Love comes and love goes, but when it is right...it stays. Whether you've found the one or are still waiting for the stars to line up, these real life love stories are just the motivation you need to remind you that everyone's path to forever love is different and eventually, it is going to work out.
So cheers to finding the other half that makes you whole. Check out how these 12 real life couples found each other.
Tiffany and Tony
"Tony and I first met in high school, when we sat across from one another in Anatomy & Physiology class. We were paired as study partners. I thought he was smart and funny! We started dating soon after and we have been together ever since. Before we graduated college, we had three young children. I finished nursing school and Tony law school, although it look us a few additional years. Unlike most, we spent our 20s raising our children and we were able to spend a lot of quality time with them. Now we have three wonderful, independent and ambitious young adult children who we love to spend time and travel with when they aren't too busy.
Next year will be our 25th wedding anniversary. Tony and I are best friends and we make each other laugh. We make every Friday night date-night and we love to travel, even if it’s just a quick weekend getaway. Some say we are making up for missing our 20s, but our best trips are always with our family."
Amanda and Mike
"Mike and I met through an online dating app called Coffee Meets Bagel, an no, you do not have to go on a date that involves coffee or bagels. I was initially intrigued by his profile because it said that he was an entrepreneur which promoted me to inquire. We went on our first date at the end of July 2015 and eight months later, April 2016 we were engaged way of skydiving. I've learned that when you're in a relationship with someone they become a mirror of you.
Having unconditional love for someone else requires you to have unconditional love for yourself. Mike has taught me that. There are really good times in relationships and not so great time but it is all about how you and your boyfriend, fiance, husband work through those times. It is about commitment to that other person and being a team that is always moving forward together. That's what loving another person is about." -Amanda
Teresa and Mike
"Our love story began almost a half century ago! Amazing how quickly the years fly by when you are having fun. My husband, Mike, and I met through a mutual friend… well Mike’s best friend and my boyfriend at the time to be exact. Awkward, huh? Somehow, we switched roles, Mike became my boyfriend and we both became best friends with Bill. It all worked out according to God’s plan for our lives. We went to the same university and were married by our senior year in college. Getting married young was the trend at the time and I felt like we were getting a late start. How times have changed!
We recently celebrated our 46th wedding anniversary. We have been so abundantly blessed in our family life with two sons and five grandchildren. We just learned that number six will be here in May! How have we managed to stay married all these years? Well, sometimes it is hard work. It takes a lot of commitment, caring and good humor. It has to be about the other person, a lot of give and take. If I could give one piece of advice to young couples starting their lives together, it would be to have fun, fun, fun! Find joy in the small things in life together. Laugh lots every day. Even the darkest hours are made easier by finding humor in every situation. Never go to bed angry and remember that every day is a fresh start, a clean slate!" -Teresa
Amanda and Brandon
"Some friends and I went to a bar down the street from our summer apartment at the Lake of the Ozarks. After making awkward eye contact with the cute bartender for most of our bar visit and a little liquid courage, I left my number on my receipt and invited him to some lake event that night. He turned down my invitation to the event, but invited me to his BBQ that weekend. I was really nervous about going because I wouldn't know anyone there and I almost didn't go. I'm really glad I did. I told him from the beginning that I had this plan to move to an island, I wasn't sure which one, for 6 months after the lake season.
He wasn't excited about it, but he supported my plan because it was something I had dreamed of doing. The hardest thing was saying bye to him in the airport after only dating for a few months and not knowing if I would see him at all within the 6 months that I was going to be gone. We definitely had our ups and downs during these months but we made it through! Well it's almost three years later and we have two dogs,we've lived together for over two years and we finally bought a house! I'm not sure what our future holds, but I'm so glad I had the courage to leave my number that random Tuesday in June." - Amanda
Marie and Tyler
Jenny and Daniel
"They say it's the amount of moments that take your breath away that make life great. Well the moment I knew I found my perfect love will be one that goes down in my memory lane. There is hope of finding true love folks. I had been single for nearly a year. I discovered a lot of strengths and weaknesses through this time. Completed a sprint triathlon, climbed Machu Picchu in Peru, started my Sales Executive role, earned my Life Coaching certification, gained amazing friendships, and developed a new found love for mediation practice. I won't spend my energy on the weaknesses but there were definitely moments of struggle. Can't go through life without it being a roller coaster ride but I knew I was ready for love when I gave myself time to reflect on not only my past relationships but to really evaluate on what I wanted in my life.
My heart opened up to the universe and Daniel came buzzing in (pun intended) when I least expected it. Thank you Bumble app. A good friend and my sisters encouraged my profile creation on Bumble a day before Thanksgiving. During my visit to my hometown, I allowed my sisters to ferociously swipe left and right and on occasion they would start the messaging if a man made their approval rating. I didn’t take it seriously hence allowing my sisters to playfully recommend potential options. I decided to give it a try. Sure enough I came across the one guy that appeared to meet traits I was looking for. I don't know how to explain it but I just had this feeling that it felt right and I should go for it. Hard to determine I know on a simple app where you are only allowed so many pictures and a short blurb to attempt to include relationship desires or life highlights. He made my cut. Boom it was a match and the messaging began!
While I give myself credit on being the initial pursuer because of the default of the app allowing women to message first, he will be happy that I mention his incredible efforts of asking me out the very next day. While I wasn't able to that very next day, we met the day after and made up for it by seeing one another twice in that day. He says he knew I was the one within the first five minutes of meeting me. When you know you know. I have to admit I was resistant the first couple of days. I mean he lives in California and I live in Missouri. What could come of it? Silly me for over analyzing the situation. We fell in love within a week and a half! Before our first kiss and any "you know what." Our chemistry is just positively undefinable.
He then decided to make a trek back up during Christmas to surprise me. We both met our parents and he so adorably asked me to be his girlfriend. As a fun update to our progress now, we have already spent two weekends with each other, got a phone plan and confirmed our plans to move in together April 2017. How crazy….
We happen to meet in our home town, went to the same University (realized we were in three lecture classes together), both lived in Kansas City, and missed one another when we both lived in Europe. So many times when we could have met but didn't. I believe when the timing is right it will all fall into place when you least expect it. Be patient girls and gals. Focus on yourself and what you want in life. That is when the great things come strolling in. When they are right but most importantly when the time is right. Patience my loves!
Happy to offer advice or even more details that I faced on my path to love, health, and happiness! Reach me on Instagram @jennychinglove" -Jenny
Dani and John
"John and I were never supposed to meet. Sometimes it feels like the universe conspired to bring us together. I was a city girl preoccupied with New York’s nightlife. He was a workaholic from the Kansas suburbs. On the night of May 9, 2014 we met online. It wasn’t a dating site. Neither of us were looking for a relationship. I was on the heels of a traumatic breakup and though he had been single for a while was a cynic about love. We met through a site called Omegle (a site neither of us frequented.) For those of you who don’t know what Omegle is, it’s a free online chat site that allows users to randomly connect with others around the world without registering.
Now don’t get me wrong, a site that allows people anonymity and video conferencing will attract some internet trolls, but now and again you meet people like John. That night John and I carried out a six our conversation from our respective states. We’re such nerds, we bonded over Cormac McCarthy and our general love for reading. By the end of the night we exchanged emails and a week later phone numbers. By the end of the month, he mailed me a copy of a book I mentioned wanting to read. After a year of building an intensely close friendship he flew to New York to meet me for the first time. After another year of pursuing a long distance relationship, I moved to Kansas City for him. There’s nothing traditional about our relationship. We’re kinda like the anti-romance comedy, but that’s ok with us. What’s important to us is that for whatever reason our paths did cross and through that I didn’t just meet my future husband, but my best friend."-Dani
Cindi and Jeff
"We had many chances to meet. We both attended UCM in Warrensburg, MO for our undergraduate degrees. I even knew one of Cindi's roommates and had been to her apartment, but never while Cindi was there. When I went to graduate school at Vanderbilt he roomed with a good friend of Cindis. We talked on the phone for brief moments but had still never met. When I returned to KC he rejoined a young adult choir that he had sang with prior to grad school. Cindi had started singing with the choir and within a few months our friendship turned to dating. Now 26 years later, celebrating anniversary 23, we are the cliche of meeting in the church choir." - Jeff
Danee and David
"8 months ago a dear friend of mine wanted to introduce me to a "wonderful guy". I had been through a number of bad Tinder and Bumble dates and was ready to meet someone organically. For the first time in a while I went in to this date with a completely different mindset. I was not longer interested in wasting my time with someone simply because I didn't want to be alone. I was comfortable with the fact that I was 30, single, and hadn't been in a long term relationship in over 8 years. I knew in my heart that there wasn't something wrong with me, but I just didn't want to be that girl that settled for less than she deserved.
As I walked into the restaurant, I kept an open mind when I met David. I made an effort to not have a superficial conversation about TV shows and concerts but to ask him meaningful questions about his core values and what he wants to accomplish in his life. We covered more topics in one dinner date than I had with someone that I had dated seriously for 4 months. By the end of the night, we were crystal clear about what we were looking for and agreed to not waste each others time if the feelings weren't there. I'm a firm believer in actions speak louder than words. Since June, David has treated me with the up most respect. He has been encouraging and supportive, has told me he is proud of me numerous times, tells me on a daily basis that I'm beautiful and that he loves me like crazy.
This Valentine's Day, I'm thankful that in the past I have trusted my gut with relationships, watched for red flags, and ended things swiftly if a man was not treating me properly. If I had continued to surround myself with men that didn't live up to my expectations, I never would have met David. Ladies, don't be afraid to search for your soulmate and don't put a time limit on it. Love has no age and when the right person does come along, you will finally understand why it didn't work out with everyone else." - Danee
Kathryn and Justin
Ashley and Travis
"Travis was my high school crush. I always saw him from a far. He was the year above me in school. Once we both graduated, I would see him in the most random places: Target, Sam's Club, and Hy-Vee. Social media was up and coming and we had mutual friends. I eventually got up the nerve to add him as a friend on Facebook. I just expected to creep on him, but instead he sent me a Facebook message. "Hey, do I know you?" I could have gone multiple ways with this question. But something inside of me told me to take a chance. So I said,"No, but I had the biggest crush on you in high school." He then told me he thought I was cute and we should get to now each other. Many phone calls and texts later we had our first date and a little over 2 years later we were married.
We are approaching our 7th wedding anniversary and I am beyond thankful for a little social media app that gave me a chance to meet my true love. When you feel like something could be right, it is worth taking a chance. I know God put Travis in my path for a reason, and I am so glad my 20 year old self, had enough courage to go for it. So in a social media age, be willing to take a risk. You never know if your special someone is on the other side of the screen, just waiting to be lucky enough to know you." - Ashley
Lauren and Jace
"I’ll always be amazed at the timing of when I met my husband –I’ll share why in a moment. My mom made the (usually prohibited) move of suggesting I pay attention to the guy who came in weekly to the coffee shop she worked at. Throw in some of my own social media investigations and this guy seemed to be my DREAM. I made the jump of showing interest by liking an Instagram photo and he responded – wondering who in the world I was. We chatted incessantly through Facebook messenger over the next 24 hours before he asked if he could call me. He pursued me wholeheartedly from the beginning, revealing his honesty, integrity, and genuine desire to be in a relationship that would mean something and that would last. Much happened in the following months, as we dated intentionally for the next 9 months and excitedly planned our wedding during our 4 month engagement. We’re almost two years in to our married life together and he has made me laugh and brought a joy to my life I have always desired to have with someone.
Looking back at that whirl wind of a year, I am so thankful. Come to find out, we both visited the same coffee shop on the same day of the week for over a year, missing each other by only moments of time. I’ll be forever grateful that our paths finally crossed for good – in a way we least expected it, but in the way and in the time it was planned for us all along." - Lauren
Good luck to all of your searching for your love or those who are already on the journey. Remember, everyone's path is different and when you find the 'one' you'll know.
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