When Dr. Hilary Gallin and Joshua Robert Brodie connected on Bumble in January 2023, they quickly realized their parents had been trying to set them up on a date for months.
Dr. Gallin’s mother, Dr. Pamela Gallin Yablon, is a surgeon at NewYork-Presbyterian and has practiced out of her Columbia office in the eye institute for more than four decades. In September 2022, her longtime associate and friend, Dr. Scott Brodie, an attending ophthalmologist, moved his practice to the same office space. Almost immediately, the two began scheming to set up their children: her daughter, Hilary, and his son, Joshua. Shortly after, Joshua Brodie received an email from his father, which included a photo of Dr. Hilary Gallin and a brief biography.
Although interested, Mr. Brodie, now 40, was navigating a divorce and didn’t feel the time was right. Dr. Gallin, now 37, who was living in Boston and fresh out of a breakup, felt similarly. For the time being, their parents’ plan would not be realized.
Several months passed. In early 2023, Mr. Brodie was hanging out with his childhood friend, Michael Gruen, and his wife, Althea Webber. The trio had just returned from a boozy brunch when Mr. Gruen and Ms. Webber, who met on a dating site, suggested they make Mr. Brodie a profile on Bumble.
Within about an hour, Mr. Brodie saw a photo he thought he recognized. He swiped right, and shortly after, Dr. Gallin messaged him asking what he’d done for New Year’s Eve. He answered but couldn’t help adding, “By the way, is there any chance that your mother is an ophthalmologist and that our parents tried to set us up last year?”
Less than a week later, the pair had their first date at the Campbell in Grand Central Terminal. “It was a moment of ultimate comfort,” Dr. Gallin said. Their second date, a match on the squash court that Dr. Gallin dominated, sealed the deal. But it would be a while until their parents knew of their budding relationship.
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