love I have today.

A love that is peaceful.

A love that is steady.

A love that is unconditional.

And yet, during all those years when I was losing faith in love, there was always a little girl inside me who continued to believe in her own ever after.

Perhaps she was right all along.

Aroha,

Maica 💜