Knowing She was the One, with Surgical Precision

In October 2022, Dr. Olivia Arden Sacks’s professional life as a surgical resident was consumed by long hours, an academic paper, and thoughts about her rotation. But amid all the hard work, she had a moment of clarity: Anika Lynn Bieg was the person she wanted to marry.

Such precision is “how I make decisions,” she said. “If you have a profession like surgery, you have to be definitive in your decision-making, and I don’t like to overthink things or get anxious.”

When Dr. Sacks matched with Ms. Bieg on Bumble in August 2021, after the end of a four-year relationship, she viewed the experience as “practice.”

Ms. Bieg, on the other hand, swore that this would be her final attempt at dating for a while. She was feeling drained by dating apps. “I think my exhaustion was from the lack of effort that other people put in,” she said. “Olivia was the first person whom I didn’t have to carry the entire conversation with.”

After chatting for two weeks on the dating app, the two met for drinks and snacks at Toro restaurant in Boston’s South End neighborhood. Dr. Sacks initially was not excited about the date. “It was raining that day, and I remember her running into the restaurant from across the street,” she said. “And when I saw her walk in, it felt like everything slowed down in the restaurant.”

They ended up talking for three hours. “It’s the only conversation I can’t remember in my life,” Ms. Bieg said. “I was so present.”