15 Women On How Their Idea Of ‘Mr. Right’ Changed As They Grew Up

1. “Thought I wanted Brad Pitt as my Mr. Right. Turns out I actually wanted Seth Rogen. Who knew?!”

—Janet, 25

2. “As someone who graduated with honors in college and then quickly did well in my career life I had this idea of meeting someone who was highly educated and high powered and doing this power couple thing with them. As I got older and dated a few men that fit the mold I started realizing that I actually didn’t want that at all. I met an electrician at a friend’s party six months ago and he’s everything I didn’t know I wanted.”

—Cynthia, 29

3. “My Mr. Right had all the same interests I did when I was in high school so that we’d never run out of things we were excited to talk about. Turns out this is actually pretty boring for both of you. I want to learn from my S/O these days.”

—Karen, 23

4. “My Mr. Right has been Zac Efron for years now and I see no reason to lower my standards.”

—Olivia, 27

5. “I used to be very much of the opinion that ‘Love is all you need’ and then my broke-ass ex-boyfriend and I moved in together and it was hell trying to make ends meet. Now I’m a lot more careful about dating people who have their shit together, are financially/professionally stable and have a lot of motivation.”

—Danielle, 25

6. “I’ve just come to terms with the fact that he should never be perfect. I don’t even think there’s just one Mr. Right. We build it up in our heads too much. For me, it’s just about finding a partner at the right moment in time who you honestly think you could build a life with.”

—Mary, 24

7. “When I was younger I was more shallow where as now I’d much rather have someone who can hold a conversation rather than just someone who’s nice to look at.”

—Liz, 28

8. “I have friends who are definitely worried about ‘marrying down’ like their guy has to make as much money as they do and have read all the same books and stuff like that. I find it really weird that a lot of them basically think they’re royalty who might be tainted by the touch of a commoner. I have a different perspective. My Mr. Right is hard working and kind and always has been. He’s a man, not a collection of degrees and bank accounts.”

—Sarah, 25

9. “When I was in high school I was all about the boy with long hair and a cleft chin. For some reason that was my A+ number one dream. I can’t even stand to look at a man with long hair now. I can’t tell if it’s the memory of high school me that’s annoying or their long hair.”

—Erin, 22

10. “Mr. Right? Isn’t that a thing that teenagers get over after their first couple boyfriends? I mean, we all have preferences but I’m not going to set arbitrary standards. What if I do and then miss him because he doesn’t check all the boxes?!”

—Jackie, 28

11. “My Mister Right guy used to be legit shy and deep and he wrote all his thoughts in a notebook and I’d have to beg him to let me read it and he never would and then I’d try so hard to understand him. Then I dated that guy. Let me tell you, he doesn’t have a job and he doesn’t intend to. Also, when you actually read his notebook it’s all super derivative and filled with bad spelling and stupid quotes. I’ll take a fun guy with a job at this point as long as I’m attracted to him.”

—Scarlett, 24

12. “I used to be so into bronze skinned surfer dudes that it’s embarrassing to admit. I mean, I still am but I live in New York now and they don’t exist here as a species. So, yeah, my dream of finally meeting a surfer boy with a PhD in Economics and a non-profit serving poor children across the globe has basically been shattered.”

—Natalie, 22

13. “I’m woman enough to admit that I used to be the girl who longed to date tattooed men with motorcycles that I couldn’t bring home to daddy. Oddly enough these aren’t the most faithful kind of guys you can find. Also, getting a few years older made me realize that I was counting on the men in my life to create a sense of adventure for me. Now I’m the adventurous one and I’ve met way better guys who share my interest in traveling and hiking and also aren’t a-holes.”

—Mila, 30

14. “It’s so funny for me to think about now but I used to date super douchey guys who were always in a bad mood and spent all my time trying to rescue them from their bad moods. Me and so many of my friends were all about this ‘type’ but it is so draining. My type now is a cute guy who’s usually in a good mood. I figure nearly any guy like that is someone’s ‘Mr. Right’.”

—Sophie, 21

15. “For me, I used to be all about the skinny androgynous guys for some reason. These days I’m pretty into muscly guys. Maybe I’ll eventually settle into the middle, who knows.”

—Maggie, 23