Everyone's probably heard a story about the moment someone knew their significant other was "the one" who made them go, "Aww!"
Well, I stumbled upon an old viral Reddit thread in which user TheLastVyzzor asked husbands to share the exact moment they knew they were going to marry their (now) wives, and they are every bit as adorable, heartfelt, and swoonworthy as I imagined:
1. "I was on a date with this girl I really wanted to impress, and not only did I bungle the night by forgetting my wallet at an expensive dinner, but then I lost my car in the parking garage! I was embarrassed and mortified, and after 20 minutes of running around this parking garage level by level, I could feel her glare and irritation on the back of my neck. I just knew she was thinking that it was the worst date she had ever gone on...
2. "I met her while I was studying abroad, and after I came home, we Skyped every day for hours. Well, she came to visit for three months while I was finishing school, and then we reluctantly decided to break up because we knew it would never work long-term. But after we said goodbye at the security checkpoint, I sat in my car in the airport parking lot, bawling like a baby. So I dried my eyes, walked back into the airport, booked a one-way ticket, and sat down in the seat next to her.
"It's the best decision I've ever made."
3. "When I realized this was the first woman I could look in the eyes of and not feel an awkward silence. We just stared at each other like it was the last thing we'd ever see."
4. "We were playing Trivial Pursuit against some friends, and the question we drew was, 'Who was the 26th president of the United States?' I figured it was my chance to impress her by listing all the US presidents in order. But she jumped right in with me and got to Teddy Roosevelt faster than I did! It was the perfect realization that her nerdiness matched up perfectly with my own.
5. "On the fourth date, when she invited me up to her apartment and I saw that her Star Wars Lego collection was even bigger than mine. I knew right then and there."
6. "I was at work when I found out my best friend, John, died in a car wreck, and I went home to my girlfriend and cried on her shoulder for an hour. Well, not only did she go to his funeral with me, but she walked beside me as I performed pallbearer duties. I knew right there that if she was willing to literally walk beside me through one of the most difficult times in my life, I wanted her beside me for the rest of my life.
"If we have another child and it's a boy, we're going to give him the middle name John."
7. "My parents are immigrants and work minimum-wage jobs, and her parents are well-off and own their own business. I was ashamed to tell her what my dad did, so when she asked about my parents, I dodged the question. But she knew what I was doing and said, 'You should never be ashamed of your parents. They've worked so hard to get you where you are; I'm so proud of them.' I couldn't help but break down, and I knew right then and there that I would marry her.
8. "My husband says it's when he asked me what time it was and I responded, 'It's Howdy Doody time.' All of his other dates gave him the actual time."
9. "I had just come home from my first real grad school final, and I got absolutely worked by it. Well, when I got back to my apartment, she was sitting at my front door with two tickets to see The Force Awakens and two Chewbacca onesies for us to wear together. At that moment, I realized she was willing to do anything to cheer me up, even going out in public in a costume that made her look ridiculous. I put a ring on it a few months later."
10. "When her boss messaged me to tell me she always knew when my then-girlfriend was texting with me as opposed to anyone else, because she would always be smiling...and then her mother said the same thing a few days later."
11. "I was working on commercial fishing vessels and couldn't watch the NHL playoffs, so she watched the games and texted me updates. That was the moment — when she was willing to learn the rules of hockey for me."
12. "When she asked if I would move to Boise, Idaho, with her and I thought, 'I'd move to hell to be with her.'"
13. "We had gotten a little drunk at a mutual friend's birthday. I walked her home, and you know what happened next — we sat on her couch talking about books! I went home like a gentleman, absolutely knowing she was the one."
14. "When I was 16, I met a girl on Myspace and we dated for a few months before I left to go on a road trip with my family. We spent almost every night of that trip talking on the phone until 4 a.m., laughing, telling each other secrets, and sharing our hopes and fears for the future. Talking to her felt like I was going on a big adventure and as if I'd found my way home all at the same time. And all of a sudden, I felt like every minute spent away from her was a complete waste of time.
"Sometimes you get it right on the first try, folks."
15. "When she tried to hop on the bed and miscalculated how springy it was, so she bounced off and got stuck between the bed and the nightstand. She was upside down with her legs flailing in the air, and we laughed for a good five minutes."
16. "On our first road trip together, we stopped for food and I ordered multiple cheeseburgers. I was driving, and without being asked, she unwrapped and handed me my burger. And as soon as I finished that one, she had another one ready. I realized then how genuinely considerate and kind she was."
17. "I had gone out with her and a bunch of her friends and she got a little drunk, so I took her home to make sure she got there OK. She asked me to stay because she wasn't feeling well, so I spent the night with her while she profusely apologized for drinking too much. I woke up in the morning with her cuddled up to me on my right side and her golden retriever cuddled up on my left side, and I knew I was right where I was supposed to be."
18. "When she traveled two hours by bus and train to see me on my 30-minute lunch break."
19. "She was driving us back from a great camping trip with friends, and I thought, You know, I wish I could do rad shit like this with her forever. Then I thought, That sounds like marriage...HEY!"
Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.