Tinder babies, blended families and Tinderellas: Meet some of the dating app’s SA success stories
Think you’ll never swipe lucky on Tinder? The popular dating app has a reputation for hook-ups, but there are plenty of love matches to be found. We profile 10 Adelaide fairytale stories.
Lifestyle
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Online dating apps have changed the way we date – none more than the app that started it all, Tinder.
A decade ago in September 2012, an app with a simple concept launched and revolutionised how people make romantic connections.
Now, many apps have followed suit in an attempt to recreate Tinder’s success.
We’ve all heard the horror stories, but along with the bad, comes some good.
From engagements after three months of dating to 11-hour long first dates, here are 10 of South Australia’s success stories.
Ellen, 34, and Stella Sotiriou, 35: Married with a child
After matching on Tinder, Ellen and Stella Sotiriou met at a concert back in November 2016.
“I was very late for our first date,” Ellen said, “Stella thought I was standing her up, but really I just couldn’t decide what to wear!”
A few weeks later, Ellen asked Stella to officially be her girlfriend.
Bonding over a mutual love for gardening and music, the pair were engaged only a year later.
“I surprised Stella with a proposal while she was planning to propose to me on our upcoming holiday,” Ellen said.
However, the couple kept their wedding on hold to save for IVF treatments; something they wanted more than anything was a baby of their own.
After a year of IVF, Freya Evangelia was born in August 2021.
“While I was pregnant we realised we didn’t care about a wedding, we just wanted to be married so decided to elope, which we did at the registry office in July 2021 with just our mums present,” Ellen said.
Tinder was “the easiest way to meet someone” according Ellen, whose introverted nature keeps her indoors more often than not.
“There’s no way Stella and I would have crossed paths without Tinder, I’m so grateful we happened upon each other this way.
“You also don’t have to worry about uncertainty because you can put on your profile exactly what you’re looking for and chat about expectations before you meet up,” Ellen said.
Dion and Rebecca Varnas: Married with children
Rebecca arrived at her first date with Dion wearing her exercise gear under her dress.
Why? “So I wouldn’t have to miss out if the date crashed and burned,” she said.
But three hours and a few glasses of red wine later, Dion and Rebecca had spilt their life stories and “laughed the night away”.
Four years on, the pair have been married for two years and have just welcomed their first child together.
Rebecca and Dion had each been previously married, and Dion has a child from his first marriage who Rebecca absolutely adores.
“We almost didn’t make it as I am terrible at replying to messages,” Rebecca said.
Rebecca was single for nine years before starting to swipe on Tinder and meeting Dion.
“I had to believe that if there was someone like me on there,” she said.
“You shine brightest and attract what’s meant for you when you are happy and content within yourself, but sometimes that’s a hard journey too,” Rebecca said.
“I’m just so lucky we happened to find each other.”
Daniel and Rochelle: In a relationship with kids
If it wasn’t for Daniel’s online shopping addiction, Daniel and Rochelle might never have met.
“He had to drive 170km to pick up an excavator bucket he bought online,” Rochelle said.
Daniel who lives in rural South Australia, travelled to Adelaide with a friend who was actually the person who swiped right on Rochelle on Tinder at the start of June 2017.
After a first date at Rochelle’s favourite pub and a move 150km away, Rochelle and Daniel live in the country together with Rochelle “still waiting for a proposal”.
On their second date, Rochelle helped Daniel collected supplies for a boat he is building.
“He’s now almost finished the tug and has always said he’d propose when his boats finished,” she said.
The pair welcomed Hazel in 2019 and Maggie in 2022.
Georgia and Tristan Horewood: Married with children
“We went on three dates over three days and never looked back,” Georgia Horewood said.
Georgia and Tristan Horewood matched on Tinder in January 2015.
“We saw each other every day and he would turn up at my house every evening after work,” she said.
After only a few weeks of this, Tristan packed up his things and moved in with Georgia and her parents — a year later, he proposed.
“I would say to anyone that’s struggling to find love to just give it a chance and never take things too seriously,” Georgia said.
“I was on Tinder for a really long time before I met Tristan and never really expected anything to come from it but was pleasantly surprised when he popped up.
“You just never know where you’re going to meet your person.”
Five years after the pair matched they welcomed a daughter, Ruby, in July 2020 and are expecting a little boy in December this year.
Jess, 34 and Peter Dowling, 36: Married with children
One sniff and it was love …
“Bit weird, but we were really attracted to each other’s smell — pheromones or something — but it was an attraction we can’t explain,” Jess Dowling said.
Jess and Peter Dowling met in March 2015 after chatting on Tinder for a few weeks.
Peter’s profile picture was him holding a fish which “is so gross and the butt of jokes now” according to Jess. His bio was a quote from The Office.
After messaging Jess lyrics from the X-ecutioners’ song It’s Going Down they dated on and off for a few weeks. The pair got “serious pretty quickly” as Jess had a child already.
Peter was keen to have more children with Jess, but they decided to focus on buying a house.
After saving money for a house, Jess was willing “to skip the marriage” as she was almost 30 and keen for another baby.
In July 2018, they got married by the river with 15 guests in a wedding they took only four weeks to plan. A month later, Jess gave birth to their first child together, Daisy.
Now the couple have three children: Bodhi, 14, Daisy, 4, and Lulu, 1.
“Don’t wait months before meeting,” Jess said.
“Meet as soon as you can to work out if it’s worth pursuing.”
Dylan Irrgang and Caitlyn Robeson: In a relationship with a child
“Can you teach me how to fold a fitted sheet?” is the message Dylan Irrgang sent Caitlyn Robeson in November 2020 – her bio explained she knew how to do exactly that.
But almost two years and a child later, Caitlyn still hasn’t taught Dylan how.
After becoming official a few months after meeting in January 2021, the couple welcomed a baby girl, Elsie, on October 26 2021.
Dylan said finding love online is possible – you “just have to find the right person”.
Annika and Daniel Parsons: Married with children from previous relationships
When the couple’s first date in May 2020 landed Annika Parsons in the emergency room suffering from severe abdominal pain, one would assume the date was over.
But the pair was insatiable – Daniel Parson waited hours in the emergency department for Annika to return, “with all her makeup melted off and her jeans unbuttoned and her hair looking like a bird’s nest” to continue what would turn into an 11-hour date.
“We went from North Adelaide to Hahndorf to Glenelg to Semaphore and everywhere in between.
“We didn't want the date to end, and to be honest, it still feels exactly the same — we fall more in love every single day,” Annika said.
The couple dated for over a year before Daniel asked Annika to marry him in November 2021 at Hades Hula House in Semaphore.
“I had no idea he was going to pop the question, even after all the not-so-subtle hints I had been dropping since we bought our home in September that same year,” she said.
“My best friend, Jess, had also been hiding the engagement ring at her house for weeks beforehand, and I was none the wiser.”
They married in June this year at their engagement-party-turned-surprise-wedding.
“It was an absolute blast,” Annika said.
They both have children from previous relationships — Daniel has a seven-year-old daughter, Jessica, which Annika thought was another “sign” the relationship was meant to be, as her best friend has the same name. Annika has a four-year-old son, Lorenzo.
“It fills our hearts to see how close they now are,” Annika said.
The pair are awaiting the future … perhaps adding another small human to their brood.
Shannen and Daniel Thiele: Married with children
“If you aren’t over six foot tall, don’t bother swiping right,” Shannen Thiele had written in her Tinder bio in 2017.
Luckily Daniel Thiele made the cut, standing at 6 foot 2 inches, so he swiped right.
Over a year later, while on holiday in New Zealand, Daniel got down on one knee and proposed to Shannen.
Twelve weeks before their dream wedding at Kingsford Homestead at the Barossa Valley, the couple found out they were expecting not one … but two children.
They announced their news at the wedding and welcomed Harland and Jaxon Thiele in March 2020.
“We feel like you have to go through some bad, to hopefully find the good,” Shannen said of online dating.
“We both learnt a lot I suppose about what we wanted to in partners by going through the bad, but it makes you stronger and more sure of what you want in a partner.
“Swiping right paid off, we now have a property with our beautiful boys and are so thankful we found each other.”
Julene Quan 25, and Daniel, 31: Married with a child
“Hey, how ya going” was the message that began the love story of Julene Quan and Daniel.
The pair dated for a few months before becoming official in July.
“When you least expect love it finds you,” Julene said.
“Give your not-so-typical type a go because you may just find love there.”
It’s what worked for Julene and Daniel who became engaged less than a year later and married in November 2021.
“We are all about banter with one another,” Julene said. The couple welcomed their first child four months ago.
Denise Stabile and David Stabile: Married with children from a previous relationship
Three months after David Stabile met Denise at the Hackney Hotel he proposed to her.
“He hadn’t bought a ring so had made one out of the wire from the top of the champagne bottle,” Denise said.
The day after the proposal, the pair were browsing the shops in Moonta and they came across an antique store where a ring caught Denise’s eye from the doorway.
“I fell in love with it immediately,” she said.
Their wedding was scheduled for November 22, 2021 however, it didn’t go exactly to plan.
South Australia’s snap lockdown meant Denise and David’s dream wedding would have to wait.
“I was literally on my way to Myers to get shoes for my daughter to go with her bridesmaid dress when I heard the news and had to pull the car over as I just burst into tears,” she said.
Their dream wedding at Ayer’s House turned into a gorgeous backyard wedding.
“The kids helped ring around everyone, set up the garden with the chairs, rose petals, tables with flowers,” Denise said.
“Someone set up the speakers so A Thousand Years played as we walked down our makeshift aisle, my son held up two mobile phones so that both my family in Ireland and my sister and niece and nephew in Denmark could watch.”
But as most remember, the lockdown quickly ended in a turn of events and their Ayer’s House dream wedding was back on.
Denise’s two children, Jenna, 15, and Jake, 25, are now part of her family with David.
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