17 Women On How They Met Their Life Long Partners

I’ve always loved asking how couples met. I love hearing stories of how the hands of fate brought two people together against all odds. For me, it’s like listening to a fairy tale come true. I’m a sucker for a good story, especially a good love story- they never get old.

1. “I can remember the first time I met my husband as if it were only yesterday. He instantly got my attention with his smile and the way he laughed. Even to this day, every time I look at him he is smiling. Even if things are not perfect in that moment, he makes the best of every situation. Every day he makes me strive to have even half the amount of positivity that he has. When I think back to the first day we met, I can remember our every detail of it because his smile hasn’t changed.” — Heather, 25

2. “I actually met my fiancé six years previous to when we started dating. He happened to be a friend of a couple I had been spending a lot of my time with. When we re-met a few years down the road, we had become two very different people. Our lives had been busy and a little unforgiving. He is a very attractive man. He’s tall, has green eyes and is very intelligent but what truly attracted me to him, was his ability to make me want to slow down and be still with him for a while. I am a very hyper person; I’m a nurse. I’m loud, I’m crass, I never “take it easy”. In the terms of a relationship, I had a tendency to keep it non committal. He makes me want to slow down and be with him; He is very real with me.

When we first started dating, and I assumed it was a very casual relationship, he sat me down and was honest with me. I’ll never forget, he called me over to his house and told me to sit down.. he looked at me with those green eyes and his calm demeanour and said “what are we doing? If you aren’t looking for something serious, then maybe you need to be somewhere else”. At that moment I knew I was in for trouble. At that moment I realized that I wanted to slow down all my crap and be with him.. I loved him. We’ve been together for three years now and will be married in the fall. Life has a funny way of showing you what you deserve.” — Adriana, 26

3. “The first thing I noticed about my husband, other than the glaringly obvious fact that he is easy on the eyes, was how much he cared about me. Contrary to what I had been lead to believe about him, everything about him was solid and loyal. That was what made me fall in love; how solid he was. He would do things unexpectedly to make me happy, but more importantly he was calm and secure in himself and in us. It was that confidence that I knew would carry us through a long future together!” — Vicky, 28

4. “I met my husband at work and if I’m being honest , I noticed him because he was very good looking. I came to work one Monday morning after having just found out I was being cheated on and he sat and listened to me go on and on , ranting and raving. I remember him making me feel like it was all going to be okay. I felt safe with him. He played hard to get for a while after that though!” — Denise, 49

5. “My husband and I met in grade 1. I remember him wearing a red coat that caught my attention. I also liked to switch his pencil when he wasn’t looking ( keep in mind we were in the first grade). We went to our grade 6 graduation together and my friend didn’t have a “date” so he technically took both of us. He was so silent and cute! Very kind and easy to talk to. We grew up together and friendship is a huge basis of our relationship. We are best friends.” – Jessica, 35

6. “My husband and I met at our first part time job while we were still in high school. I was 16 and he was 18. We made excuses to talk to each other at work for several months before he got the nerve to ask me on a date. I don’t know what it was about him that was special, I had no idea that 10 years later we would be married and expecting our first child any day now! Every time I saw him at work, something about him made me happy.”— Janill, 26

7. “I went completely out of my comfort zone to a new place with people I didn’t know or had just recently met. At a club with music which I don’t usually tolerate. It was there that I met my wife. She was quiet and needed to be brought onto the dance floor, I pulled her out and she allowed me to make a fool of myself for the purpose of interacting. I was trying to teach a Colombian a dance called Bachata , obviously doing the moves incorrectly. We kept in touch but she travelled , she was always more interested than I was. As time passed after we reconnected, I realized she was exactly what I was looking for. Always striving for that good, solid kind of relationship,  regardless of culture , gender , education etc. All that can be just seen as toppings on the cake. The basics were there, the rest I could grow with. I think what will always keep us together,  the desire from both ends to always care for each other and look out for each others  best interests before our own. I noticed her mind, her intelligence and maturity, I was drawn to it.” — Donna, 31

8. “I met my husband through a friend of a friend. We were supposed to go out in a group and everybody cancelled because of the weather, but he called me and asked if I was still good to go out , I said yes. Funny thing because he was super sick , coughing etc. So we went out just him and I. He later told me that when he saw me that day he knew he would one day marry me. He was very excited because I knew how to pronounce his name. He is somebody I can trust , he’s super honest. He’s a gentleman not only with me but with everyone. He has a kind heart. He’s always happy , he doesn’t need me to be happy he just is happy, he said I make his days better.” — Melva, 32

9. “My husband and I were introduced by a mutual friend. It’s hard to find somebody that believes the same things that you do, eats the same foods and has the same sense of humour. We are both tree huggers and it’s hard to find someone who shares the same interests. You’re not  going to find a perfect man but you will find the perfect man for you, it was hard at first because of the age difference, but through talking on the phone a lot , hours; we talked about everything. We connected. We finish each others sentences. This is someone I will grow old with and we have our fights , marriage is hard but it’s worth it. He’s my mate.” — Isha, 49

10. “They say you’ll find what you’re looking for when you least expect it and that’s certainly what happened to me! I met my husband waiting for my bus at the GO station of all places. The first thing I noticed about him was his eyes, he had really kind eyes. I was attracted to his demeanor and felt comfortable starting a conversation with him, and the rest was history.” — Jenn, 32

11. “I’d like to think I am a realist and not really into the idea of “love at first sight,” fairy tales or really any sappy love stories;  until it all happened to me. I saw my current boyfriend at the gym – he worked there, and I was just trying to work my magic with a Groupon to get a cheap gym membership. I didn’t know his name, but could not forget his face. A month had passed until I saw him again, where he asked me to go to the movies with him. I don’t remember the movie much but I do remember how comfortable I felt being with him. He opened up about his life, family and goals as I did with him. There was an instant connection and from that point on I knew he was going to be a huge part of my life. Five and a half years later, he is my best friend, my soul mate and at times someone who knows me better than I know myself.” — Stephanie, 25

12. “I met my husband on the go train. It was the second week of nursing school. I was putting my train pass in my backpack and saw a pair of Stan Smith shoes with the green in them. The shoes were attached to this man who was sitting across from me with a goofy grin on his face. So I looked around puzzled ” Who is this “. Turns out it was my schoolmates older brother. He was talking away but I didn’t hear a word he said ( I think cupids arrow must of pierced my heart , I was smiling like a fool.) We met up on the train a few more times before he asked me out on a date. His smile was genuine and that’s what drew me to him. We’ve been together for 34 years now.” — Diane, 51

13. “I met my fiance eleven years ago while I was on summer vacation. I was visiting family out East at the time and he happened to be doing the same. I still remember the first time we met-I was at my cousins when the boy from next door (well, grandson actually) came over to watch a movie with us. I thought he was just the cutest boy. He was the typical skater boy, who had long hair, wore tie dye, and even had tattoos. I thought he was the coolest. But being the shy, anxious person I was (and still am most times). I barely spoke more than five words that night and had butterflies the whole time. When I got back from vacation I looked him up on Facebook. I added him, and over the next five years we developed a close friendship. Relying on each other for many things including, oddly enough, relationship advice. And I learned that he was more than the cute “skater boy”. He was sweet, kind, funny, family oriented, and one of the most wonderful people I had ever met. There was always something there between us, although we never quite admitted it. Plus, the distance from where we lived was too far. I decided to go back to University after I completed college, and I happened to move out east. It was then that we decided that we would see where things would take us. Flash forward and we are together almost six years and engaged. Sixteen year old me didn’t know that the boy I had met on summer vacation would turn out to be the person I’d spend my life with. I know it’s cheesy to say, but he really is my best friend. He makes me laugh on a daily basis and he just gets me. I’m really grateful to have found someone like him.” — Nicole, 27

14. “When I first met my husband,  I was immediately attracted to his looks – lame I know but it is what it is.  I was 19 and he was 20 years old so we were pretty young and looks mattered back then. He was tall, thin stature, dark hair, soft curls in the back, shorter in the front (ya it was the style back in 1990 ). He had dark eyes, long eyelashes, beautiful white teeth, great smile. He was rugged looking always wearing work boots, work pants, a tool belt hanging off his slender hips, strong forearms. He definitely caught my attention, I tried not to stare too much.

So that was the first “hhhmmm” moment.  Then as I watched him interact with people he became even more attractive.  Our first encounter was up North with people of our same age some of whom he did not know.  He was easy to talk to, funny.  He is a GREAT story teller, has a ton of them, he keeps an audience entertained . He immediately started collecting fire wood, built us a fire, he seemed like the guy who got things done and other watched.  The next weekend I spent some time with him as he helped build the neighbors deck at the cottage.  The way he was so thoughtful in every decision he made and his advice to the older cottage owner on options for the deck build, showed me how knowledgeable he was in many things and how he could interact with intellect and respect.  He was the first one to lend a hand to anyone in need.  Then the next weekend I got to see him around his family and nieces and nephews, that was another great surprise on how much family meant to him.  We are now in our 24th year of marriage.” — Janice, 45

15. “I was in religion class in grade 11 when my husband walked in. At first I thought OMG what an unattractive guy. However everyone else was attracted to him. He was very quiet and antisocial. A couple of days into the week I decided to approach him because I realized that he was not talking to anyone in class. I introduced myself and we talked for a few minutes. From then onwards when we saw each other in the hallways we would talk to each other once in a while. As the days, months went by we became closer. We would see each other at parties and hangout. That’s when we hit it off. We started hanging out every weekend he would call me to come over to his house. Our friends were surprised why we didn’t date but out of the blue it just happened.What attracted me to him was that I knew everything about him. No hidden personality and he was genuinely caring with a beautiful smile. And 11 years later we are husband and wife. Loving each other more and more day by day.” — Loiza, 29

16. “I met my boo in grade 3, I still have our class picture. We grew up together, went to the same schools until we went to different universities. We stayed in touch here and there and had mutual friends, so I would occasionally run into him. I remember seeing him after some time in first year of university, and was instantly attracted to him because he was so tall. He had that whole broad shoulders, thin waist thing going on, and damn was it sexy.

A few years after that when we started to date, the special thing that stood out to me was his patience. God damn this man has patience. He is just a cool, calm, collected cucumber at all times. This is probably also what kept us together, 4 years later, because I am the total opposite. He is the definitely the Ying to my yang and keeps me grounded. The more deeper and deeper I fell in love, I realized everything about him was special to me.” — Kimmy, 25

17. “We met 34 years ago when he was in the Military at CFB Downsview. I worked on the base as a civilian employee, and on Fridays , the staff I worked with and became good friends with, would head to the Junior Ranks Mess for lunch. Now the Mess hall was really a bar/social hang out , upstairs and downstairs Thursday to Saturday a dance club.

Anyway if your familiar with the Koolaid guy from the old Koolaid commercials, you will understand this better.  On this particular Friday, the girls and I were sitting at a table in the JR Mess hall having our liquid lunch and hoagie sandwich, when all of a sudden the hall doors literally flew open.  And all you could hear was ” Hey I’m so hot I’m burning up HEY KOOLAID!! “And without a missed beat the bartender slide a large Pepsi across the bar into the hand of the man, from that moment  would be mine. I looked at my friend Janice and said that’s the guy I want to spend the rest of my life with. I had never met Larry before that moment, he walked over to our table sat down chatted with the people I was with and introduced himself to me. The rest is history.” — Joyce, 55