A couple who decided to get married just one week after they started dating have opened up about their whirlwind romance – saying some family members didn’t approve at first.
Carlos Padilla and Angela Gomez jokingly told each other they wanted to get hitched just days after meeting up.
The pair initially connected on social media before deciding to spend four days together in person.
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But when sparks flew, they decided to take their joke engagement seriously – tying the knot in a small courthouse ceremony a month later.
And their love story showed no signs of slowing, with the couple discovering Angela, 27, was pregnant just weeks after saying ‘I do’.
While their families were worried things were moving too fast, the pair are still together today, with two children and a home to show for it.
Carlos, 27, says he knew Angela was the one after she came to visit him at his duty station in Texas while he was in the military, having met on the social media app, Snapchat.
“Within a few days of talking, we actually split a plane ticket,” Carlos told What’s The Jam of their first meeting.
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“She flew over from Miami and stayed with me in Texas for four days.
“I remember when she had to leave; it was very hard.
“Within two days, I jokingly but pretty seriously said over text, ‘We should get married.’
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“She shockingly said yes.
“We purchased a plane ticket, and she told her family.
“Within one month of getting ready, she flew back, and we got married at a courthouse – it was nothing fancy.”
Finance workers Carlos and Angela, who live in Florida, had been pupils at the same primary school but were not close.
The pair had both recently ended long-term relationships when Carlos got his first duty station in El Paso, Texas.
Having graduated from his training, Carlos posted a story of himself at a party on Snapchat and graphic design student Angela reached out to him in March 2018.
Carlos said: “One thing led to another, and that same night we jokingly said, ‘You should come over.’
“When she flew over, I remember thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, she’s actually here, I didn’t think it would get this far’.
“I was excited.”
Angela can recall instantly feeling a natural connection between herself and Carlos.
“There was this natural ease between us that made everything feel right,” she said.
“Even though we had only been ‘officially’ dating for a week before talking about marriage, I wasn’t scared.
“I knew Carlos was someone I could trust with my heart. After those four days in Texas, I just knew deep down that this was where I was meant to be.
“It wasn’t about how long we had been together — it was about how deeply we understood each other.”
After bonding during her four-day trip, the duo spoke nonstop on the phone.
Carlos said: “We just started planning out this life together, which hadn’t even started.
“We both wanted the same thing; it just really lined up really nice.
“It was so random to my family because it was someone they had never met.
“When I told my mum, she was very shocked.
“I’m the oldest of my brothers, and she knew [having a family] was what I always wanted as a kid.
“If I’m set on something, she knows she can’t change it, but she will speak her mind.
“She was asking me if I was sure, but I do a really good job of explaining things in detail, and she felt very secure in the end.
“Angela’s family were very shocked as well.”
When Angela returned to Texas, she went to meet Carlos’ family without him, and before she left, his mum had given her a ring that she wanted passed down.
Carlos added: “We ran, we didn’t crawl with life.”
Angela says moving to a new state to be with Carlos was scary. “Moving to a new state was exciting but also nerve-wracking,” she said.
“I was leaving behind everything I had built — my home, my job that I loved, and even voluntarily giving up my car, knowing it would follow me financially.
“But despite all that, the decision felt easy because I knew I was stepping into a new chapter with someone I truly loved.
“Trusting and depending on Carlos in this new phase of life wasn’t scary — it was reassuring.
“Even though I was leaving so much behind, I had faith that what we were building together was worth it. Looking back now, I know I made the right choice.”
The couple had secured their own apartment in Texas the same month they got married and adopted their first dog, Baby, at the same time.
Carlos and Angela welcomed their first son, Jace, now six, in February 2019.
They bought their first home two years later, before welcoming their second son, Tai, in March 2025.
Despite scepticism about their relationship, Carlos says it’s the couple’s communication and openness that have been key to their success.
He added: “I think a big thing that helped me in this relationship was just communication.
“It’s not all flowers and rainbows in a relationship.
“The first three years, you’re learning to coexist with somebody.
“There are a lot of things you don’t want to change about yourself, but you need to.
“It’s necessary to operate with another person, and likewise for the other person.
“If you’re both committed to growth, then you’re going to learn to grow together instead of apart.
“I think overall, that’s what helped and communicating while being open to change.”
Angela says while their love story has not been traditional, she believes taking a risk on their relationship was the best decision she ever made.
“If someone had told me years ago that I’d marry the guy I had a crush on in middle school after only a week of dating, I wouldn’t have believed them.
“But life has a funny way of bringing the right people back into your life at the perfect time.
“Our story has been anything but traditional, but now, after seven years, two kids and everything we’ve built together, I can confidently say that taking that chance was the best decision I ever made.
“What started as a whirlwind romance has become a life filled with love, growth, and memories that I wouldn’t trade for anything.”
