Playmates to soulmates

When they were kids, Mario didn’t like sharing his toys with Patty. His upstairs neighbor would always be over at his home being watched by his mom while her parents were at work, and she had a reputation for breaking anything she played with.

“She was notorious,” he tells Meet Cutes NYC. “And that reputation still holds true today.”

Of course, these days Mario isn’t talking about his childhood playmate. Instead, he’s talking about the wife with whom he’s spent the past 10 years of his life.

Mario and Patty have gone from playing together as children to parenting a child together. And it’s all because of a fateful Facebook like.

Here’s their story.

How did you meet? 

Patty: We met when we were six years old. We were neighbors. We lived in the same apartment complex: I lived upstairs, he lived downstairs. We played outside every day. We were always together. His mom was actually my babysitter. After school, I would have to go to his house and wait until my mom or dad came to pick me and my siblings up. And so I was at his house all the time. Honestly, I hated his guts. He never let me play with his Nintendo or his toys. 

Do you remember your impression of Patty? 

Mario: Yeah, I didn’t want her near any of my stuff because she was notorious for breaking everything she touched. And that reputation still holds true today. Like a typical little kid, I thought girls were icky. I thought she was the annoying girl upstairs. But overall we were friends, we hung out and stuff like that. 

How did you get together as adults? 

Patty: [When we were kids] his family moved away and we lost touch. This was pre-Facebook, pre-MySpace, before smartphones. We went years without seeing each other. Fast forward close to 20 years at this point and he lives in Houston and I’m down here in South Florida. 

I had added him on Facebook at one point, and one day I posted a photo of me going out on my birthday, and Mario liked it. And then we reconnected and started talking like “How’s your family? How have you been? It’s been so long, you should come back down to Miami.” 

I think Mario was completely oblivious to the fact that I was kind of looking at him like This little boy that I knew at six years old is now a full grown man. 

Were you thinking anything when you liked Patty’s photo? 

Mario: I didn’t think anything of it. I mean, I just thought it was a great looking photo, she looked good. 

What happened next? 

Mario: I was living in Texas at the time, and I came down to Miami to see one of my best friends from college and to celebrate my birthday. And I was like “Maybe I’ll hit up Patty and see how she’s doing.” 

I was single at this point, but I didn’t have any intentions of pursuing anything. I met up with her friends at a bar and it was a quick “Hello. Goodbye.” kind of thing. 

Patty: He had no intentions, and he didn’t think anything of it. Whereas I was full scheming, I was like I’m gonna grab him, I’m gonna see where this goes. He was so oblivious to me messaging him on Facebook and to us texting. He just thought I was this girl from his past that he grew up with. Because he was in Texas and I was in Miami, I think he probably thought that there was no chance that he was going to pursue anything romantic with it. 

The next day, I was like “I want to hang out with you more since you’re in town.” I went and I hung out with all of his friends. Mind you, he was almost a stranger to me and all his friends were complete strangers, but I was like I’m just going to be this random girl who tags along with him and his friends.

From there, we’ve been together ever since. He went back home to Texas and we continued to text and call each other to text and call each other. And then before you knew it he was coming back down to Miami just to see me this time. 

When did you realize Patty was into you? 

Mario: Definitely after that first trip. I went back to Texas and when I got back I started making plans to come back to Miami and see her again. I think I came back a month and a half after. And that time my intention was fully just to come see her. And on that trip is when we shared our first kiss. 

What was your first date? 

Mario: I have to give her all the credit for this. Because I just came down, but she made amazing plans for our real first date. 

Patty: I was like I’m going to show him Miami, let’s do all the touristy things. We went paddle boarding, we went to the local mall and walked around and had lunch. We did a bike tour around Miami Beach and explored. We just had a full day of activities. I think we were together from sunrise to sunset. I’d say we officially started dating that day. 

So you started out long distance? 

Patty: We did long distance for a little over a year, and then eventually he moved here to Miami. And we were together for five years before he proposed, and we’ve been married for almost five years. 

What was the reaction from your families when you told them that you were dating your childhood friend? 

Patty: They were all very excited to hear it. Our families always got along. Our moms always got along, my sisters got along with his siblings. It was really good because it felt like family. 

I love that his mom can tell me things about me when I was little from a different point of view. When I met his family again it was like saying hi to people I had known for such a long time and I just hadn’t seen them for 20 years. 

🤔 Poll

📊 Last Week We Asked…

• [poll] “How would you handle dating a coworker?”

  • 47% said “Keep it a secret”

  • 15% said “Be open about it”

  • 19% said “Wouldn’t do it”

  • 19% said “Would wait until someone left the job”

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Interviewed and transcribed by Nicolas Vega. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.