JWed announced the winning couple of its free trip to Israel contest in honor of its 3,300th match: Nir and Alanna Ben-David.
Here is part of their story, which was selected by a panel of judges:
Years after her first divorce and shortly after a broken engagement, Alanna, 38, of Los Angeles, was fed up with heartbreak. She couldn’t imagine that this was G-d’s plan for her to spend the rest of her life alone.
Her family convinced her to keep trying, so she logged back on to JWed. Not long after she started browsing, she came across Nir Ben-David, 43, of New Jersey. His bio said it all: “Ladies, I’m an ex-chef, and yes, I can cook for you.”
Nir had logged onto JWed to delete his profile when he saw Alanna’s quip. He decided to stay on it after all, and the conversation continued.
That conversation led to an engagement.
The online-dating website hosted the contest from July 23 to Aug. 16 timed to Tu B’Av (the Jewish holiday of love that follows Tisha B’Av, the holiday of mourning), asking engaged or married couples who met through the site (or when it was formerly called Frumster) to submit their stories and pictures for a chance to win two free tickets to Israel.
JWed started in 2001 as Frumster, geared to Orthodox couples, but was renamed in 2012 when it expanded to the broader Jewish community. It’s geared for authentically Jewish singles seeking committed relationships leading to marriage.
The contest was open to any engaged or married couple that met through JWed at any time.