A Few Stops and Starts Along the Way

When Allison Joyce Steigman matched with William Joseph Newgent Jr., on the dating app EliteSingles in May 2021, she hoped to find a husband.

“I had been searching for Mr. Right for my entire life and had been in several long-term relationships,” said Ms. Steigman, a clinical psychotherapist. “I was no stranger to online dating.”

Mr. Newgent, 58, was fresh out of a 25-year relationship and wary of dating seriously. “My thought was that I would get out there and meet some nice women,” he said. “I hadn’t been on dates since my 20s.”

At the time, Mr. Newgent was living in West Palm Beach, Fla., and Ms. Steigman, 55, had recently moved to Boca Raton, Fla., where the couple live now, from Manhattan; they lived a half-hour drive apart.

After exchanging a few messages, they set up a Zoom date. When he saw Ms. Steigman on his screen, Mr. Newgent, said she was even more attractive than her profile picture. “Very early on in the Zoom, I found myself smiling and eager for every question and answer she had,” he said.

Ms. Steigman was also drawn to Mr. Newgent. “I loved Bill’s deep, sexy voice,” she said. “He seemed really sweet, and he had a sense of humor, which was one of the top qualities I had been looking for in a man.”

They discovered that their June birthdays are two days apart, and that they both loved dogs.

“I desired to know more, so I asked her for dinner,” Mr. Newgent said. They met two days later at Deck 84, a waterfront restaurant in Delray Beach, Fla. “I saw her, and in that moment, there was nowhere else I could imagine being,” he said.

Their conversation flowed easily. The two discussed their families, backgrounds and preferences. It turned out both avoid alcohol, are primarily vegan and have similar spiritual perspectives.

“We talked about anything and everything and could have sat there for hours longer,” Ms. Steigman said.

“We were finishing each other’s sentences,” Mr. Newgent added. “It felt like nothing was off limits.

Mr. Newgent grew up in Jupiter, Fla., and is a spiritual adviser and life coach; he coaches clients on the practical use of spirituality and how to have a more fulfilling life.

Ms. Steigman is from North Bellmore, N.Y. She is a clinical psychotherapist with her own practice. She received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. She has a master’s degree in psychology from the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology at Yeshiva University and also earned a doctoral degree in psychology from the school.

Mr. Newgent and Ms. Steigman met again two days later at Delray Oaks Natural Area and held hands as they strolled along the trails, Neither wanted the day to end, and they headed to Morikami Museum and Japanese Garden, in Delray Beach. “We told each other increasingly personal stories from our lives,” Mr. Newgent said.

He drove her home, and in her driveway, they shared a passionate kiss.

They began spending a lot of time together. “After a few weeks, I had a feeling that Bill was ‘the one,’” Ms. Steigman said.

Their courtship flourished.

Then, in February 2022, Mr. Newgent broke up with Ms. Steigman amid a heated argument over a minor disagreement. “I yelled that he wasn’t listening to me, and he stormed out, but not before saying that we were done,” she said. “I was devastated.”

Mr. Newgent said that he realized two weeks later that his reaction was extreme and started longing for Ms. Steigman. “I called Allison to apologize and asked if she would take me back,” he said.

“I didn’t have to even think before saying ‘yes,’” Ms. Steigman said. “We got along so well, and Bill assured me he wouldn’t do that again.”

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Yet, Mr. Newgent broke up with Ms. Steigman two more times, in January and July 2023. “Every time I experienced the height of love and vulnerability with Allison, fear took over,” he said.

Six weeks after the last incident, in August 2023, he contacted Ms. Steigman, asking for another chance, but she wasn’t forgiving. “I agreed to speak with Bill only in a session with a therapist,” she said.

They began couples therapy, and Mr. Newgent started individual sessions with a therapist skilled in trauma healing to address issues from his childhood, he said. “I’ve been able to get rid of a lot of demons and fearlessly experience my love for Allison,” he said.

Over Thanksgiving dinner at Ms. Steigman’s home in 2023, “we went around the table, saying what each of us was most grateful for,” Ms. Steigman said. “Bill went last and told a beautiful story about our love and proposed,” she said. “Everyone cried.”

On Feb. 8, Mr. Newgent and Ms. Steigman married before 96 guests at Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa, in Manalapan, Fla. Rabbi Ryan Daniels, of the Temple Israel of West Palm Beach, officiated.

They had their first dance to a recording of “Overjoyed” by Matchbox Twenty. “The room was filled with our family and friends and radiated with love all night,” Mr. Newgent said.