They Followed Their Heart, It Led Them To Greece

June 24, 2023

Jaswant was on Dil Mil for about a year, but hadn’t found the one she clicked with. Manraj was only a day into his Dil Mil adventures before the duo matched. They talked for about three weeks, hitting it off because of mutual interests, which included a love for travelling around the world, a common favorite city – Barcelona and a mutual interest in exploring Greece. For Jaswant, her desire to go to Greece was rather sentimental and stemmed from the fact that her late father had lived in Greece during a point in his life. Manraj was in Buffalo, while Jaswant lived in Cincinnati, when they decided to meet up. He agreed to travel to Cincinnati, and despite being unfamiliar with the city and its culture, he decided he was going to plan the entire date. When the duo met, they instantly clicked – so much so that they had ended up missing the dinner reservation Manraj had planned for them because the conversation over a bottle of wine was buzzing!

While the couple’s love flourished over long-distance, they also found ample to connect about in person and actively experimented with how they fit into each other’s lives. Alongside travelling, they both enjoy eating and hanging out with their friends. In Summer’21, they bought a house together in Cincinnati that they both renovated – showing Manraj’s commitment to relocate and start a life with Jaswant. Not only so, but the house solidified and deepened their love of hospitality and being social together – including hosting their friends and family over dinner and good conversation. A couple of months into their relationship, they planned a trip to Mexico however, COVID-19 restrictions got in the way and they had to press pause on their plans for 2 full years. Manraj and Jaswant had actively been waiting for travel to ease up post the Pandemic and alas, they saw Manraj’s birthday as the perfect opportunity to hit the go button. They ended up finally booking their first international trip out and no guesses what the destination was – Greece!

Upon their arrival in Greece’s capital city, Athens, the couple napped most of their first day to recover from their overnight flight. This was followed by dinner at a beautiful restaurant with a breathtaking view of the Parthenon. To continue the magical evening, Manraj suggested the couple walk through the park that surrounds the Acropolis where the Parthenon sits, upon a very tall hill. Even though she was nervous about walking up the hill in heels, Jaswant decided to make the trek anyway. While holding her hand on the way up, Manraj asked her why her hands were so sweaty. She thinks he suspected that she was on to him, but really she was just feeling extremely hot. Truthfully, she figured he would propose on this trip, but wasn’t actually sure when and definitely did not expect it on the very first day of vacation and/or on his birthday so this did come as a total surprise. Eventually they made it up the hill & Jaswant started to pick a spot with a good view for them to settle down for a bit. Manraj insisted that he’d done the research and the spot she’d picked wasn’t too good, gently encouraging her to go towards the city overlook on the other side.

Next thing she knew, Manraj was down on one knee, proposing to her on the Acropolis! She was so stunned that she couldn’t get the words to come out of her mouth even though they both knew the answer was a big yes! He had photographers ready to capture the moment and made sure it was absolutely perfect. Additionally, It meant the world to Jaswant to begin this new chapter in the country her late father used to live in, adding to the sweetness of the moment. For Jaswant, Manraj fits into her life and encourages her to try new things. He teaches her to never be afraid, and all of the love he pours into their relationship makes her a better person. She knew he was the one for her because of his individuality – his own hobbies, how he never stops learning, his tenacity and ability to try something new, his enormous heart, and his zest for putting his best foot forward, no matter what.