As Christopher Ellis waited for the SkyConnect to take him from Tampa International Airport’s main terminal to the gate of his California-bound flight in November 2018, he paused when he overheard a guy exiting the tram discussing “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
“This piqued my interest. Being an ex-bartender at Flamingo Resort, I know some of the girls,” he says.
He joined the conversation, meeting Delta employee – now husband – Kahmari Ellis for the first time.
At least, this was the first time they met in person.
Unbeknownst to them in the moment, the two actually connected through a dating app in July 2018, but never met. Kahmari, a seasonal employee for the airline, often traveled between
Connecticut and Tampa for work, and used the app to meet people in Florida. Their initial text message contact tapered off, though, and they forgot about their electronic connection.
“I got busy with work and stopped replying,” says Christopher, a certified surgical technician at West Chase Surgery Center. “Life gets busy and then I thought he lost interest because I took so long to respond.”
As they exchanged phone numbers in the airport, they amazingly discovered they were already saved in each other’s contacts. “What are the odds of that? It was meant to be,” Christopher says.
Kahmari adds, “It was kind of scary, such a coincidence.”
They texted nonstop throughout Christopher’s West Coast trip. When he returned, they began dating, making it “official” on Jan. 19, 2019.
From the beginning, the Pinellas Park couple found balance in each other. “I think it’s really about our differences,” Kahmari explains. “It’s not so much the things we agree upon, it’s about how we’re different. Some things he has as a fault in are my strength. You can’t both be chill and laid back or hyper sensitive.”
Christopher adds, “We just jive. I’m Italian and loud, and he’s quiet, so it kind of works.”
He was also drawn to Kahmari’s drive.
“Nobody has goals or dreams anymore, and I was a bartender for many years and I didn’t have a plan until I went to medical school,” Christopher says. “I set a goal and accomplished it. He had a plan and I find that so attractive.”
Kahmari, who moved here full-time in September, still works seasonally for Delta, but hopes to be hired by the airline as a year-round employee based in Tampa Bay.
For months, he traveled between Connecticut and Florida, though, which made it difficult for them to find time together. Christopher also struggled with their age difference – he’s 42, while his husband is 22.
“I had a problem with the age and not wanting to be judged,” he says.
Even though Kahmari wasn’t bothered by 20-year gap, they briefly broke up for two weeks last spring over it. They got back together after Christopher’s friends set him straight.
“They love, love, love Kahmari,” he says. “I talked to them about it … and they showed me it doesn’t matter. It’s cliché, but age, it’s a number, it’s just one percent of who we are, just like being gay is a small part of who we are.”
In July, while picking up jewelry cleaner for Christopher’s mother at the Gold & Diamond Source, they looked at rings together. “That’s when marriage first came up,” Christopher says. “I asked him, ‘Would you ever want to get married? He said, ‘Yeah, would you?’ And we went to Walmart and got nice bands, a promise to each other … I’d say we asked each other. Nobody ever got down on one knee.”
Without telling anyone, they wed at the Pinellas County courthouse in Clearwater Sept. 19.
“We got married on 9-9-19 because we started dating on 1-9-19,” Christopher says.
They hosted a small celebration at their new home Sept. 29. The couple is also planning a bigger wedding for friends and family.
Wedding Date: Sept. 9, 2019
Officiant: Andy Gillis
Wedding Venue: Pinellas County Clearwater courthouse
Wedding Party Date: Sept. 29, 2019
Wedding Party Venue: The couple’s Pinellas Park home
Caterer: Publix and some homemade family dishes
