Matt Berbeza from Wilmington, and Rachael Pasternak, who grew up in Glen Mills, met online In February 2020 after both had just started dating again.

They seemed to hit it off so Matt was surprised when Rachel disappeared, writes Kellie Patrick Gates for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

A week went by, then Rachel reconnected. 

They decided to meet in person and go ice skating.

“Matt went ice skating. I want falling,” Rachel said.

Turns out Rachel disappeared for that week because she was celebrating with her mom in Paris at the end of intense treatments for breast cancer.

Other men had walked away when they found out about her diagnosis.  Matt stuck around.

He had lost his first wife unexpectedly on Christmas Day in 2018 after 12 years together. Rachael didn’t want him to go through that again.  

“It doesn’t matter,” Matt said. So, at the height of COVID-19 closures, they hung out together mostly at Rachel’s Aston townhouse or Matt’s Wilmington home.

It got really serious, and more fun.

Matt proposed to Rachel at the Trevi Fountain in Rome.

They married Dec. 9, 2022 with vows of love and humor.

Read more about the marriage of Rachael Pasternak and Matthew Berbeza in The Philadelphia Inquirer.