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"No question about it," Rothman said. "I'm proof that it can happen."
The 53-year-old Rothman, who has spent the last 10 years in Congress representing the 9th Congressional District, has two children with his first wife. The pair divorced 12 years ago.
"We co-parented our children," Rothman said. "Their mom and I are now dear friends. When the children were younger, with all the time constraints going back and forth to Washington, there wasn't a lot of time for me to date. But as the children got older, I found that I had more time and I was honestly looking for my soulmate."
Rothman went through the usual dating resources. "I had my sister introduce me to some women, and I had friends who introduced me to others," Rothman said. "I went through some referrals from my sister-in-law. I kept dating, but I hadn't found the real special woman. I met some extraordinary women, some terrific people, but I just didn't meet the right one."
Sisterly advice
Rothman then got some friendly advice from his older sister, Susan.
"She doesn't ask me to do anything," Rothman said. "She demands me to do something. She commands everything to her two younger brothers."
Susan Rothman told the Congressman about JDate.com, which calls itself "the leading Jewish singles network."
"She said that a lot of people had success there," Rothman said. "So I went to the site and I set up a profile, describing myself."
When it came to putting down a profession, did Rothman write, "U.S. Congressman?"
"I think I wrote my profession as an attorney," said Rothman, who was an attorney in private practice for 16 years before running for public office, first as the mayor of Englewood, then as a member of Congress. "I wrote as my employer, the United States Congress."
Rothman said that his profile appeared on JDate.com for more than a year. During that time, he went on a number of dates with women he met through the service.
"I met a lot of really nice women from all different walks of life: doctors, lawyers, artists, journalists, dancers, musicians," Rothman said. "They were from all different backgrounds and had a variety of interests."
Did he tell the dates right away that he was a congressman?
"I think about 20 percent of the time, they already knew ahead of time," Rothman said. "The rest didn't seem to mind when they found out. If you're honest, you can cut through all of the silliness. I described myself honestly and talked to people that had mutual interests."
Struggle for a soulmate
Rothman said that he didn't have any nightmare stories about his dating experiences, nor did he care to elaborate about how the other dates went.
"It wasn't frustrating at all," Rothman said. "You just know when you're looking for your one true love, you're willing to hold out. I met many wonderful, bright and interesting women, but I didn't fall head over heels with any of them."
That was, until Rothman stumbled across the profile submitted by Jennifer Anne Beckenstein, a native of Portland, Ore. who was living in Nyack, N.Y.
"We don't even know who contacted who first," Rothman said. "At one point, I think we just sort of reached out for each other."
The 48-year-old Beckenstein was a divorcee with three daughters. At one time, she worked in the publicity department at WABC-TV in New York, before then becoming a stay-at-home mom.
"We were speaking on the phone one day and she said that she worked in Englewood [as the community affairs coordinator for the Center for Food Action, an emergency food, rent and utility agency]," Rothman said. "I said, 'You're kidding. I used to work in Englewood.' When she asked, 'What did you do in Englewood?' I said, 'I was the mayor.' She couldn't believe it. So we then met for dinner."
First date
The pair ate at a restaurant where his future wife's daughter was working as a waitress.
"She was our waitress," Rothman laughed. "I guess Jennifer wanted some backup when we met."
The two dated regularly for five months before the Congressman finally popped the question. But he didn't want to go into details last week about his wedding proposal.
"I'm a pretty private guy," Rothman said. "At least, I was before this interview."
He added, "The bottom line was that she said, 'Yes.' That's all that really counts."
Rothman said he knew early on that he had finally met the woman of his dreams.
"It was after the second date," Rothman said. "That's when I knew she was the one. It was what I was hoping for. It hit me like a thunderbolt."
Brady Bunch
On Friday, Aug. 18, at a ceremony presided by Rabbi Eylse Frishman in Nyack, N.Y., the congressman married his online love.
"I couldn't be happier," Rothman said. "She really is my true love."
The newly formed family will reside in Fair Lawn, all together - Rothman's two teenage children and Jennifer's three teenage daughters.
"We also have two dogs," Rothman said. "It's really like the 'Brady Bunch.' "
Rothman said that he was not surprised to find his eventual wife on the Internet.
"I heard of at least a dozen stories, maybe more, of people finding true love on the Internet," Rothman said. "Either on JDate or other sites. So it does happen. It's really what I was hoping for."
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