"After enlisting in the U.S. Navy at 19, Babatunde Ebunola landed a job right out of a Hollywood blockbuster: machinist's mate nuclear, or nuke, making him responsible for the nuclear propulsions systems in submarines. He spent long stretches working leagues under the sea. One six-month deployment coincided with the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, leaving him and his fellow submariners largely uninformed."
"In 2023, after he'd returned to the surface and been stationed at a base outside Charleston, S.C., one message did catch his attention on Hinge. It was from Karina Banaduc, an Army Reserve sergeant in town from nearby Myrtle Beach, S.C., for routine training. On my dating apps, I had set my radius to 100 miles, the widest that you can. But he did not, Ms. Banaduc, 33, said. The only reason we met was because I was in his radius."
"Soon they began to consider what a civilian life might look like. Mr. Ebunola retired from the military this year, while Ms. Banaduc opted to work remotely in the Army Reserve until her contract wound down. I could find work fairly easily, Mr. Ebunola said. But I wanted to be in a place where I actually wanted to live. In July, he started a job as a technician on the Champlain Hudson Power E"
Karina Banaduc and Babatunde Ebunola brought a $700,000 budget to New York City searching for a three-bedroom apartment or house. Ebunola enlisted in the U.S. Navy at 19 and served as a machinist's mate nuclear, overseeing submarine nuclear propulsion systems and enduring long deployments, including a six-month tour during the early Covid-19 pandemic. In 2023 a Hinge message from Banaduc, an Army Reserve sergeant training in Myrtle Beach, initiated their relationship despite different upbringings and opposing views on pets. Ebunola retired this year while Banaduc worked remotely in the Army Reserve until her contract ended. In July he began a technician job on the Champlain Hudson Power E.
Read at www.nytimes.com
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