How Did It All Begin??

My husband, Brett and I were actually first boyfriend and girlfriend to each other when we were 15 and 17 (1983). We had a pretty deep relationship for kids that age, couldn't live without each other and professed undying love!  We we're together almost 2 years. Out of the blue (partially because of my age and a new group of friends), I broke up with him. Although I devastated him, I was confused as to why I did it because I was somewhat devastated as well! Age and experience, decades later I chalk it up to fate and doing what I was supposed to do at that age. We needed to grow up, have relationships (bad ones!) with other people, to figure out in the end who we were and what we wanted. Both of us has secretly pined for each other over the years. I never stopped kicking myself for ending that relationship and always celebrated his birthday in my mind. I kept the bottle of perfume he bought me when I was 16. He was more than 'a boyfriend'. I knew I'd never find another like him, my other half 

This was so uncanny to read, as I too am (back in) the UK because of my very first boyfriend! Although, for us, we are both Brits, had the same intense high school relationship you describe, then I emigrated to America, lived there for nineteen years, then he brought me back here for us to finally resume the relationship that got cut off by worried parents thirty years before.

Mine does not have a happy ending, though; we believed we too were soulmates, but the stress of the actual move tore us completely apart. I know, if it was that strong the move alone shouldn't have been capable of doing that to us. But I find, too, that as an adult now, he has developed deep issues with a relationship and all its emotional obligations and commitments. We had in fact remained friends throughout, so I thought I knew him better than anyone on the planet, and that this could only work out wonderfully. But one never discovers the vast difference between a friend dynamic and an adult intimacy dynamic and the emotional issues that person may have with it until it's too late and you are giving it a shot, I learned in my case...

I'm glad yours worked out, ElizabethRhiannon -- to have such a powerful connection with such an early love is absolutely an incredible feeling. I still think mine is or was a soulmate, but unfortunately one of those with a painful lesson instead of a happy ending. 

Best wishes to you though! It's very, very good to hear of a similar love story to mine actually coming together in the end; that is beautiful.   

I met my boyfriend on an online forum for our favorite band. One day he posted his picture and I commented on how adorable I thought he was. We exchanged myspaces (this all sounds so embarrassing!) and we started talking online all the time. Then we started talking on the phone and real feelings started to develop. We began talking multiple times a day and talked about being a couple.

About 7 months later, I was lucky enough to be sent to England for work training! He drove down from Newcastle to Cambridge (where my training was) and stayed with me for the whole 9 days. It was an amazing time. We spent my last two days I had free there and went to London to sightsee and he officially asked me out in St. James' Park. I left that trip more in love than I had ever been in my life.

Two weeks ago, I got back from a ten day vacation in Newcastle with him. I am totally crazy about him and he feels the same about me. It's so hard to believe that we talk about our future and marriage and a life together after only meeting twice, but we have essentially known each other for over a year now. I've never met anyone who is so right for me and I am 100% certain there is no one else for me but him.

I love reading everyone's stories!! Well since I last posted I'm not back in the UK and my boyfriend there and I have broken up but it's for the best. I'm a big believer in whatever is meant to be will happen. I'm still hoping to go to uni over in England so we'll see what happens there. 

I met Matt on my birthday in 2006 on a site called CamFrog - a video/voicechat. I was a moderator in one of the rooms and I made a comment about his accent. He informed me he didn't have one and then we just began talking from there. I didn't think it would turn into anything...but 6 weeks later he was on a plane for the first time in his life and leaving the UK to come visit me in the US.

Just a few months before our 3-year anneversary of meeting online and we're getting married in just 3 weeks!! Funny how things work out.

I thought I'd replied to this thread before now, but evidently I haven't!

My husband and I met online via Livejournal in January 2006- just friends at first, as I had a boyfriend (also British, coincidentally) at the time.  Then came the whirlwind- my relationship deteriorated and I broke up with the (ex)boyfriend in Feb 2006, realised my now-husband and I had feelings for each other in March 2006, then met him in person in May 2006 on a post-college graduation visit to England. 

After a summer of long distance, I moved to the UK in September to do my masters (which had already been planned before I met DH, mainly because of my British ex), and we did a year of commuting back and forth on the weekends to see each other.  Got engaged in early 2007, moved in together in June 07, and got married on May 16, 2008- exactly two years after our first in-person meeting. (And now we've been married for six months as of yesterday! How time flies...)

My husband and I met online via Livejournal in January 2006

My fiance and I met on LJ, too!  Small internet.

Two of my guy friends met two other guys at a bar in July 2007. They invited these two guys to a party at their house the following weekend. I went to this party and met these two newcomers and they were integrated into our group of friends. I had a boyfriend at the time, but Will (one of the random bar guys haha) and I connected instantly and became good friends. We talked online and via phone, and saw each other nearly every weekend, within our group of friends.

He liked me immediately, but kept it completely under wraps because I was in a serious relationship (even though he haaaated my boyfriend! hehe). In the months that followed, we began texting and hanging out independently of the group, and became quite good friends. When I decided to end things with my ex boyfriend in December 2007, I talked to Will every day about it. I had no clue he even liked me, and at the time I didnt realize how much I liked him (I'm blindly faithful in relationships, for better or worse).

The day I broke up with my boyfriend, Will told me how much he liked me. He said that he wanted me to take as long as I needed, and if in a few months I was over that relationship and was ready to date again, he'd be honored to take me out. Well... he was so sweet and patient and respectful during this whole process that it hit me like a ton of bricks when I realized how much I liked him.

We went on our first date that night, and 5 days into our relationship I knew he was the man I would marry. We got engaged 3 months later in March 2008. We were married 7 months later in October 2008. And now we're moving to Newcastle in January 2009

The funny thing is that he was all set to move to the UK permanently in March 2008, but he cancelled his plans in order to continue dating me.

I was hitchhiking on Orkney during a trip there and Frank gave me a ride into town.  That was 4 years ago.  We got married this summer.  I am heading to Orkney as soon as I can get my visa!

So what happened?

The day I broke up with my boyfriend, Will told me how much he liked me. He said that he wanted me to take as long as I needed, and if in a few months I was over that relationship and was ready to date again, he'd be honored to take me out. Well... he was so sweet and patient and respectful during this whole process that it hit me like a ton of bricks when I realized how much I liked him.

We went on our first date that night, and 5 days into our relationship I knew he was the man I would marry. We got engaged 3 months later in March 2008. We were married 7 months later in October 2008. And now we're moving to Newcastle in January 2009

The funny thing is that he was all set to move to the UK permanently in March 2008, but he cancelled his plans in order to continue dating me.

Awww, that's really sweet. And you had a whirlwind romance just like us! I knew I would marry my DH really soon after we met online, and before we even met in person. I told my friends just after I met him that I would be most likely getting married and moving to England within a year's time. They thought I was insane, but look what happened! 

Great post, and what great stories everyone has!

How did you meet your husband/wife or Boyfriend/Girlfriend?

I followed Oprah's advice (*groan!*) and made a "love list," and rather than put in the bare minimums on OKCupid's search feature, for once I put in absolutely everything I wanted in a partner, including a radius of 250miles around Edinburgh, where I spent some of the best time of my life. At the top of the results was my BF. I looked at his profile, and saw that he was nine years younger than I am, so I considered the trial run a bust, and went on with my life. The next day I had an email in my inbox from BF who saw that I'd looked this profile. And, of course, hijinks ensued.

Did you know from the start that they was going to be your love for life?

Nope. I though the was way too young for me, and told him as much. A few times. Vehemently, even. But he's persistent, and didn't give up trying. Finally, he wore me down and we became friends. It wasn't until a year later when I realized he had become my best friend that I really started taking notice. And, of course, hijinks ensued.

 

I came to do my Masters in Newcastle because people told me it was a good place to study my subject. I swore up and and down that I was not--NOT--going to get involved with anyone while I was at uni. I was going to focus strictly on research, get my degree and return to the US. End of story. All of my friends and family told me I'd meet 'The One' while I was over there and I told them they were crazy.


So of course I met my boyfriend on my very first night in the country. I almost didn't go to the post grad meet and greet because I was so tired, but figured 'what the heck, be sociable.' And then this cute guy asked me if I wanted to sit down.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

It all began when I was hanging out in the Belfast Yahoo chat rooms.  Don't ask me why I was hanging out there maybe I was bored and wanted to travel without leaving the house.

He messaged me and asked me how the weather was in Germany. My profile was in german to weed out the weirdos somehow it put them off.  I responded how should I know I'm not in Germany. This totally confused him.  He stuck with it cuz I guess he was intrigued.  He said he was from Northern Ireland and I said oh, you're not really Irish then. This kinda made him angry and we were arguing.  I said it on purpose because I was bored.  He ended up on my friend's list.

Then fast forward a few months and I see him on my friend's list and forget who he is so I message him back and ask who he is and how he got on my friend's list. He says he doesn't know and then I tell him where I'm really from....California. He says, oh yeah i was chatting with some girl in California and she had the nerve to say that I wasn't really Irish. And I said, oh yeah, that was me!  We were amused.

We continued to chat, then it moved to phone, then a year later he visits me in California, then I visit him in Belfast, we were taking turns back and forth for 2 years, I got engaged which has led up to me being stuck here.

It's a much more complicated story than we thought at first, and I'm going to tell the long version because it's the best I met my fiance in 2005, when he was working at the Massachusetts summer camp that I'd gone to for the last few years, except that summer I'd decided not to go back. I visited the camp for a weekend, and went out for ice cream with some of my friends. Since he was friends with them also, he came too. He thought I was cute from the first time he saw me, but he thought I was dating the boy who was actually just my best friend, so he never said anything. Even then though, one of our mutual friends hinted that he thought we'd be good together

In 2006, I went back to the camp but he didn't. But in 2007 we were both working there. We were easy friends from the first day, and a few days in we were flirting... but I thought he was gay, haha, because I was NOT used to guys actually being interested in me.

During the first week, we had our day off together on the 4th of July. I had a car so we decided to go off camp to do something. On the way out, I got up the courage to ask if all that flirting actually meant he liked me, and he said yes, but it was kind of awkward and we didn't know what to say beyond that. Then we kind of... pretended that hadn't happened. We went to dinner and Walmart (heh, it was the only place to hang out, we were in the middle of nowhere), and then we went to a grocery store and literally sat down in the middle of the candy aisle, talking about which candies we liked and disliked. Then we decided to drive into CT to find some fireworks, because they're not allowed in MA. We watched them with a beautiful song, "Dark Blue" by Jack's Mannequin, blasting on my stereo. When they ended, we drove back to camp. But by the time we got back it was pouring, and we didn't want to get out of the car, so we stayed in the car, talking and laughing with the lights off. Eventually we moved to the backseat, and then he kissed me once and we went back to the camp. It was honestly one of the most perfect days of my entire life. But the next day I asked him what was up between us, and he was kind of weird about it and said we should hold off from doing anything about it.

A few days later, I found out he'd been sort of hooking up with another girl at the camp. I was devastated because I really liked him, and I really thought he liked me. I told her what had happened, and we both refused to talk to him (although he tried!). But eventually he made me sit down so he could tell me the real story: he wasn't even sure what he had with that other girl, but he had been trying to end it with her before he would go out with me, because he hated the idea of cheating and he wanted to make sure he wasn't doing that. He really wanted to date me, whereas he'd just been hooking up with the other girl. I was still a little mad, but on my next day off I was bringing back presents for all my friends, and I remembered how much he'd liked the Jack's Mannequin CD, so I made a copy for him and gave it to him the next day. The rest of the week, I heard "Dark Blue" playing from his cabin nearly every time I walked by, and I was amused that he'd be listening to the same song on repeat, thinking he must REALLY like that song.

A few days later, I admitted to our mutual friend (the same one who originally said we'd be good together) that I still liked him. Then THEY had a day off together, and our friend told my boy what I'd said. The second they got back, my boy asked me if I wanted to watch a movie that night, after our kids were in bed. I said okay, and that night we put on a movie (it was Elf ) and sat down to watch it. Halfway through, he said "So, our friend told me something... but I'm not sure if it's true..." And I said "You mean that I still like you? Yeah, I said that." And we sat there watching the movie for a few minutes, then he kissed me. A while later that same night (after lots of kissing!), I asked "So is this official now?" And he said yes.

And now here we are, a year and a half later, engaged

Postscript: He later (much later) admitted that he wasn't just listening to "Dark Blue" all the time... he waited for me to walk by his cabin, and when he saw me he would change it to that song, wanting to let me know that he was thinking of me.

Postscript: He later (much later) admitted that he wasn't just listening to "Dark Blue" all the time... he waited for me to walk by his cabin, and when he saw me he would change it to that song, wanting to let me know that he was thinking of me.

D'awwww, how sweet

To contribute my two pence: my fiance and I first met way back in 2001 online, via a forum-based roleplaying community. I was 16, and he had just turned 30 at the time, and we met when we joined the same game. The game didn't last long, but everyone had exchanged emails and stuff, so we kinda shot the breeze from time to time about roleplaying and D&D and other dorky nonsense. He told me about his family, and I told him about my life, but it wasn't anything too in-depth--with an 8 hr difference in time, we didn't really talk much.

So I graduated high school, continued to roleplay, etc. We talked from time to time, just to see what was up. I started talking to a bloke I knew in Texas, and we started a LDR for a year before we spontaneously combusted and broke up (lots of trust issues, and we didn't want it that badly I guess). It was around this time that my fiance's wife left him after cheating on and off for 10 years (though he didn't realize the extent of everything till she moved out). So, she moved out right after Christmas of 2005, taking two of the three kids with her.

I was in school to be a CMA, and was getting close to finishing up my schooling. Me and him started talking again, he wanted to let me know they had split up. I was stunned since as far as I knew, things were fine between the two of them--I even spoke to her online on occasion. At this point I had gotten over the Texas bloke, and was concentrating on getting my diploma and trying to get a CMA job somewhere, but me and my Brit started talking again--a lot more often than we used to.

To add, I had always kinda fancied him--he was really cute, but off-limits, and a world away I thought, so I hadn't really ever seriously considered anything with him. The longer we spoke the more I felt we were getting closer than we were before, but I didn't say anything--I didn't want to drag him through a LDR since I knew how much they hurt.

He was the first one to say I love you. I think he felt as if he was lying to me by not saying anything, and I know how hard it is to be around someone you love without saying something, so I know where he was coming from. I knew I felt something for him, but I didn't say anything at first--I wanted him to have time to think about things before committing to a LDR, especially since he had just split from his wife.

But, obviously I ended up admitting I loved him as well, and we decided to make a go of it. He came to visit the next year, and we hit it off far better than I could of ever imagined. And then he came the year after that, and brought his eldest son with him to meet me. And then I went to the UK twice to visit and get a feel for England before we decided we wanted to seal the deal

So, it took a while, but maybe that was for the best, since we've been able to let things progress naturally, and to let things take their course. We're getting married in May, and this feels like the most stressful thing ever, but hopefully I'll be able to look back at it and laugh by the end of this year

 This thread is definitely making me feel all warm and fuzzy......

 Jed added me as a friend on myspace in march of 2007.
 He sent me a message saying he was adding me to his topfriends list "to make himself look cool". The bugger. I was in an on and off relationship at the time, which had really gone sour and I no longer wished to be a part of.

 We continued to message each other constantly over the next year, with a few drunk dials thrown in to keep it exciting. We always flirted, but their didn't seem to be any goal that we were working towards. I had already proclaimed him to be the"one" to all of my friends, but I didn't believe that anything could really come of it.
 
 In February of last year he informed me that he was coming to Indianapolis for two weeks in May, to see some friends.( I live in Little Rock.) He swore that he would find a way to come down and visit me while he was in the States, but I didn't believe a word of it!
 Fast forward a few months...We'd been chatting nonstop, and he kept saying he was going to come to Little Rock and take me on a date. I still didn't believe him. He and his mate Joel got to Indianapolis and just happened to meet a really cool random guy at a bar who then offered to them on what was basically a mini-tour of the states.
 4 days after he arrived in America, he showed up at my front door, with his beautiful eyes and wild grin and my stomach could've done a gold medal-worthy gymnastic routine.
 
 We had the greatest day and night...we were kind of nervous around each other but it inspired us to flirt like fifth graders..he's so adorable. We decided to drive up to Memphis the next night to see a rockabilly band that we all liked. That drunken haze of a night, with all the neon lights, unbridled beats abound, the sultry southern sleaze of it all spawned some kind of uncontrollable urge to be with him, forever. Seriously.

 The next morning he had to go back to Indianapolis. We embraced in some sort of love-drunk death grip...I could barely say goodbye. I literally felt as if my heart had been ripped from my chest, Indiana Jones style. I was sick. And there was a tornado warning, which added to the thrill of my drive home. Alone.
 He called me during our rides home and was being so odd...not really saying much except that every minute that they were driving he was getting further and further away from me, and it was making him ill.

 Surprise! He left his mate in Indianapolis with the cool volunteer driver guy and bought a plane ticket back to Little Rock 2 days later. We built a teepee out of bamboo and bedsheets out on the Arkansas river and spent the day drinking loads of beers. It was memorial day, so the annual firework display is held on the river, about half a mile down from my place. We did some extreme cuddling in our teepee under the sparking barrage of booms....it was kismet. On the inside I felt exactly like the very firework show that we was going on above us. Cheezy, but so true.He asked me to marry him about 5 days later. Of course I said yes.

 Oh man...then he had to fly back to England. I said my second godawful goodbye in as many weeks. We hugged and kissed and I cried and then we hugged and kissed some more. I went home sobbing, sure they he would change his mind when he got home and that I'd never see him again. I went back to my apartment and started getting ready for work, and while I was blowdrying my hair I heard that familiar irresistable voice...coming from my living room? Ha! He missed his flight because of our longed out goodbye! Score!
 He ended up staying with me for another month, and it just got better and better.


 I've been over there twice since,and saying goodbye is always just as hard as it was that first time..

We are finally getting married this summer,and I will never EVER say goodbye to him again.


( Except, ya know, if he's going to the shop or work or something:P)

I feel like the luckiest girl on earth.
<3<3<3