Chelsea Amber is a lover of crime fiction books, plot-driven video games, Brasilian samba and al fresco brunches in NYC (have you seen her drool-worthy Instagram?) Her mother always said she was destined for a career in a creative field—we’ll just pretend that regretful year of pharmacy school never happened—and Chelsea found herself at the University of Missouri-Colombia to study photojournalism. Of course, like most millennials, her career path strayed far from her degree, and she now works as a graphic designer for a fashion company in New York. She lives in New Jersey, where she was born and raised, with the cutest (and chattiest) Balinese cat named Loomi.
In an ideal world, James would begin every morning with a cappuccino or mocha (did you know he was once a barista?). Whether commuting, cleaning or just relaxing, he loves to listen to hip-hop, jazz, rock—name a genre and chances are it’s on his playlist. His Madden and Fallout video game phases drive Chelsea crazy, but he did introduce her to Grand Theft Auto IV and even she couldn’t deny what a great game it is. He’s currently pursuing a career as a currency trader in Arizona and trying to read more books during his downtime from work. James is hoping to be “that cute couple reading together in the corner” the next time he and Chelsea visit one of their favorite NYC cafes.
When they say “we met online,” people ask was it Bumble or Zoosk, but it was not a dating website at all. Some might call it fate that within weeks of the launch of a site that paired random strangers around the world to enjoy a simple text-only chat, Chelsea and James were matched for a conversation. She should have been working on her political science paper. He should have been doing whatever it is commodities brokers do. Instead, procrastination and distraction brought them together. They talked for hours, learning that not only did they have a lot in common, but that James was, at the time, living not too far from Chelsea’s hometown in Central New Jersey. They exchanged MSN usernames (a now obsolete chatting platform) and continued to speak. Weeks later, Chelsea graduated from college, and they decided to meet in person for the first time on the Fourth of July in 2009. The rest, as they say, is a ten-year history that continues to grow.
Loomi the Cat, a fellow Libra like James, is a troublesome little fellow! When he's not relaxing in the bathtub—no water of course—or scattering kibble across the floor or vaulting over the couch like Simone Biles, he takes naps in his teepee and nibbles on a stuffed fishbone. Loomi loves when James visits from Arizona because James lets him break all the rules, which makes Chelsea very mad. He knows exactly what time to start begging for dinner, and if Chelsea sleeps too late he's sure to wake her up with a loving meow at the top of his lungs. Loomi's wish is to become more famous than Grumpy Cat.