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Buddi and Matt

Aurora, Colorado
/ Source: TODAY

About the bride: Buddi is a 52year-old flight attendant with Links Aviation.

About the groom: Matt is a 50-year-old businessman who owns his own courier company.

Time together: Two years

Engagement date: December 24, 2007

Why he’s the one: "He convinced me with his great sense of humor, positive attitude, as well as his nickname for his boys — he called them 'pups!' "

Why she’s the one: "Her positive attitude and Southern charm won me over. Both of us have suffered losing our spouses, but we lift each other up."

Buddi and Matt's story is about love and second chances.

A mutual friend introduced them to each other after the sudden deaths of both of their spouses. Buddi's husband passed away suddenly from "widow maker heart," and Matt's wife from breast cancer; their spouses, coincidentally, passed away only two weeks apart.

They were both shocked, and not prepared to deal with the news. But it was through grief that Buddi and Matt were able to build a friendship together. They provided comfort to each other when everyone else was tired of their suffering. 

Two years later, the unexpected happened: Matt asked Buddi out on a real date to a local favorite steakhouse. After dinner they went back to Buddi's house and they talked until sunrise. In place of the tears, laughter flourished, and their friendship blossomed into romance.  It was after that dinner date that Matt realized he had found a second chance at love; he'd found his second soul mate and he was not going to let this one get away.

Looking back on it, Buddi and Matt's lives had crossed many times in the past. They lived in the same neighborhood, only a few short blocks away from each other; the same doctor delivered their children; their eldest children were also good friends at college. There were so many coincidences that it must have been a sign that their love was meant to be.

Matt proposed to Buddi on Christmas Eve in front of both of their entire families. They were all together, opening presents, and Buddi was excited because she saw a huge box that was meant for her under the tree. When Buddi opened the box, she found a smaller box inside. It wasn't the shoes that she had wanted, but something better — it was a little black box with a diamond ring inside. Matt proposed to Buddi the formal way, on bended knee and with Buddi’s mother's and daughter's approval.

Both Buddi and Matt know the devastation of love lost, but they were given a second chance to love again. It's a different book, with a similar love story, yet they are excited to write their new chapters together.