We asked members of the BuzzFeed Community who married their high school sweethearts to share what happened and if they stayed together. The stories are an emotional rollercoaster, to say the least. Here's what people revealed:
1. "My husband and I actually started dating in the eighth grade after his best friend (who I was dating at the time) got hit by a car. It sounds much worse than it was! He was out of school for about eight months, and during that time, my now-husband realized that he 'LIKE liked' me, and when his best friend returned to school, I realized that we just weren’t a good match, broke up with him, and on the last day of eighth grade, my now-husband wrote me a poem and gave me a stuffed animal telling me he loved me. I told him that I loved him like a brother...LOL."
"But, about a month later, a mutual friend of ours was sick of the 'will they, won’t they' of it all and passed us each notes during class asking if we liked each other, we both said yes, and the rest is history. We’ve been together ever since, and we’ve never kissed anyone but each other. OH, and his middle school best friend is fine, by the way. He got married, and we went to the wedding and everything. To this day, I am still thankful that someone hit my first boyfriend with a car because it gave me my husband and our three beautiful kids."
2. "It was the winter of 1995, and my senior prom date canceled at the last minute. My friend said, 'Take my cousin. He's about our age.' He went to the rival high school and was a sophomore while I was a senior. I met him November 1995 on a blind date, got married September 1998, and we've been married ever since. He's my best friend. I think we stay together because we grew up together. All of our memories are of each other. We make each other laugh, we support each other, and I can't imagine life without him."
3. "Started dating when he was 17 and I was 16. Got married two years out of high school. 10 years later, we finally saved up to buy our first house, and he cheated on me with our realtor. Don’t marry your high school sweetheart."
4. "My now-husband and I have been close friends since middle school. We started dating when he asked me to go to prom with him when we were 16. We went to separate colleges in different states, I studied abroad for six months, and somehow, we managed to stay together. We went into college with the attitude that if our relationship became a burden or if we found someone else, we wouldn't hold each other back. I had no idea at the beginning of our relationship that he was the one for me. It's like we just grew up together and grew in our love for one another. We got married at 26 and have been married for seven years now. We have two beautiful children and I'm fully convinced that if there is such thing as soulmates, he is mine."
—Anonymous
5. "I met my now-husband in the fourth grade, and for some reason, I told his parents I’d marry him someday. We were friends all throughout school. Then, the first day of our junior year, we were the only ones in our friend group who had our first class together. He'd had a growth spurt over the summer and gotten a lot cuter, so I told him he was going to be my boyfriend. We started dating a month later and stayed together all during high school. I went to a college three hours away, and we did long distance for six years without breaking up. My freshman year of college, he visited me almost every other week. Afterwards, we would alternate between him visiting me and me coming home. The last two years of my second degree and living long distance, I made the three-hour drive to come home every Thursday night through Monday morning and would go back to school Tuesday through Thursday."
"When I graduated and finally moved home, we got engaged shortly afterwards and were married six months later. I was 24, and he was 25. We’ve been married for four years now and together for 12 with a perfect almost 3-year-old. He is my best friend. We know each other better than we know ourselves and still enjoy each other’s company, but we can also do things independently and like our alone time, too.
While I wouldn’t recommend dating someone for eight and a half years before getting married, it worked in our favor and was exactly what we needed. We were able to figure out who we were separately in order to come together as one. We’ve built on that foundation, and even when times are tough, we have remained friends first. The love I have for him grows each and every day as he provides for our family, and I wouldn’t trade our relationship for anything in the world."
6. "We started dating when I was 16. Did the long distance thing for college, then married in our mid-20s. Six years after that, we now have a house and a dog and are thinking about starting a family. There was no rush or pressure to pursue marriage; it felt like the natural next step. I've married my best friend. He makes me laugh, is my biggest supporter, and I look forward to every adventure together. I am so lucky and couldn't imagine life without him."
—Anonymous
7. "We met on my husband's 15th birthday. He will be 40 this year. I crushed on him so hard when we first met, and he was so quiet. But, a friendship bloomed from that first initial meeting. Our friend groups started hanging out more and more, so we were together a lot. We decided to try dating. We didn’t date long, but we did love each other and knew it. It just didn’t work. We still always remained best friends. Years went on, and we had a couple more on-again, off-again situations, then we went our separate ways in terms of a relationship. But, again, we still remained best friends. I got into a long-term relationship, as did he. He ended up having a child and getting married (I was at the wedding)."
"Six months later, both our relationships fell apart. I moved back home with my parents, and his ex-wife left him. We supported each other through heartache, and one night, it just happened. We hooked up and decided to give it a shot. Four months later, we found out I was four months pregnant (I didn't have a single symptom until then). And, here we are 10 years later, married for seven, with our family of four boys. Oh, and the ex-wife? She and I are best friends, and our kids are best friends. We have both of our families together all the time. Truly the definition of 'everything happens for a reason.'"
8. "My husband and I started 'dating' at 12 and 13. Things were on-again, off-again until we were 13 and 14. We’ve been together ever since. We did grow up in a very low income city, but managed to graduate from high school together, went to college together, and got married at 25. We have successful careers, a house, and no kids. The hardest part was/still is communicating. We grew up as teenagers, arguing as teenagers. We’ve had to learn how to express ourselves, argue, and communicate together."
9. "I was 15 when I started dating my now-husband. He was 17 and one month away from leaving for basic training with the Army. We started long distance and lived 360 miles from each other. Everyone said it wouldn’t last. We had our first official date three days before his flight. He was gone for training for six months. I wrote him a letter every day, and he wrote back when he could. Then, he made it to AIT and was able to have electronics back. He bought a laptop, and we would Skype. We watched Netflix movies together once a week. Even with the 2,000+-mile distance, we made it work. We got married in 2020 at the height of COVID after being together for five years. There were 10 people at our wedding!"
"We are celebrating our nine-year anniversary together this year, and we are happier than ever. We have a 5-year-old little boy and our second baby on the way. I have always felt that he is my soulmate. He is the person I was meant to build a life with. I am so in love with him, and I am reminded every day how blessed I am."
10. "I actually met my current wife around my junior year during the summer. It was at my recent ex's birthday party, and we just hit it off. I had no idea almost 11 years later we would buy a house, have two kids, and really build a foundation for ourselves. We trust each other so much and have been through so many ups and downs that have only made us stronger. We are currently trying to figure out adult friendships in our late 20s, and it does kind of suck that people don't really prioritize friendships as much as relationships, but it is what it is. We have a lot to look forward to in the future, like traveling and seeing the kids grow up. So glad I went to that birthday party!"
11. "Met at 14, started dating at 15, got married at 19, and had twins at 21. We’re 30 and still together, but we had some rough years. We separated for about a year but worked things out, and it was the best decision we ever made. The hardest part at the beginning was having no married friends or siblings. You’re weird among people your own age, but other married folks and parents still treat you like a kid. There was no place for us socially."
12. "We met when he moved into the neighborhood in 1997. I was 12, and he was 15. We had a shared group of friends and were always together. When I turned 15, we both started working at our local grocery store. I had my first heartbreak from someone at my high school, and I came into work upset. He took me out to cheer me up, and we've been together ever since. We got married in 2009 and just had our first child last year. Starting as friends has carried us through so many rough times. I couldn't imagine life with anyone else. Soulmates."
13. "He was four years older than me, which, looking back now, feels so incredibly unsettling. We dated for two years while I was in high school and then throughout college. During college, the cracks started to show, but I was too committed. We got married when I was 24 (he was 28) and had our daughter when I was 25. He was never a supportive partner, and I felt like a single mom 95% of the time. By 2016, I started feeling like we were two completely different people, and the election heightened those differences. He viewed it as a 'difference in political opinion,' and I viewed it as a fundamental discrepancy in empathy and views on humanity. I knew I couldn’t continue to raise our daughter with someone with those ideals. We tried couples therapy, but, realistically, my mind was made up that we had grown so far apart in every way and there was no coming back."
"Our divorce was finalized the following year. We are both in committed relationships, and coparenting is difficult, but we have found a good equilibrium. I strongly believe couples who have been together through such formative years need to regularly assess who they are individually and as a couple."
—Anonymous
14. "Our families knew each other, and our fathers worked together, but we went to different schools until high school. We started dating at 15 during sophomore year and are now both 30, celebrating 4 years married and 15 together this October. He’s my best friend, and I wouldn’t change a thing about our lives. We’re trying to start a family and will be beginning fertility treatments in March. Fingers crossed it works for us!"
15. "We've known each other since first grade and were best friends for many years in grade school, then went to different schools for middle school, but met up again at the same school in high school and became friends again junior year. We started dating senior year and never stopped. We got married at 25 and had our first kid in 2020 and our second in 2022. We're certainly not perfect, but we're still going strong 14 years (almost to the day) after our first date!"
16. "We met when I was in 10th grade and she was in 11th. After her senior year, I was stupid and broke up with her before the start of my senior year. Boy was that dumb. We were back together and engaged by December of that year. We have had good days and not so good days. We have been together and apart. My jobs have taken me away anywhere from a few days, to over two years. We are still going. This past December, we celebrated being together for 40 years and married for 37. I wouldn’t change a thing. I love her with all my heart. Hoping for another 40."
17. "We started dating in high school and married shortly after college. Two kids later and a few decades together, COVID hit, and our relationship has never recovered. He has become very different — new hobbies, new friends, new job. We fight over everything — how to raise the kids, his family, splitting household chores. I feel trapped in a marriage, and I know I'll never recover."
—Anonymous
18. "My husband and I have been together for 18 years, married for 8. We are both in our early 30s. We met in band in middle school, became friends, and then started dating during our freshmen year band camp. We truly are each other's best friend and favorite person. I love that I found my person so early and got to see him become the wonderful man that he is today."
19. "Got married at 19. It had its ups and downs, but overall, it was pretty good, and we had a lot of cool experiences. Then, he decided he wanted to sleep around. After a brief test of an open marriage, he found Jesus and said he was worried for my heathen soul. Then, he joined a cult-ish organization, and at one point even said, 'I think Trump has some good ideas.' Yeah, we're divorced now."
20. "We met in ninth grade. We had six out of seven classes together, so it was pretty impossible not to run into each other. We started chatting as the year went and exchanged MSN messenger usernames (it was the early 2000s). He eventually asked me out on a date halfway through the school year. That was 20 years ago this year. Four kids and two careers later, I can't imagine doing life with anyone else."
21. "We found out later that we had been buddies in preschool together. We never went to the same school besides that, but met around junior high through my cousin. We awkwardly liked each other off and on until he broke up with a serious ex and pursued me again. It was all a slow burn even after that point, but we’ve been married almost six years now, and our siblings actually married each other, too!"
22. "My husband and I met when we were 15 in a summer theater program. We dated all through high school and got engaged when I was in college. We waited until after I graduated to get married, which was eight years of dating by that time. We're now at 26 years of marriage and going strong. He's still the person I want to spend all my time with, and I genuinely miss him when we're apart."
—Anonymous
23. "My ex started stalking me when I was a freshman or sophomore, and I ended up agreeing to date him when I was 17. We married when I was 18 and he was 20, and for the next 20 years while raising two kids, he brainwashed me into believing I was absolutely helpless, useless, and his property. I was vulnerable because I had been neglected and abused my whole life. One night, his abuse escalated to the point that he beat me so badly, I almost died, and that was when I realized I couldn’t go on this way. I started martial arts with my former teacher from high school, and 10 years later, after my teacher had worked on helping me learn self-esteem and growth mindset, I found the courage to walk away. By the way, I prayed every single day for god to heal my marriage and for us to be happy together, and the last two miserable years, I went down on my knees hourly BEGGING for help. The answer was always: leave."
24. "I was new to a high school in Southern California and met a lot of new people. I met a group of guys in different classes who were living on the same street, and they kept telling me about this guy who lived down the street. At the same time, I saw this gorgeous guy in one of my classes that I didn't know, and I knew nobody else in the class, so I started stalking him. I couldn't find out his name because none of my other friends knew him. One day, I was walking with the guys who lived on the same street and saw Mr. Gorgeous coming my way. They greeted him like a best friend. He was the guy they'd been trying to introduce me to. Long story short, we've been together since 1982 and married since 1989. Two adult kids. He is my best friend. We bought a house on that street, and yes, we still hang out with the rest who once lived here."
25. "We met junior year of high school and went to college together. Overall, we've had a great relationship. However, I do sometimes regret getting married so young (23). We have both changed a lot since then (13 years), and while I still love him, I doubt we would choose to marry each other if we met today."
—Anonymous
26. "Not me, but my parents. They are the only people they ever dated. They started when my mom was a freshman in high school and my dad was a junior, and their first date was the winter formal. They went to college together and got married in college as well. They've been married 41 years with three children and eight grandchildren, and they'll be living the retired life together soon! They are a strong example of what a marriage/partnership should look like and are a rarity that I am thankful for!"
—Anonymous
27. "We were in the same friend group and started dating because we got along so well, even amongst our other friends. I don't recommend dating your best friend in high school. As we grew up and started making life plans, we wanted different things, but neither of us could face losing our best friend. So, we got married, had a baby, and continued to want very different things for our young family and our still pretty young selves. Divorced messily and did not stay friends or even that good of coparents. By the time we were finally getting good at adult behavior and being divorced parents to our amazing kid, my ex got a brain tumor and died. 0% recommend."
28. "We met while working in a mall cinema when I was 16 and he was 19. I knew immediately that he was the one. We dated for two years, then married a few months after I graduated high school. Three daughters quickly followed. The first 10 years were rough, mostly due to power struggles from immaturity on both our parts. We should have both gone to college and started our careers first. While I don't recommend marrying young to anyone, it has worked out for us. We've carried each other through life's various ups and downs. We're the only people we really trust. Open and honest communication will solve every problem. It's always brought us closer to each other. Recently, he was my caregiver after a stroke and brain surgery. Could not have created a better partner if I tried. Today, we have two grandchildren, and we just celebrated our 33rd anniversary this month, and we're looking forward to so many more!"
—Anonymous
29. "My husband and I started dating our senior year in high school. We had gone to the same school the entire time, but I never noticed him (our graduating class was only about 260 students). I finally really saw him at a party the beginning of our senior year. He was dating a friend of mine at the time. They broke up, and we started dating. We went to college across the country from each other. We broke up a few times, and it was rough. He was always the person that I wanted to call when I had my worst day or my best day. He ended up joining the US Coast Guard, and I went to vet school in a different country. He proposed when I started my first year in vet school, and we married the summer after my second year. We had a long-distance marriage our first two years."
"We were together for seven years before we got married. We will be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary this July. I still love him like crazy!"
30. "We met working at a summer camp together when I was 17 and he was 16. We got married after dating for four years. We are still married 6 years later, 10 years together total, and our son is 15 months old! We have been through many years of long distance and a couple military deployments. I think dating long distance as a young couple was the best thing for us because it helped us have our own hobbies and interests and grow in our individual lives while we were a couple."
31. "My now-husband and I met in ninth grade, but we didn't really pay much attention to one another until a friend set us up for junior prom. We attended prom together and were sort of painfully awkward, in retrospect. Neither of us thought much of it, but by the beginning of our senior year of high school, we were spending more time together and started to date. We attended senior prom together once again, this time less awkwardly. We took some time apart in college to be on our own and see other people, but we found our way back to one another at the beginning of our senior years."
"We've been together ever since and just had our first baby. I think one of the funniest (and more unique) things about marrying my high school sweetheart is that we've known one another's families for so long. For example, my sister was 11 years old when my now-husband and I first started dating. My husband has more or less watched her grow up. He's been like family to her for so long, and they have their own relationship that is so funny and special. We'll be celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary this year, but it feels more like 50."
—Hannah Loewentheil
32. "Around the four-year mark (while we were ACTIVELY trying to have a baby), he came home one day out of the blue and told me, 'I want a divorce.' No warning or indication. He completely checked out of our marriage, started partying, drinking, going out with a whole new set of friends, and got involved with not one but two coworkers (which I found out about after finding love letters he wrote and LEFT IN MY CAR and then got mad and cried over when I ripped them up). I had tried up until that point to see if we could work things out, but that was the final straw. Then, both coworkers married the fiancés they were already involved with. He lost it and became abusive. Just before I sought legal help, he secretly moved back into his parents' house (I knew, they didn't). He blew up our marriage because he felt like he 'missed out on life' by marrying young. Today, he's still single and living at home, and I am happily married to the love of my life."
—Anonymous
33. "We went to our formal together just as friends since I was moving for university after high school. But, somehow, we fell into a relationship, and we figured we would do long distance. We made it work (I’m certain long distance only works if you have an end date). We are now 29 with two children and own a house and love doing life with each other. Best happy accident ever!"
34. "My husband and I met our very first day of high school and had nearly every class together for the next four years. We started dating at the beginning of senior year, went to different colleges far away from each other, and stayed together throughout. After graduation, we moved in together. I went to law school, and we got married after I graduated. Overall, I think going to different colleges, living together for several years, and figuring out our careers before we got married was the best decision we made and is the reason we're still together almost 20 years later."
—Anonymous
35. "My husband and I first 'met' in preschool. We grew up in the same town from around 2 years old through senior year of high school. We were always close friends growing up, but never dated romantically. We went to separate colleges both in Pennsylvania. We visited each other in college often, and on occasion, finally had intimate moments. As soon as we graduated from college, he asked me to be his girlfriend. We've been married for seven years now, with two daughters."
—Anonymous
36. "I met my husband when I was 15 and he was 16. We went to different schools, but I ended up going to his school's prom when I got asked by a mutual friend who was in his class. We went to prom with the same group of friends, and I even ended up staying over at his house with everyone for the afterparty, but we barely spoke to each other. We didn't speak again until a year later when I went with friends to yet another of his school's dances and we talked for most of the night to just each other. We saw each other again at a ballroom dance class at the school. We both sucked at it and eventually decided to ditch and hang out at Barnes & Noble instead. While there, he bought me the first present he ever gave me: a stuffed puppy. We continued to date all through high school and college and into our careers without ever separating."
"He has been there through every difficult time in my life and shared in some of my best moments. I can easily say he's the best friend I've ever had. After dating for 13 years, we got married in 2022, adopted a dog, and bought a house. A lot of people will say you should never marry your high school sweetheart because you still have so much growing up to do and people change. In this case, I think I was incredibly lucky to be able to see how even through the numerous changes that came with growing up, we got to witness those changes and appreciate each other in new ways.
We are now in our early 30s, and I still have the stuffed puppy he gave me on our first unofficial date. I plan on making it the first stuffed animal I give my child when and if we decide to have children so that they eventually come to understand the big impact of some of life's small moments."
—Anonymous
37. And: "We met through a mutual friend when I was 14 and he was 15. That mutual friend was my first boyfriend and one of his best friends (I know, scandalous). We soon hit it off and dated all throughout high school until he broke up with me his senior year. I was heartbroken, but knew that high school relationships never last anyway. A few months later, he begged for me back, and we’ve been together since. We never talked about marriage or long-term plans, I believe because we BOTH thought high school relationships don’t last. I didn’t even invite him to be in my Quinceañera pictures because I didn’t want to regret having a 'random' boyfriend in the pictures."
"We continued to choose each other year after year, despite growing into different people and having plenty of opportunities to leave. It wasn’t until we were firmly out of college that we admitted to each other that we couldn't imagine building a life with anyone else and genuinely loved the people we'd grown up to be. We got married on the day of our dating anniversary 17 years after we started dating. He’s still close with my first boyfriend."
—Anonymous
Wow! I really had no idea so many high school sweethearts are still together. I know not every story had a fairytale ending, but it is really refreshing to read those that did work out in the end. A lot of unique perspectives!
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.