Couple gets engaged via Zoom after isolation dating

It's a tale as old as time: couple meets online during a three-hour virtual dating show and soon after get engaged, all over Zoom without ever meeting in person.

Alright, it might not be your regular run-of-the-mill love story but it's what happened to Katia Ameri.

Katia, an entrepreneur from San Francisco was single and bored during the coronavirus lockdown in America and decided to become a bachelorette on a virtual dating show hosted over Zoom.

The website for Zoom Bachelorette describes Katia as, "A native of Los Angeles, Katia loves running through Golden Gate Park and cooking Persian family recipes. When not in the laboratory fine-tuning her own brand of skincare products (check out Mirra!), she can be found skiing backcountry.

"After graduating from Stanford University, Katia put in her time swiping left and right—and is ready to finally find love. Although she never imagined meeting her future husband over Zoom while livestreaming to an audience, she’s ready to embrace these unprecedented times."

The three-hour show which is a twist on The Bachelorette saw 12 men take part in challenges, group dates and single dates in order to win the 28-year-old over.

Now, Katia is no longer single, but ‘engaged’ to one of the men she met over Zoom without even meeting him in person.

The show took place earlier in the month and was live-streamed for everyone to see Katia get 'engaged' to Ronak 'Ro' Trivedi.

Zoom Bachelorette involved the suitors displaying their grooming skills, their culinary skills and all the normal Bachelorette stuff – group dates, single dates, cocktail hours and, of course, some fights.

Ro, who is a CEO, is described as, "A Toronto native living in New York City, Ro is the founder of Pietra. Initially mistaking a photo of Katia for a stock photo, he signed up to master the art of the confessional. Now that he knows who Katia is, he thinks they are perfect for each other and is determined to show her that’s the case."

Speaking with the MIT Technology Review, Katia revealed why she chose Ro, "I thought that he was very sincere,” she said. "And he just seemed like someone I would get along with in the real world."

Since getting 'engaged', the pair has texted and FaceTimed once, so our hopes aren't too high that they'll stay together, but it is an interesting take on how dating culture has changed since the coronavirus pandemic began.

However, Katia is confident that it could work, despite the fact she has no idea when the pair will be able to meet in person, "Finding a romantic connection is possible in this new form [Zoom]."

Viewers paid to watch the livestream, which was raising money for Feeding America. As of May 16, the show raised over $42,000.

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