The Story of Us

McGibble: The Story

During college, Ben was roommates with a friend of Tara's from high school named Steve. On September 15, 2001, Tara went to Steve's graduation party and met his cute friend, Ben. Ben and Tara didn't see each other again for a long time after that. 

Fast forward to November 2005. Having not yet met anyone as cool as themselves in the real world, Tara and Ben both decided to try online dating. Tara was on the fence about joining match.com until a cute fellow "winked" at her. After corresponding over e-mail for a few weeks, and trying to identify the sneaking suspicion she knew this guy from somewhere, Tara made the connection. Neither could believe the coincidence.

Ben and Tara met up soon after, on December 23, 2005 for their first date at John Harvard's Restaurant in Wayne, PA.

Tara: "I remember vividly, waiting for Ben to arrive and can remember seeing him walk through the door. I remember the date well -- what we wore, what we ate, and how we sat at the bar for hours after dinner talking. I remember Ben walking me to my car and hugging goodbye. And I can still remember sitting in my childhood bedroom on Christmas morning, smiling to myself when I received a text message from Ben wishing me a Merry Christmas.

I didn't remember that he took this picture of me that night on his cell phone, though (what a stalker!). We found the phone years later when I was cleaning out a drawer in our house."

Ben and Tara's second date was several weeks later for dinner and a movie at the King of Prussia Mall.

Unfortunately, Tara "just wasn't that in to" Ben after all. She told him so (in a nice way, for goodness sake!) and asked if they could still be friends. And so, they remained friends for a few years. Ben still really liked Tara and Tara was still really oblivious.

On September 21, 2008, Tara went to a good friend's baby shower. She heard that Steve and his wife Jess were expecting. She texted Ben for confirmation. In an exchange, Ben asked Tara to come see his house in King of Prussia. He's bought it the year before and wanted to show off all his handy work.

So, off she went to scenic King of Prussia to see Ben's new house. They chatted, watched the Eagles choke, then headed to Rock Bottom for some good eats. As they continued to chat (and drink), Tara realized that Ben was a pretty great guy. Ben still totally wanted to be her boyfriend, so she finally gave in :)

Ben: "It's about freakin' time!"

And there you have it, the story of how Ben and Tara came to be almost seven years to the day after they met!