Love, in all its enchanting forms, has a way of weaving captivating tales that leave an indelible mark on our hearts. Among these cherished stories are the moments when people knew, with unwavering certainty, that they had found "the one." From random bizarre encounters to moments borrowed from romantic comedies, these heartwarming anecdotes of love's discovery are as diverse as the souls who experienced them.
1. A Scene From A Music Festival
I used to work 70-hour weeks to save up and vagabond the music festival scene from mid-summer to fall by myself. We had a minor fling before I started my yearly show. At the first festival, I couldn't stop texting her. At the second festival, I had better service and we talked a lot.
At the third festival, I took a huge leap of faith—I had to drive past my hometown and stopped to see if she wanted to come. She had never been to one and didn't have the money. I paid for her pass because for the first time, I actually wanted someone to experience the real me. On the 18th of this month, we celebrated 12 years of marriage.
2. Heroes Don’t Ware Capes And They Have A Fear Of Water
Last Monday, June 19th, was our one-year anniversary. We’ve been dating through a difficult final year at school—or Sixth Form—however now we were finally off on a break to enjoy things.
To celebrate one year, we wanted to do something kind of low-key, so we went on a walk to a place she knew which was a man-made lake—she discovered it in lockdown, I never knew it existed.
So here we were, just chilling around before the both of us decide to sit on the branch of an overhanging tree, above a small lake. We sit here for some time, and I go to find my phone to text my dad something, however, I noticed the zip on my pocket was broken and I looked down to see my phone half submerged in the water.
I try to climb down to get it, but I’m heavy and not exactly the most nimble. After nearly suffering a nasty fall from the tree, I get up and start to panic about how to get my phone.
At this point, she turns to me and says “Don’t worry”, and immediately starts climbing the branch, takes her shoes off, and walks halfway across the river to grab my phone.
Even though she has a big fear of water, she didn’t hesitate for a moment as she grabbed it for me. At this point, ‘she’s the one’ has been the only thing going on in my mind since.
3. This Story Warms My Heart
The first moment was our second date.
I was financially in a deficit when we met. I work in an industry that relies on your passion before you make any kind of decent money.
It was January, and it was cold where we live. It was minus 28 degrees on our first date, a few days before—with windchill. It wasn't much better on the second date. I did not have a proper winter coat. I would layer, and usually, with a little Canadian gumption, it was enough to get through the winters.
He showed up with an older coat of his, really warm, lined, suitable up to -40... and was like, "I hate to see you so cold".
Now, there have been countless moments when I knew he was the one, but the care for my person so early on really hit a note in my soul.
We moved in together after six months, have been together for ten years, and married for six. We have two little girls.
4. My Kids Love Him!
We were long distancing at the time, visiting each other whenever we could. When we knew we were going to be long-term, we met each other's kids.
One time, the kids and I were playing Phase 10, and my husband video-called me. My oldest said, "Oh, is that “partner’s name”!" My child snatched my phone away and had a 40-minute conversation with my now-husband, showing husband cards, asking opinions on which card he should play, etc. Finally, my kid says, "Ok, here's mom again. Bye!"
When I got the phone back, I was taken aback by my husband's reaction. He was fully teary-eyed, almost about to cry. The fact that he engaged with my child like that and that it meant that much to him. I know there were other times, but I think this was where I really just knew.
We also used to stay on the phone when I went to bed. One night, he thought I was asleep already, and he whispered. "I am going to marry you”.
5. Purr-fect
We were fostering a stray cat who had kittens. The kittens all had homes lined up with people we knew. The poor mother cat just had health problem after health problem pop up.
We were at the vet with her so many times. She wasn't in pain, but with the vet bills and the behavior stuff that comes with health issues like these, I knew she was unadoptable and would need significant care.
I told my then-girlfriend that I had to keep the mother cat, even though we both had special needs animals already, and adding more would delay us moving in together.
She was like, "Yeah, of course. I love her". Like she'd never even considered any other options. She was so kind and loving to that cat, who randomly bothered us and peed on the floor throughout her first year and a half with us. She was as all in as I was every single day.
Our passions and values are the same, and my partner is still the most compassionate person I know. We still have the kitty too, who we adore.
6. Love & Camping
We were camping with another, much more adventurous couple in the middle of nowhere in the mountains of Colorado. Way, way out of my comfort zone. We had been together about one and a half years at this point.
The other couple decided they want to go hiking off-trail to reach a peak we would see in the distance. No maps, just winging it. I was so anxious and that anxiety showed...an "easy" walk across a log had my legs shaking and I felt sick.
He didn't shame me. He didn't urge me forward to keep up with the others. He didn't rush me, just encouraged me. And when I made it across, he gave me a big high five and said "I knew you could do this".
That moment almost had me in tears because never in my life has someone encouraged me to face my fears rather than shame me for having them in the first place.
He proposed a year later and we've been married since this past January. Best decision ever.
7. Relationships Are About Compromise
My now-wife always wanted to have kids in her early 30s. I come from a problematic childhood and being responsible for a human being was something that always scared me because, by the time we met, I already had adopted some bad habits from my father.
At the age of 28, when we were together for two years, I asked her to take some time and think about, if she wants to keep our relationship going even if I'm not willing to become a father.
After two weeks and lots of talking, she told me that she wants to be with me, no matter if we will be parents or not.
At that moment I decided to marry her. Now we are both 34, married, and have a beautiful daughter of three-and-a-half years. I got rid of my bad habits and turned my health completely around.
I'm in the best shape ever—physically and mentally. She always stood by my side and helped me through the war against my demons. She and our daughter are the best things in my life.
8. Good Things Will Come To Those Who Wait
I knew he was the one when he told me he was willing to wait for me when I told him I was deploying for six months and that I wasn't looking for a relationship. We met four months before that—and everything changed in a blink of an eye. Suddenly one day, he said he loved me, he would wait for me, and asked me to marry him.
We got married three days before I deployed. He came to Japan to visit me halfway through the deployment and we had the best time ever...We've been married ever since. That was 19 years ago. Four kids later, we're still going strong.
9. Healing Together
There were many moments but this one is one of the most pivotal for me.
We were maybe two or three months into dating. He made a joke during dinner that unknowingly triggered some issues I hadn’t disclosed to him yet. It wasn’t an ill-intended joke but it triggered a very specific memory for me that caused me to have a breakdown.
I completely shut down and told him I had to leave. I couldn’t explain to him what was going on in my mind but I needed to get away from the situation. He walked me to my car, and then I know he followed me home in his own car from a distance to make sure I got home safely because I was almost unresponsive to him.
He opened up the conversation gently the next time we saw each other and asked me if I had seen a therapist lately. He told me he didn’t know my specific circumstance but he knew what it was like to be overwhelmed by thoughts.
Over the next year, I went to therapy and worked through my issues, and he supported me all the way. He always made sure—and still does—that I know being with him is a safe space, even if I cannot express my feelings all the time.
Krakenimages.com, Shutterstock
10. I Love A Sensitive Man
He told an entire classroom at university that he cried every time he watched this documentary about the last polio victims still living in Iron lungs. The combination of empathy, vulnerability, and security to share made me know I wanted to pursue him.
I think I said out loud, "I am going to marry that man". I didn't know if it would really be him since we barely knew each other at that point, but I knew that everything he embodied at that moment was what I wanted in a life partner.
I got the courage to ask him out about a year later, and we've been married for nearly two years now. I feel more blessed every day to have such a wonderful husband.
11. Bad Influence, Core Memory
I met her in high school. I never skipped school, ever. I started skipping once in a while to hang out with her on her lunch. Married and going strong 15 years later.
12. Make Me Laugh
My wife and I met in front of a bar. It was just the two of us so we got to talking and after a bit of chatting we learned that we both had a very similar sense of humor.
We especially connected over our mutual appreciation for the movie Dumb and Dumber.
We were dating for about eight months when my mother sadly passed away. At the funeral, there was the moment when the service ended and people were getting up to pass my mother’s casket to pay their final respects.
That was the moment when it really hit home for me that my mom was gone and I started to lose it, a big ugly cry moment. Remember that scene in Dumb and Dumber when Lloyd—Jim Carrey—sees Harry dropping Mary off?
Well right at the moment when I’m losing it, I looked over at my girlfriend and she did the unexpected—she started doing that scene which immediately made me laugh and pulled me back. That was when I knew she was the one.
16 years and two kids later there is still no one in the world who can make me laugh like my wife can.
13. Hold My Hand Forever, Or As Long As You Can
We were at a party with a bunch of friends. When the night was winding down, my designated driver friend was driving, and the girl and I were in the back seat. She was getting nervous about the way my buddy drove, so she grabbed my hand and squeezed it.
I told her it was okay, that I could see he was driving the speed limit and had a steady hand on the wheel. She looked me in the eye and laughed nervously and said "Okay". I fell for her then.
That was 14 years ago. We began dating six years later. Our lives took different paths, and although I was terribly broken when we separated, I still hope she's happy.
I didn't exactly have a healthy lifestyle at the time for multiple reasons, and in the end, she had a good reason for leaving how she did. For a time, I was happy, though, and she smiled like she was, too.
I don't think I'll ever feel that way about anyone else again. I'd still do anything for her if she ever asks, though.
14. Cliche
It was our first weekend trip together. We had been seeing each other exclusively but hadn’t defined the relationship yet.
He told me since I’m “old-fashioned” in some ways that he wanted to do something romantic to ask me to be his girlfriend, which was super sweet.
What ended up happening is that he just blurted out “Will you be my girlfriend?” while we were just hanging out at the hotel. I said yes and asked what happened to the romantic plan.
He told me that his plan didn’t matter because he felt so lucky to be with me. He felt like it was a privilege to see what I was like when no one was around. Pajamas, messy hair, no makeup, reading a book.
I cried and had never felt so beautiful in my entire life.
Four years later, he’s still like this. If he comes downstairs and sees me doing the dishes he will just stop and watch me like it’s the best thing he’s ever seen… because no one else gets to see me do dishes and singing/dancing.
15. Slow Dancing On The Porch
One day, I had gone out with his sister whom he was staying with after moving back home from Texas. His sister and I continued drinking and listening to music on the porch after leaving the bar.
His sister and her husband eventually went to bed so it was just me and him. I thought he was standoffish and rude because he hadn't said three words to me all night.
We just sat there quietly. Music was playing and I love to dance so I got up and asked him to dance with me. I figured even if he rejected me, it was whatever.
Well, he didn't reject my offer and stood up, almost sprang out of the chair. We ended up slow dancing and just holding each other until we just kissed. It was the most right, natural, and amazing feeling I'd ever had.
He was shaking and we were both kind of shocked I think by the experience. You know that saying where people describe kissing someone and it was like being hit by lightning, that was this.
We went inside and held hands on the couch and talked about our lives all night. I didn't want to leave and he didn't want me to go. We pretended for two weeks that this wasn't serious because we both had just gotten out of "serious" relationships and weren't ready to jump back in.
I brought him home with me two weeks later and he's never left my side. We've been together for nearly 16 years. He's my best friend and the best husband. I'm very lucky.
16. Through Thick And Thin
We started dating when I was 16 and he was 18. In my senior year of high school, I finally confessed to my family that I had a tragic incident caused by a family member. It didn't go over well, not as you would expect.
No one believed me, my parents said they did but they pushed it to the side and ignored it. Everyone acted as if I ruined the family. My boyfriend held me when I cried and cried for months.
That Easter—two months after I confessed—my parents, siblings, and I took a spontaneous trip out of state so we could avoid having to see that certain family member. I was miserable.
I tried to put on a happy face, but couldn't. I was young, 17 years old at the time, and everything was just changed. and I felt like it was my fault. There was a feeling I'm not sure how I can describe. Almost an awkward feeling with my parents.
Anyways, I was sad because I spent that entire Easter in the car in silence when usually I was with my extended family—especially with my grandma who I adore—and when everyone was having a great time.
I always was afraid and anxious during the holidays when I was around this person but I put up a happy face. My parents pretended it wasn’t even Easter that year.
We are big with holidays in the sense of being a family and feeling close and being together. I kept this all to myself. I began to just shut down during this time. I felt so alone—but then things turned around in the best way.
I come home after a long car ride home that was spent in silence, and I was alone with my thoughts, to an Easter basket filled with my favorite candies and a card. My boyfriend left it.
He wrote how much he loved me and how we are family now and it was me and him versus the world. I cried reading that like I never cried before. like a relief, loving, happy cry.
We are now together for seven years. Not engaged or married yet—we are still pretty young I guess but we talk about it all the time—but we went through so much together.
He is my person, and he always will be. We always say we will find each other in every lifetime after this.
I mean, there are so many reasons why he is my person and why he says I’m his, but the Easter situation was really the first time I was like “Wow, I found my future husband”.
17. She’s A Keeper
I'm a merchant marine. I have one who knows which days I'll have cell reception and what times and she makes sure to reach out every time. Once we were ahead of schedule and she missed it, and I didn't respond for three days. Her solution to this made me melt inside—she now tracks my vessel online.
Previously we only got to spend one night a month together but it's going up to two a month and I am very excited.
Krakenimages.com, Shutterstock
18. Breakdown
I'm pretty good at keeping it together... until I'm not. There's always a tipping point where all the stress and anxiety pours out of me in some spectacular, random, unrelated way.
I had been able to hide that side of me from him for almost four years because that is the part of me that ruined all my previous relationships. But he had moved in with me six months earlier and there was nowhere to hide it anymore.
Triggered by some cups falling off the cabinet shelf, I started to lose it over how much I hated my kitchen, crying and pulling things out of shelves. I realized how irrational and ridiculous I was being, but I couldn't do anything about it.
He didn't laugh at me, get mad, or tell me I was crazy. He didn't try to comfort me or patronize me. He helped. He said, "What if we do this.... let's move this here to clear space here..." For over three hours he helped me rearrange the entire kitchen.
I knew then that not only could he "handle" me, but he wasn't going to be another thing I had to handle. He was going to be a teammate, someone to share the burden, rather than add to it.
19. Me Or Your Family?
My partner and I were going to spend a week in Newport, RI, and her grandparents offered to stay at their place.
Well, her grandparents waited until dinner time the day we arrived to tell us that we couldn't sleep in the same room because my partner and I weren't married.
And before I could say anything, my partner said "Okay, we'll get a hotel then". Then we went upstairs and got our suitcases and she told me to start looking at hotels in the area. So we ended up booking a hotel at 10 pm.
Her grandparents are conservative Korean immigrants, so for her to do this caused a “kerfuffle” in the family to say the least.
But, she stood her ground when every member of her extended family decided to call and tell her off. That's when I knew she is the one I'd be staying with. We've been together for seven years now.
20. You Are My Home
I was in my sophomore year of high school, she was in her freshman year.
I come from a Slavic family that isn't really in touch with our ancestry.
I wanted borsch, I only had it once before. She and her mom went to the grocery store, got the ingredients, and she made me a fresh batch the next time I came over.
We're engaged now, I love her more than I could possibly describe.
21. Listening Can Be Romantic
I am very, very interested in prehistory, taphonomy, paleontology, and archaeology. My partner is not. At All. My partner could not find it more boring, to the point where he doesn't mind me watching videos about it in bed, because it puts him to sleep.
One night, we were out to dinner and, I can't remember what got me onto, but I made a joke about carcinization, which made me pause and back up to try and explain what it was.
He laughs and says he already knows. This strikes me as really weird, because... He couldn't be less interested in that branch of science.
Tells me "Well you listen to me talk about car stuff... And if this is something you like, then it helps if I have an idea of what you're talking about".
I still joke about how “Babe, I know what carcinization is” is the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me.
YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV, Shutterstock
22. Going The Extra Mile
There were a lot of moments but one stands out. We went on a trip and it was the first time I had used my passport. He had opportunities to travel in the past but I didn’t grow up with the means to do that so this was a really exciting thing for us.
Our dog was being watched by someone, and on the first day of the trip, our dog got lost. He found out and didn’t tell me. In order to get back home it would have been two plane rides minimum and it would take us over 48 hours.
He secretly switched my SIM card in my phone because my number was on the collar. He told my mother not to say anything. He told his family to not say anything—while making sure they were looking and actively doing what they could to find our dog.
He held that burden for a week so I could enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime trip—he loved that dog so much too. He finally told me after a week, and after we got engaged.
I could/would never have asked anyone to hold on to that sort of emotional burden for me to be happy.
This was probably seven years ago and he’s still the one.
23. Sous-Chef In The Relationship
I love cooking for “near and dear ones” and he knew it as we were a part of the same friend circle. After we started our relationship, he'd do this thing that he'd accompany me in the kitchen, unasked.
Another thing he does is that he'd accompany me back to the store if I forget any ingredient without complaining about the fact that "Oh no, we are just back from the store" or whatever. Also does the dishes afterward to split the chores.
Such small, everyday things make life beautiful for me; I knew he was a keeper because he appreciated what I brought to the table and has been a yin to my yang.
Been some years since when we started, last year we were in different countries doing our thing and couldn't meet each other for a good 9-10 months. When he finally moved, several people around me started telling me that "I seem happier"; speaks for itself I guess.
24. My Guardian Angel
My wife and I never really planned on getting married. We had a kid and were just living our life, I bought us a house and stuff. At 28 years old, she got pregnant with our second kid.
While she was like six months pregnant, the worst happened—I had a heart attack. She did CPR and kept my brain alive until first responders arrived at our house and got my heart beating again.
I spent about a month in the hospital and it was questionable if I’d make it at first, then it looked like I’d be mentally handicapped for the rest of my life and she was volunteering to take care of me.
In the last couple of days in the hospital, I sort of started recovering. While I was gone, a wild story about my family came out of the woodwork. Those people, who had nothing to do with me before I had my business, my house, and all my assets, were trying to lay claim to me.
Since she wasn't my wife at the time, they had stronger cases if something had happened to me. I was like “No way” and went and bought a ring and we got married with the quickness right after our second kid was born.
I also got a will going and put all my affairs in order so that in the future it is very clear what I want if medically something happens to me and I can't make decisions.
I should add at that point we had been together more than ten years and I knew pretty well at that point but that for sure solidified it for me. We had our ups and downs and once in a while still do but still love and respect each other and do our best to work things out whenever needed. I couldn't ask for a better partner.
25. In Unison
We were in class and weren’t even in conversation at the time but the people around us were talking about something. I don’t remember what it was anymore but we both gave our opinion at the same time on accident and said the same exact thing.
Then awkwardly looked at each other and proceeded to do it two more times. We must just share a brain cell.
26. Love The Doggie
He grew up without animals, I am a veterinary professional. He said he loved animals but was never allowed to have them. Animals are a huge part of my life and career so this was super important to me.
I had no reason to think he was lying, but everyone loves animals differently. One day I stepped out of my bathroom and he was laying on my little apartment floor snuggled up to my dog. Just hanging out.
I melted. He tolerated my fosters and sick animals and everything else. Ten years later he's currently kissing our animal who is snoring on the sofa and I couldn't be happier.
27. Just A Bunch Of Weirdos
We were making out and things were getting heated, but out of the blue, I started making weird ugly faces. I have no idea what triggered me to do so or what was going on in my mind. I just had this burst of energy I had to release and unfortunately, I released it in a very weird way at a very weird time.
He then ended up returning weirder funnier faces to me with weird sound effects. We ended up laughing and joked around even more for at least an hour.
This might be a small thing but I've never been in such a relationship where I can be myself, not even with my family or my friends. He's always so patient with me and you can tell when he loves, he loves with all of his heart even though sometimes he doesn't show.
I really hope he is the one and even though he's not, I hope he gets all of the happiness in the world. I love him, man.
28. Summer Renaissance
She and I had been friends and co-workers for a couple of years, through the end of my first marriage.
After the ex moved out, my sister brought my nephews over, and my mom came over, and we decided to go blackberry picking, so I thought, hey, I'll invite my friend and her three girls over too so the kids can all play together.
It was an absolutely perfect August day, not too hot...kids all got worn out berry-picking and generally running, and by the time we got back to my place, they were hungry and tired. I put a movie on for all of them and made popcorn, and broke out sodas for everyone.
My ex and I didn't ever have kids. Thank God, she doesn't like children and would have been a terrible mother. So when my sister quietly motioned me over to see my friend, the scene poked my heart—there she was, with my nephews asleep in her lap and her girls piled at her feet watching the movie.
I think my sister and mom knew then, too. My sister had a look on her face and kept exchanging glances with my mom. I, of course, was happily oblivious, but I've always remembered that day as sort of an, "Oh, that's definitely what I need in my life".
Krakenimages.com, Shutterstock
29. Ghostbusters
Our fifth or sixth date. We’d had a conversation the previous date where we discussed lots of random things including the possibility of ghosts. I said that I didn’t necessarily believe in them but I wouldn’t rule them out totally because there are lots of things in the universe I don’t understand.
He immediately started mocking me. Cut to the next date where I was going over to his house for dinner, I walk in and he’s hung up one of those zip line ghosts you see at Halloween, has it flitting around the living room and dining room in his house.
It zooms past me as soon as I walk in and I just lose my mind and start laughing so hard I had to sit down on the floor and couldn’t stand for a few minutes. I finally said something about ‘nice ghost’ and he’s all, “What ghost? I don’t see anything”.
That’s when I knew. Anyone who could troll me that expertly and make me laugh that hard was someone I wanted to be around forever.
30. The Lazy Song
It was the morning after a night she stayed over. She had obligations that day and I was begging her to stay in bed with me a bit longer. She finally goes, “Okay, hand me my phone”—and I held my breath.
She calls and reschedules. She holds her phone up in the air and pulls it to her chest, happy she had a free day. She tells me she’s gonna sleep in a bit and turns over facing away from me.
I quickly went to check my phone and she turns back over and gives me this “Hey big spoon don’t you have a job to do?” look. I was already head over heels but I really knew I wanted every morning for the rest of my life to be with her from then on.
Krakenimages.com, Shutterstock
31. Gross, But OK
He came with me on a very long run I was doing—18 miles or so—when it was miserably hot out. At some point, I felt a hair get stuck in the sweat of my armpit. It was rubbing against my arm and driving me crazy, and I couldn't see exactly where it was to pull it off.
Without a second thought, he just went for it, full send—he reached directly into my gross, gross pits and pulled a loose hair off me. While riding one-handed on his bike so I could keep running. Love.
Also, I had to take a shower while I had a brutal stomach bug and was too sick to dry my hair. I made my way back to bed and he came in after me with a blow drier and brush so I didn't have to lay there with wet tangled hair. God bless him.
32. Time Travellers
We met online through Snapchat when I saw a friend of mine tag her in a story. I thought she was cute, and I decided to send her a friend request.
I then looked at her profile to see if there was anything I could use as a conversation starter, and there was a badge that, at the time, said we had last spoken appropriately 50 years ago. I thought it was funny, and sent her a text that said “Long time no see”.
I then took the time before she responded to look up what might have happened 50 years ago so that I could pretend I saw her. I decided to go with the opening of Disney World in 1971 and when she understandably responded in confusion to my comment, I explained that we had met at the opening of Disney World.
I didn't expect her response. She instantly played along, and we both agreed that we were time travelers who had met at various points in history that we both found interesting. That was really the moment I knew we were going to be if nothing else perfect friends.
Not too long after that, following weeks of finding many commonalities between ourselves, the Marvel show Loki came out, and we had watch parties every week where we would watch the latest episode and, very on theme I might add, found more proof from talking that we were simply different variants of each other who had found one another in the multiverse.
Eventually, we made plans to hang out with the two of us and the mutual friend that had inadvertently set us up. When we met, it was a little awkward, but the mutual friend eventually decided to take us to a nearby house party, it was not our type of crowd nor was it comfortable for either of us, so I took my future girlfriend's hand and asked her if she’d like to leave.
We left and went for a walk through the nearby park, holding hands in the dark and just talking. This is when sparks really started to fly. There was a moment somewhere in the night that we tried to cross a parking lot with our eyes closed without hitting any cars, but we were laughing so hard we couldn’t walk straight.
We had spent almost the entire night just walking and talking, and we ended up together on a tire swing with her sitting in my lap with our foreheads touching, laughing talking, and holding each other for what felt like an eternity before I decided to make the best decision of my life and kiss her.
Needless to say, after the buildup of tension throughout the night, it was the best kiss I had ever experienced, and we ended up going back and sleeping—yes, just sleeping—on our friend's bed.
Over the following days, we decided to make it official, and quite honestly to this day it was the most natural feeling and most genuine human connection I have ever had, and I couldn’t have met a better person at any other point in time at any place or in any universe.
Tetiana Chernykova, Shutterstock
33. Thanks Guitar Hero
We met as college housemates in a big house and became best friends. We did everything together. We learned to cook flambe, cooked big themed meals for the house, distilled moonshine from a homemade still and set up a tent in the living room to have a campout. We were like two kids in a tree house.
I had an aggressive boyfriend I'd been with for three-and-a-half years. Shortly after we came back from winter break, my bestie developed a crush on me, but I only saw him as a little brother and was not attracted in the same way at all.
That is, until one day we were playing Guitar Hero together in the living room, and I saw his abs shimmering through his T-shirt.
That was the first spark, the first time I ever considered that he could be anything more than a friend. There's a lot more to the story of how we got together, but from that moment on we were on an unstoppable collision course.
We've been together for over 16 years now, with a life of adventures under our belt and our first baby on the way. Still best friends, still inseparable. Best friends make the best partners.
34. She Got My Brother’s Blessing
My brother is special needs. Verbal, but as an adult, still behaves and communicates more like an 8-year-old than an adult. It’s beautiful and we all love him and credit much of who we are as people to his impact. I personally think I learned patience, understanding, etc from my brother. He’s a year older than me and we were always close.
Throughout my childhood, I’ve seen many friends and girlfriends interact with him. Some were great, some were not, many were just awkward.
When I first brought my girlfriend home, we lived on the opposite coast, she met him and immediately clicked. They would joke, and make snacks—she treated him with complete acceptance and joy.
She genuinely loved being around him. I looked outside once and saw them totally make-believe playing Harry Potter, using sticks as wands, both laughing so hard.
I called her parents the next day to ask for their blessing to marry her. I proposed three days later. We had seen ourselves going in that direction already but that moment solidified it and I couldn’t wait a day longer.
35. The Exception
We met during a time in my life when the only long-term relationship I wanted was with a mega-size bottle coffee creamer in my fridge. Our first date unsurprisingly turned into a morning after. As we were dressing and chatting, he asked about a second date, I let him know that it wasn't something I usually went for, but I was open to it.
He nodded and asked if there was a date limit or average, I said there wasn't a limit and guessed at the average. You always hear people saying they'll never forget this moment or that.
I truly believe I'll never forget the innocent charm of his face as he told himself he was going to beat the average. His back-lit frame as he bent to tie his shoe. The way he looked at me and smiled, so ridiculously self-assured.
I knew at that moment that I wanted to see that face in my life forever. I wanted to keep seeing that smile and watch the wrinkles slowly form at the corners.
That was six years ago. That smile still lights my heart up.
36. I Love Her Compassionate Heart
It was when she told me how she handled the divorce of her parents. Her father and mother had a tough end, and he had a mistress, which ultimately caused the end of the marriage. Instead of hating him, she asked him to meet her and extended an olive branch between the two sides.
She said, "He is my father, I want to know the person he loves". She was only sixteen.
It was hard, but today her mother has remarried, her father had a son whom my wife adores, and both sides share meals together as one giant blended Parisian family. As an American who has seen friends dive into hatred and blame during a divorce, this was eye-opening. At that moment, I had the craziest gut feeling.
I called my parents a few weeks after and said I'm going to marry this woman. We’ve been together for 11 years, married for nine. And now our four-year-old daughter has a giant family to visit every time we are in Paris. I hope she inherits the same unconditional love as her mother.
37. Birthday Morning
About three months into dating I slept over his house the night before my birthday. The next morning he woke me up with a pound of my favorite, hard-to-find, candy that I had mentioned once a few weeks back. Then he said he was taking a half day at work and we were going to the aquarium and then to get pho.
I had never had someone care that much or pay attention closely to the things I said. I knew he was the one for me then and there. We have been together for almost six-and-a-half years and our first wedding anniversary is on Monday.
38. Thailand Dream
We went to Thailand for a little rainforest trip and see some waterfalls. To get to the waterfalls you needed to pass some slippery stones and some places with water and with lots of stones in it where you could easily hurt yourself.
As I am really clumsy he helped me to pass the obstacles and helped me to get to the waterfall and we made some pictures with my camera. Suddenly it started to rain like crazy, we were so so wet including my camera, I tried to put it back into my backpack but it was too late, it was so filled with water and dripping.
Spoiler, it broke and didn’t work anymore until now. I just hugged my partner and laughed so hard super wet and we kissed each other and it was a moment I won’t ever forget.
How we kissed laughed and how we were dripping wet in all our clothes barefoot on the slippery stones trying to make our way down back to where we left our shoes.
I walked back in my underwear in this jungle back to the entrance of this park and didn’t care about a thing. Yes, that was the moment I will spend the rest of my life with that person.
39. Listen Yo Your Son
I was in a long-distance relationship and we hadn't met in person yet. We got along really well, so they met my young son online. He liked them too so that summer I packed up my son and we took a road trip to go visit them.
As we passed the border into every new state I'd read the signs to my son. We had a great week all together and my son and I packed up to go back home. As we left their state I read the "Leaving New York, Entering Pennsylvania" sign to my son.
He got irate and demanded, "You go back to New York right now and ask him to be my Daddy!"
Evgeny Atamanenko, Shutterstock
40. We Clicked
It was when he bought me a keyboard to replace mine. I spilled water on my keyboard and it ended up being much more water than I realized...So he let me use his little wireless keyboard until mine could be replaced.
The next day we ended up at the store and he headed over to electronics. He looked at the keyboards and then picked one out. ...I did not realize he picked it out for me. We got home, and he handed me the keyboard and I was just like "Oh really?" Little did I know he had something sweet in store for me.
It was a mechanical gaming keyboard with beautiful “clickity-clackety” keys...An upgrade to my original one. His exact words were "All yours darling. This way you don't have to worry about buying another one because knowing you, you'll just use the wireless one until you get frustrated with it".
I told him "This is my "I'm gonna marry him" moment". Added bonus was that for Christmas he got me the matching keyboard/headset thus upgrading all of my accessories.
41. I Love Your Berry Much
When he showed up to our first date in a suit jacket and had a box of chocolate-covered strawberries that he made. Those were some damn good strawberries. We’ve been together for eight years o far. I need to ask him to make me some more this weekend.
42. I’ve Been Blessed
Honestly, super weirdly perhaps, the very first time I met her in second grade. Instantly I fell head over heels in love. It’s been 31 years since then and 16 years married, and truthfully, no other person has ever come close.
Some people are born into money, some are born with some amazing talent, I was just super blessed to have this and wouldn't trade it for the world.
43. Tacky But Nice
We were on the couch, her feet on my lap. She was flipping through the TV guide while I was zapping through channels.
She said, "There's nothing good on TV tonight".
All I could think of at that moment was, "Who cares? As long as I'm with you".
At that moment I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.
44. I Know What I Am Thankful For
My wife and I had been dating for seven months. Her biggest green flag? Her family. They gather every Thanksgiving for a massive celebration and she invited me one time. Meeting her family and seeing how fun, loving, caring, and hilarious they were pretty much sealed it for me. I knew that this was somebody who would be an amazing parent and spouse.
We came from way different economic backgrounds, her family is very waspy and white collar whereas I come from a just-above-broke working-class Catholic family…But her family reminded me of mine in so many ways I knew she had to be the one. Our values lined up perfectly.
Foxys Forest Manufacture, Shutterstock
45. Peanut Butter & Love
One day, she was making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and she slathered thick amazing amounts of peanut butter on one slice of bread. I had said, “Whoa, you like tons of peanut butter too?” She said, “No, that’s just how I know you like them”. That was about 20 years ago. We have been married now for 16.
46. That Was Enough For Me!
She came over. She beat me at Mario Kart and Ninja Storm 4 and binged watched all of Star Wars before our first official date. That's my woman!
47. Loving That Scar
It was about four months into our relationship and I had a bad day and was ranting/unloading it onto him. He cancels plans with his friends to make me my favorite meal—which he didn’t even like! While trying to make me a garlic bread sliced himself deep enough that our date turned into an ER trip.
I, of course, felt so awful. He canceled plans for me and this never would’ve happened if I had just told him not to worry and go out with his friends… My past relationships had me thinking he’d say “Yes, you’re right this is all your fault”…
Instead, he joked with the doctors and nurses, smiled, and had me take his picture, and never once ever made me feel bad about it, always saying “I did this to myself, why are you saying sorry?” We smiled and laughed the whole time.
So now, four years later, he’s got a cool scar and a fiancée!
48. I Saw Only You
We had been dating for a few years—started in high school, continued in college after a brief breakup. We were in a very bad car accident junior year where we rolled down an embankment.
I sincerely thought as the car was tumbling that I was about to be gone in the next few seconds. At that time, he was the person I thought of and I remember crying out his name. Oddly enough, that's when I knew I loved him.
He was so supportive during my recovery, mostly mentally, just had really bad whiplash and some lacerations, wear your seatbelts folks.
We got married the summer before senior year instead of waiting until after we graduated because it was a wake-up call that life is short.
In a couple of months we're going to have our 23-year anniversary and our son is starting his senior year of high school.
49. It’s Not Always “Happily Ever After”
We were on our first date, alone in the garden of a pub. She told me she had synesthesia, and when she heard other peoples' voices, she'd 'perceive' a color and a texture.
She picked out a leaf and told me that's what color of green my voice was. Among other things, I completely fell for her in the space of one date...and at that moment I was also hit with a brilliant idea.
I kept the leaf and secretly laminated it and kept it hidden in my drawers. The intent was to present it back to her at our wedding on the altar.
She left me for her ex-boyfriend a few months later. I still have the leaf in my drawers and I always pause to wonder what could've been when I come across it. I don't have it in me to throw it away.
50. Give Her All The Cake She Wants
She had a brain injury days before my birthday. She woke up from a coma and the first thing she did was to ask nurses/doctors about me and my birthday even though they had no idea who I was. I’ve never had someone care so much about me—it warmed my heart to be the first person she thought of after waking up from brain surgery.
