The couple spent Christmas in the Philippines where Ruben met Rachel's family for the first time. Photo By PINGGOT ZULUETA

MANILA, Philippines — In January 2007, Ruben and Rachel Salazar met each other through the internet. He was a Mexican community artist based in Waco, Texas. She was a Filipina working as an environmentalist in Bangkok, Thailand. One morning, Ruben received an email intended for Rachel. And just like that, the two Salazars began one of the most romantic and inspiring love stories in the online world.

“The email was originally intended for the email address RP Salazar followed by two numbers. It was obviously a typo error on the sender’s part since we had the same initials on our addresses. The email looked important and work related so I sent it back to her,” shared Ruben.

Noticing that Rachel was in Bangkok, Ruben added a friendly message and asked how the weather was over there. Normally, asking about the weather is probably the safest ice-breaker in any casual conversation. In the couple’s case, halfway around the world, it sparked a palpable connection.

“When I received his email, I said thank you and warned him he might get more stray emails intended for me. I told him that the weather in Bangkok was lovely and asked what the ‘P’ in his name stood for,” Rachel said.

Shortly after, Ruben replied with a long description of who he was, what he does for a living and a link to an article about him and his artworks. The next thing they knew, they’re exchanging a string of emails, talking about anything and everything like old friends. “Every conversation we had felt very easy and natural,” Rachel recalled.

Ruben, on the other hand, was just fascinated to have found a new friend who, though practically a stranger, he can comfortably talk with. Then one day, he happened to hover over her name on Gmail and a picture of her popped up. “I thought, ‘Wow, this is a very beautiful person.’ I was instantly attracted and interested to know her more.”

A few emails after, the couple started chatting a whole lot and Ruben would stay up late to catch up with Rachel before she goes to work in the morning. Wanting to open up more and foster a trustworthy relationship between them, Ruben, with a laptop in hand, even introduced Rachel to his friends and family through video chat.

“More than the chatting and video conferences, it was his letter writing that enabled our relationship. It wasn’t entirely online. He mailed me a lot of letters. He asked for my phone number so we could eventually talk. He even sent flowers to my apartment. He’s very romantic and open about his life and family and I was grateful for that,” Rachel said.

However, there was still a glint of doubt in the back of her mind that somehow, no matter how right it felt, this long distance relationship wouldn’t work out, until she decided to fly to Los Angeles (LA) for a vacation. And eventually met this sweet guy from Texas for the very first time.

“Nobody knew, except for one of my friends, that I was dropping by Texas before flying to LA to visit my relatives. That was in August. We ‘met’ in January. Everyone would think I’m crazy if they knew. And I’m glad I took that risk,” Rachel said with a smile.

Rachel stayed with Ruben’s family in Waco for eight days. Two days before she left for LA, Ruben proposed.

“I proposed because I was in love, even before we personally met. I think after several months of knowing her I knew this was a special relationship. And even though we weren’t together physically all the emotions were still there from the letters, chatting and phone calls. It was just a matter of being physically together for the first time,” Ruben said.

“I remember we were dancing in their living room then. I told him he was the sweetest guy I’ve ever met. Then he got on his knees and asked me to marry him. It was just our sixth day together but deep in my heart I knew it was coming and it felt right. So I said yes,” Rachel added.

According to the couple, their engagement was met with doubts from their families. But they were married on Nov. 24, 2007 in Waco. And four years into their relationship, the two Salazars, who used to be a thousand miles apart, are now inseparable.

“There wasn’t any adjustment period. We just went right into it. We knew each other already. It was just a matter of finally meeting and touching. It all came naturally. We are complete opposites when it comes to personality but we’re perfect together,” Ruben said.

“People tell us we’re weird,” Rachel added. “We call each other ‘dingbat’ instead of ‘honey’. We share a lot of interests. We like to cook, host parties and get-togethers, write and garden. We’re like glued together. We’re hardly apart.”

Ruben and Rachel’s inspiring love story has sparked the interest of global news organizations and publications like the NPR (National Public Radio) and Reader’s Digest. They’ve shared their story to close friends and colleagues who want to be reminded that destiny can really work its way on people. But the couple does not encourage others to make the leap that they did.

“Everybody knows there’s a big, booming, online means now for dating and none of them are positive. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of negative connotation on online dating where people almost sell women from East Asia to the States. So my advice is that I would like for Filipinas to avoid any of that,” Ruben said.

He continued: “In our case we met through email and those are once in a blue moon instances when there’s really nothing wrong to try it out.  But I always encourage safety. The youngsters are quick to hook up with somebody online but there’s a lot of danger in that. So for the youth, just try to keep it traditional.”

Rachel added that from the very start, Ruben tried to make it a very trustful relationship, “And of course we’re much older than the young ones now dabbling on online dating and all that. I was 40 and he was 35 when we got married. I don’t want to say that we’re probably wiser but in a way, we’re more cautious because we’re older.”

On how their

relationship has grown after four years

He said:  We learned a lot about each other and even a lot about myself, my own quirks and things that I can do better. I’d like to think that I try my best to be a better person for her, a better husband.

She said: We’re like kids. We have the luxury of being just with each other. We’re goofy.

On how they settle arguments

She said: He’s the one who likes to talk it out. I’m quieter.

He said: My approach is not just talk but not keep it inside. Communication is key.

Message for each other

He said: I like to repeat always to her what I told her in our wedding vows: I will keep you close to your family and friends and even if that means we’re separated by thousands of miles, my goal in life is not to keep you away from them.

She said: I’ve always told him that I’ve never gotten homesick since I moved to Waco. My home is where he is. Wherever he is, wherever that is, as long as I’m with him, I’m home.