In early July 2020, Jacqueline Renée Lobel and Michka Chaim Bengio matched on Hinge. After messaging through the dating app, they quickly transitioned to texting. To their surprise, a brief, three-year-old texting history appeared on their phones.
“We pieced together that we had connected on another dating app and had an hourlong call, but neither of us remembered the other,” said Ms. Lobel, 36, a freelance TV producer who grew up in Brooklyn and was living in Ditmas Park.
Mr. Bengio, 43, grew up in Strasbourg, France, and moved to New York in 2001. He was living in Manhattan’s West Village and working in hospitality, opening restaurants like Miss Lily’s and Ladurée, when they reconnected. He, too, had no recollection of their interaction.
Now charmed and curious about one another, they decided to meet in person a week later.
The pandemic was in full force, so they planned a picnic in Brooklyn Bridge Park in Dumbo and sat overlooking the East River.
“Early in the conversation, Michka asked me, ‘What are you looking for?’” said Ms. Lobel, who was disarmed and at a loss. “He was earnest, sincere and real. That intrigued me. He was a cool cat and mysterious, so I asked him the same.”
Mr. Bengio, who likes “real, meaningful conversation right away,” said he was also unprepared. “The word ‘home’ came to me,” he said of his response. “Home is comfort, safety and reassurance. It says, this is where you’re supposed to be.”
Over the next two months, they did what they called “slow, homey things together” — strolling through farmers’ markets, cooking meals, and taking short trips to upstate New York.
During Labor Day weekend, when a dinner date turned into a five-night marathon — including biking to Coney Island for Nathan’s Famous hot dogs — both realized their dating status had progressed to a relationship.
“This was more than having a lot in common or laughing together,” Ms. Lobel said. “We had days of intimacy and deep connection. Any anxiety energy washed away.”
For Mr. Bengio, it was about a simple ease. “We were in a bubble,” he said. “A slow burn filled with pleasurable experiences.”
As the world began to reopen, their bubble expanded. They met each other’s friends and family. They grew closer together, “becoming partners rather than boyfriend and girlfriend,” Ms. Lobel said. “That was a first for me. I had never dated anyone past nine months.”
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When Mr. Bengio’s lease ended in December of 2021, he moved in with Ms. Lobel. Then came real life.
Late-night pillow talk turned into worry about work and income. Though their jobs slowly resumed, their goals changed. Both wanted to focus on their creative endeavors. Ms. Lobel formed Shtick, a Jewish hospitality company that creates and hosts events. Mr. Bengio created the Bench, a social club and membership space for people interested in culture and politics, in Chinatown.
In 2023, during another Labor Day weekend, the couple moved into a two-bedroom apartment on the first floor of a brownstone in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn.
“This was our place to build a home,” Mr. Bengio said.
Ms. Lobel said they “became each other’s family.”
In May 2025, Mr. Bengio proposed on their front stoop.
During their courtship, Ms. Lobel thought Mr. Bengio “didn’t know my cell number by heart. I told him I wouldn’t marry him until he did,” said Ms. Lobel, who was half kidding about the not-marrying part, but 100 percent confused when Mr. Bengio suddenly repeated her number several times. Then he extended a vintage handkerchief with the words “you are my home” embroidered in French. Wrapped inside was a ring.
“I knew her number for a few years but didn’t tell her because I wanted it to be part of the proposal,” he said.
A friend filmed and took photos from across the street. Friends and family were in their back garden waiting to celebrate. Food trucks dispensed Nathan’s hot dogs and Mister Softee ice cream.
On March 22, the couple married in front of 160 guests at the Chelsea Shul, an old synagogue turned event space. Rabbi Yisroel Heller led the Orthodox Jewish ceremony and customs in Hebrew.
During a sit-down kosher dinner, Mr. Bengio surprised everyone when he performed with a four-piece band Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are,” having changed the lyrics to honor his bride. Then the evening turned into a full-blown party.
“When we first connected, I wasn’t ready for a relationship or real love,” Ms. Lobel said. “I didn’t have a rom-com story until I met Michka.”
“We want to see each other win,” Mr. Bengio added. “I’ve always been on my own path, by myself. But I never feel alone with her.”
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