"Co-conspirators and playmates from the start"

Jennifer Douglas was 'blatantly anti-marriage' after her divorce; Kent Shell too. Until she got down on her knees.

Jennifer Douglas and Kent Shell were both enjoying their lives after resisting divorce when they got together. met in the summer of 2014 on OkCupid.

There was something about Mr. Shell's profile that caught Ms. Douglas' attention. "I just fell in love with his profile picture," she said, adding, "I'm not one to fall in love easily."

So Ms. Douglas, 58, who had already made a few connections online, though most were fleeting, sent her a superficial message: "You're cute!"

M. Shell, 65, was tickled by Ms Douglas' cheerful and direct tone. Other women he had interacted with had been more scrutinizing, chastising him for his stated intention of not wanting to remarry.

ImageFrom left to right, the bride's sister, Nikki Douglas, and the groom's daughters, Delilah Cravens and Madeleine Cravens, watch the ceremony.Credit...Paul Barbera for The New York Times

ImageMs. Douglas, wearing a wedding dress she found at a consignment store, greets a guest. divorced four years earlier after 17 years of marriage, Mr Shell was facing the dissolution of a long marriage; his lasted nearly 30 years. After splitting in 2011, he moved into an apartment in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, and made a conscious choice not to date for a while. Instead, he took stock of what he wanted out of life at this unexpected point.

"With all the heartache of a long marriage that ends, I discovered the joys and beauties of just being able to look around me, after the whole world had crashed down around me, and realize that I was still standing,” he said. /p>

He immersed himself in new passions, turning one of the rooms in his house into an art studio, which he used to paint and write. although Mr. Shell, who earned a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and works as a construction administrator at Daniel Frisch Architecture in Manhattan, enjoyed her independence, he eventually found he missed female companionship. He joined OkCupid in hopes of fostering relationships, friendship, and intimacy, if only for a limited time.

He and Ms. Douglas had a brief online exchange fueled by pleasantries. before agreeing to meet in person at Weather Up, a cocktail bar in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, not far from where each lived. Walking to the date, Ms Douglas began to fear that the promising spark she felt online was not translating into real life - until she saw Mr Shell standing at the bar, smiling .

Image"I had been so openly anti-marriage, then the seed of an idea suddenly presented itself in a new way," Ms. Douglas said.Credit...Paul Barbera for The New York Times