How Did It All Begin??

We met in first year at Trinity College Dublin. I was good friends with a roommate of his for about 5 months before the boy and i met, which was odd because the roommate and i were pretty close. then in feb 06 i went to another friend's birthday party, i turned up late because i'd been making the birthday cake, i was wearing my 'fat day' jeans and an old tee-shirt (i know, i should have dressed up a bit for a party!) and i had cut my own hair the night before (i was under the influence so it was a bit of a mess).

I pretty much walked into the party and was like 'um who's that?' we spent most of the night talking and before the party was over he told me his surname so i could find him on myspace. I went home after the party, found him on myspace and sent a message. for the next six days we messaged each other, then on the seventh day it was superbowl sunday so everyone was meeting up to watch the superbowl together (i had quite a few american friends).

we had a couple of drinks, and somehow ended up holding hands (neither of us can remember who started it), then, despite there being plenty or chairs available i sat on his lap. we kissed, again neither of us can remember who initiated it, and then excused ourselves from the party. we went to his room and talked and talked and talked all night. and it was bizarre how much we had in common, and how easily and completely we understood each other. nothing i said shocked him (i've had some pretty severe mental health issues) or fazed him. and nothing he said scared me off (his brain health hasn't always been the best).

from then on we haven't spent a night apart unless we were in a different country, or had a n urgent commitment elsewhere.

it was all very simple, there was no discussion about anything, no dates, no shyness, we told each other we loved each other after 2 weeks (he said it first), and we both maintain we knew it was to be from the moment i walked into the party.

three and a half years down the line we are more in love than ever, we've grown and changed and healed together. I can't imagine my life without him, if i believed in such things i'd say he's my soulmate. and it's making me tear up just to write this.

We're currently going through the unmarried partner visa application, and i hope to god we get it. but even if we don't it's going to be ok. it has to be. we'll figure it out somehow. because the one thing i'm certain of in my life is that i love him, and he loves me.

I love all the stories how how it all began...I want one that says when you knew you loved them ;-) I am a romantic
Here is mine...

I was going to Las Vegas for my first time as an adult to meet up with a bunch of people for birthdays.  The girl who arranged it had her cousin and his friend come over from the UK to celebrate with all of us. Most of us did not know it each other but had one common friend in common for most part.  It was a Thursday in April and my guy friend and I walked out to the pool to meet a few and there he was...Said hi and left it at that..A few drinks and hours later I had courage and we hit the bar and I just walked right up to him and he wasn't sure what to do so he looked at my guy friend and said, "umm do you want to get your wife" of course he replied, "ha she isn't my wife" and this is where it all began. 
The whirlwind of 4 days of pure heaven.  Staying together day and night till wee hours in the morning and as we parted on Sunday he said I know I will see you again and that was a fact...Within 2 weeks we had already planned for him to come here for the 4th of July it was GREAT and now I am heading there in Sept for 16 days.
Sometimes I think I need to be pinched.

Obviously this is the condensed version as my romantic mushy side could ramble forever 

I love all the stories how how it all began...I want one that says when you knew you loved them ;-) I am a romantic

Ok…I'll bite.  I'm feeling overly mushy myself today.
I think I first knew I loved my husband the first time he came back to the States to visit me after our initial meeting 3 months earlier.  I was waiting for him at the airport, and when I saw him coming through security, it was like I was hit by a bolt of lightning, and I literally ran to him and nearly jumped into his arms (it was like a silly movie moment…when I think back in my mind, it of course goes in slow motion!)  The very next day on that visit, unfortunately my grandma passed away.  So he found himself in the midst of a very awkward situation, amongst people he didn't know who were sad, grieving, planning a memorial service, etc, etc.  He could have easily made himself very scarce (my DH has family in my hometown…) but he stuck by every minute.  We managed to have a lovely visit despite the circumstances, and after that, I was hooked!

I just phoned him up when I was on my lunch break, and he answered the phone by saying 'Hi baby.  I love you!'  Bolt of lightning all over again.  This is after nearly 10 months of marriage, and 9 months of that actually living together.  Almost makes the whole LDR part that lead up to this seem a distant memory.  And I'll be seeing him again in a few hours!  I am a lucky girl…..  Keep the faith, Zoyabean!  Enjoy the experience, and it will work out in the end!

I met my hubby in a chat room. We started out as friends. We chatted almost everyday for months and even did the occasional phone call. I already had a trip to London planned to visit relatives with my mum, my mum was english and dad was american. Since Richard lived not far from London we decided to meet up. Once we met sparks flew and we ended up kissing a few hours after meeting. It just seemed like we were meant to be, we get along so well and have so much in common.  I saw him several more times during that trip, leaving was the hardest though. We both visited each other several times during our 2 year LDR and then decided to get married. I moved to the UK in 2000 on a fiance visa and after 5 and a half months we were married. 

I think maybe I have had it a little easier than some of you since I already had a connection to England. It was still hard missing family and even though I had been here many times living here was a different story. Im lucky that my husbands family is really nice though and helped me adjust.

We actually met when I was shooting (I work in TV production) a project in London and interviewed him. Months later after I relocated to Iceland, we aired the special while his company was out for a convention and we bumped into eachother again. He was actually too shy to talk to me so you can imagine I was surprised when he phoned me out of the blue to talk about work. That conversation sort of ended in us speaking for hours on the phone, became good friends. Later that year his company offer me a job. So once again I moved back to London (after leaving to go to Iceland and selling all my stuff

He had a big crush on me but we didn't end up dating for quite a few months, he was such a shy guy hiding away how amazingly funny and sweet he is. He asked me out to see a gig together and I really fell for him, nothing like a gentleman holding your hand to help you get through the post-last call in Camden (even if he is at least four inches shorter than you).

The subtle extended work meetings at the local Starbucks, grab dinner after work and accidental "rest my head on your shoulder" during flight regardless of us both working a busy schedule we made time for each other. It really opened up a new world for both of us when it comes to being in a relationship. Without getting all mushy its one of those amazing things that happen when you just aren't looking for it.

After the work contract through I had to return stateside, which was sudden and very very stressful. Against all odds our relationship has been going strong for the past two years in a long distance relationship lots of flights seeing one another and in Feb 2009 he asked me to marry him!

We met while I was studying abroad at Glasgow Uni. He was a PhD student at the time and though we were both doing the academic thing, we actually met at church. I had been sort of warned about him by the pastor's wife, who found him a bit rude. I thought he was cute, but since he was dating someone else when I first met him, and other's opinions hadn't left me with a good impression I never gave him a second thought. We were friendly in social settings, he gave me a ride home a few times and that was it.

He and some friends had plans to travel to my hometown in California a couple months after I returned home. I sort of felt obligated to offer to show him around. We settled on a lunch meeting at a local beach I thought he might enjoy. I planned on being with him for an hour or so. I arrived early hoping to read on the beach for a bit before meeting up with him, but it seems he had the same idea. After talking to him for a while, it became very clear to me that my first impression was totally wrong. We had so much in common! Our lunch date ended up lasting like 12 hours and we met up a couple other times during his visit.

For several months after that, we exchanged friendly e-mails sharing our thoughts on literature, school, religion, etc... Eventually it became clear that we had feelings beyond simply friendship- he asked me to be his girlfriend.

Now, four years later, we're married and I left my life in the States to come make a life wth him here is Scotland. I'm so glad I bothered to take that lunch date!

I'm going to apologize in advance for how long this is. I couldn't find a short way of telling this story. I tried. 

I've been waiting to tell this story to someone who will really appreciate it.
So glad to have found you all.

My Story

I am a 24 year old female. I currently live in Ohio. Until May 2009, I had never been out of the country. My Mother, Grandmother and I planned a trip to Germany to visit my brother and his family. My brother is in the Air Force and has been stationed in Germany the past 4 years.

I will tell you from the start, I was not excited about this trip. We went in May. One month after my prior 5 year relationship ending. I was still a mess and the last thing I wanted to do was leave the country.

We arrived in Germany on May 9th, 2009. We stayed at the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort (Check it out, it's gorgeous! www.edelweisslodgeandresort.com [nofollow] ) On May 13th, 2009, my mom and I were at the front desk at the resort asking the hotel attendant some questions. While standing at the desk, I happened to look over to the left of me, and there he was. I saw the most beautiful man, standing there chatting with one of the other hotel attendants. My mom finished her conversation and said "Ok, Nikki, c'mon" She could see me staring at something. She asked "What are you doing!!!!!" .... I looked over at the hotel attendant my mother had been talking to and said "I'm sorry, I was staring at that boy" she responded with "I think we all are". I caught back up with my mom and we headed out front to the van. While walking out, I saw this dream man unloading his luggage out of his car. I piled myself in the back of our 9 passenger van and thought I'd never see him again. All of the sudden, I had this urge to leave him a note. I frantically jotted the words down "Let's meet up, email me at ***** -Nikki" I handed the piece of paper up to my mom and she ran and put it on his windshield. The entire family was laughing as my brother, as fast as he could, put that van in drive.

We continued our day as normal. We took a cable car up to the top of a beautiful mountain. I made a decision that day, I was going to let go of my prior relationship that had been holding me back for the past 5 years. I wasn't going to let my ex control me anymore. I was going to start being more independent and finally love myself for who I am.

Later the evening, I went to the internet cafe at the hotel to see if Dream Man had emailed me. My mom came with me. The elevator doors open to take us down and who gets off? Dream man!!!!!!!!! At this point, he didn't know who I was of course. My mom and I step on the elevator and my knees nearly gave out as I was saying "OMG THAT WAS HIM!!!!!" I run onto the computer, check my email.... he wrote!!!! He introduced himself (Lenny is his name) and told me he was intrigued by my note. He told me he was going out that night on the town and he'd love for me to join. He left his number. I ran up to the room and called. I was so nervous. He answered and immediately I was so excited. HE IS BRITISH!!!! I instantly was melting at every word he said of course. We spoke for about 5 minutes and decided to meet at the pool at 7. I was so nervous. I sat by the pool with my family, my heart beating out of control. His friend shows up first. Lenny swears he didn't send his friend down to first scope me out. LOL. I chat with his friend for a minute and then Lenny shows up. We all went to dinner, had an amazing time. I find out he is from London, coincidently I was wearing a shirt I had bought the day before that said "London Beats". I obviously took this as a sign.   We had great conversation at dinner. He asked if I wanted to join him and his friend that night at the bar. I had to decline. At that point, my family didn't think it was a good idea for me to go out with a so-so stranger in a foreign country with no idea what to do if something happened. We said our goodbye's and he told me to call him the next day at 4 p.m. Just with one dinner, I was in love. Seems silly but just at our first glance I knew it.

The next day, my family had scheduled a trip to Austria to go on The Sound of Music tour. My brother, being the most amazing brother in the world, decided we should cancel because he didn't think we'd be back in Germany in time for me to make my phone call to Lenny. We scheduled to do the tour that next morning. Four o'clock rolls around, I make the phone call. Lenny answers, he sounds so excited that I actually called. His friend was still with him.    We planned to meet at the hot tub, and then take it from there. We spent about 2 hours in the hot tub just getting to know each other (the conversation didn't stop! It was perfect) and from there we went back to our rooms and showered for our next date. We took a cab in town and went to dinner at this little Mexican restaurant. From there we found a little Irish bar. We spent a few hours there. At this point, neither one of us knows how we feel about each other. I run into a girl that works at the resort and I pull her aside. I tell her all about my night with him and how I'm not sure how to reel him in at this point. She runs over to his friend and says "Hey, my girl likes Lenny so leave 'em be tonight". I have no idea what she has said to Lenny's friend so I just continue my conversation with Lenny. A little bit later, we catch a cab back to the hotel. That's when Lenny reached over and grabbed my hand. We held hands all the way back. Later, I found out Lenny's friend had pulled him inside and said "She's into you"!!!! We had the most amazing night/morning of my life. We were up until 6 a.m. Lenny had his IPod on and Lifehouse was playing all night. I didn't want to leave when the sun came up. I heard birds outside and thought, our time together is almost over.

Lenny is in the British Army. He is currently posted in Germany and was only at the resort for 2 days. I was going to be in Germany for another 3 days. I wanted him to stay so badly but I knew he couldn't. My family was waiting for me in the lobby to leave for our Sound Of Music tour. He walked me down and we said our goodbyes. We talked about seeing each other again but I really never thought it would happen. Later that night, I received a text message from him. He told me he couldn't stop thinking about me on his drive home and that we would see each other again. He called me his Little Yankee Doodle. *melts*

Since our goodbye in May, we have spent hours a day on the phone. He came to Ohio in August and stayed with me for the entire month. We had an amazing time. He is coming back this month for two weeks. Next, I'll go visit him for New Year's. He is in the process of getting posted back to England and hopefully I'll be joining him in Spring. : )

I've found my soul mate in the most unexpected situation. It's truly a fairytale!!! 

Wow, Nickel3328! That really is a romantic fairy tale!  Thanks for sharing your story. I love to hear all about how people find true happiness. I met my dream guy online playing Second Life.. LOL... then I drug my best friend to London to meet him for a bit of excitement. We had this truly romantic kiss at Paddington Station and the rest is history. We've been married for a year and a half and I couldn't be happier to be here with him.  The full story is on this thread somewhere, but that's the short version. Congratulations! 

I met my dream guy online playing Second Life.. LOL...

Same with me.  Whenever people ask my hubby how we met, he says "She was a stripper at this club I used to go to all the time."  Thanks hun...I'm sure our children will appreciate that later in life.    Maybe one day I'll take the time to write the whole story down...

Same with me.  Whenever people ask my hubby how we met, he says "She was a stripper at this club I used to go to all the time."  Thanks hun...I'm sure our children will appreciate that later in life.    Maybe one day I'll take the time to write the whole story down...

Hahaha... that's so cool that you guys met on there, too. How did you end up meeting in person? A deal came through on some inheritance so I fell in to a small bit of cash and thought to myself "What better way to spend it than to take my best friend to London to go meet some English guy I met online!" Hahaha! I'd never even left the country before, so it was a pretty daring move on my part, but I thought it would be good fun. I set a date a few months in advance as I was talking to him on Skype by then and wanted to get to know him a bit better before we met up. He didn't buy his ticket until a few weeks before we left. That way, if we didn't like each other as much as we thought we did, I'd tell him to forget about coming and I would just have a nice vacation in London with my best friend.  Fortunately, it all worked out even better than expected. 

Well my story goes something like this...

To start off with, long story short, I was stuck inside my house for a few months and getting extremely lonely with such little contact with the outside world.  Some of my friends recommended I go on Second Life to pass the time and have some interaction with humans (albeit through a computer).

I met this English guy on Second Life.  He had a mic so I could just sit there all day listening to him talk.  The only problem was that he was kind of a jerk...he could be funny sometimes, but there were a lot of things I hated about his personality.  Plus he was engaged in real life (RL).  I didn't really care about RL since I wasn't looking for a serious relationship...or any relationship at all really...I just wanted some people I could talk to in order to pass the time.  So after a few weeks, this English jerk introduces me to his bestfriend who had been on vacation.  Kinda hard to explain all the details, but basically he was extremely intelligent, we had a lot in common, he made me laugh, I was intrigued by the cultural differences in our countries, etc.  By this point in time, I was back at work and I found myself talking about him constantly.  I knew nothing would ever come of this...I had never done well in long distance relationships...but it was fun.  Not really sure what happened, but I woke up one morning and realized I was in love with him (in RL).  He was single, I was single...why not fall in love?  Right?  He didn't have a mic and I was dying to hear his accent.  I still remember the first time he called me on the phone and I heard him speak.  *sigh*  I literally didn't understand a single word he said.  But it made my heart flutter like crazy to hear him say my name...so dreamy. 

He bought tickets to come see me 3 months after we met.  I was actually a little concerned that he might be a serial killer or something...not because of the way he acted but because he bought the tickets after only knowing me for 3 weeks...it all seemed pretty crazy.  I thought he was lying about buying the tickets so he got on his webcam and held up his itinerary and receipt...I'll never forget that day.  His flight was delayed, then delayed more, then delayed more so I was at the airport forever waiting for him.  I was sooooo nervous.  When I finally saw him, I didn't know what to do!  He was so much more handsome than his pictures!  His voice was so much more sexy in person.  He was 6'4", broad shoulders...WOW!  There was the really ackward few minutes while we walked to get his luggage.  As we stood there, he gave me a big hug and it felt just like home to be in his arms.

We actually had a pretty rough start and decided to remain friends only.  We kept in contact for a few years...but we slowly talked less and less and the distance between us grew.  We'd email each other every now and then...but it just seemed like too much work to actually visit each other.  Over the years, I went through a lot of changes (including having a baby) and so did he.

I went on vacation in Mexico with some of my friends.  Who do I randomly run into in Mexico at a restaraunt that we weren't even going to go to but changed our minds at the last minute?  My dreamy English man!!  Everything was magically rekindled in an instance.  The changes we had gone through over the past few years made it all very strange...we were different people, but the same.  And somehow, it seemed like everything that had changed about us, was exactly what had pushed us away from each other in the beginning.  If I could have made a list of all the things I didn't like about him, they had all been changed since our first meeting.  Soon after that we were joined at the hip (well as much as you can be from 4,000 miles away).  We were married 4 months later.  That was a year ago.

I never look at my story as being romantic or any type of fairy tale...but I do think there was *something* greater than us...trying to tell us something that we missed a few years earlier.

Mistress TarnLover - WOW Talk about the right place at the right time and destiny..Well in my eyes it was just meant to be!
I loved loved loved the story!  Thank you for sharing!

nickle - you story was like reading a story book but I think most of ours are the typical hey yeah I met them in bar or threw a friend so that's why I enjoy them so much!

TarnLover, that is so amazing that you ran into him! How random!  I love that!
I'll never forget the first time I heard my DH's voice or saw him on the webcam. Even though we had only known each other online then, I knew we would have something very special. Everyone thought it was crazy, but here we are! 

TarnLover, that is so amazing that you ran into him! How random!  I love that!
I'll never forget the first time I heard my DH's voice or saw him on the webcam. Even though we had only known each other online then, I knew we would have something very special. Everyone thought it was crazy, but here we are! 

This reminds me of the first time I heard my husband over the phone. We had known each other for a few years by that point, but everything was really casual till we took a liking to each other, blah blah blah. He ended up phoning me while he was at work, but I had left my mobile phone in my bedroom (and I was in my computer room across the house) because no one ever really phoned me up so I just left it wherever, not expecting any phone calls. I didn't recognize the number except that it came up +44, and he had left me a really sweet voicemail--I could tell he was a little nervous because we had never spoken before but I fell even harder for him once I was able to actually hear him

Then he talked me into webcams, since I hadn't bothered to buy one before talking to him, and I got hooked onto that--and then he talked me into using a mic, since we both play WoW and it's a PITA to have to keep switching windows to type to someone in MSN while playing WoW. Once we sorted out our mic issues, we never looked back, and that was our main form of communication for the better part of three years

I was on vacation with my family in St. Lucia when I met who would then be my husband.  We were staying at an all-inclusive resort (hello free drinks), however I was there with my Mom (who rarely drinks) and my 16 year old brother and our 16 year old exchange student.  I decided that I might want to try to meet someone at the resort to hang out and drink with.  The first morning we were there, we went to the restaurant for breakfast.  In walked my husband, who was wearing a t-shirt from my favorite band (his also)- The Street Dogs.  It took me 3 days to finally be able to gain the courage to talk to him.  And when I finally did go up to him I talked a mile a minute- I'm sure it was something to the effect of "hi, my name is Jes, I noticed you were wearing a Street Dogs shirt the other day.  I really like them too.  I think we should hang out sometime."  Moments later his Mom walked up (he was in St. Lucia because his fraternal twin brother was getting married- coincidentally to a girl that is only 11 days older than me). 
The next day we hung out and were inseperable the rest of the week. The morning I had to leave St. Lucia (he was staying for another week) I was saying good bye and started to cry.  (I've moved a lot, and had to say good-bye a lot... I hate saying it.)  He wiped the tears from my cheeks and at that moment I was totally hooked.  I knew I had to start planning a trip to the UK. 
I got back to NY and did a little "Love Actually" video.  It was me standing with pieces of paper with things he might not have known about me.  And the last one said- "I really like you and want to spend New Years Eve in England with you".  I didn't hear from him for the rest of the week and was nervous that the feelings were not reciprocal. 
The day I knew he returned to the UK I got an email back from him.  The first line, which I will never forget, said "I missed you so much this week and everywhere I looked were things that reminded me of you".  He then said he would love for me to come to England for New Year's Eve. 
I went to England for 3 weeks just after Christmas.  We spent New Year's in London and the rest of the time in the Midlands with his family.  And it was during that trip we decided that I would move to England.  Which I will be doing in less than 2 weeks!