We often talk about instant attraction, but how does it all play out years later, after the "fireworks" feeling dies down? I recently asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell me what happened years later after they felt love at first sight, and they had some pretty amazing stories to share...
1. "We met on Bumble, and we were both in really transitional places in our lives, not looking for anything serious. On our first date, the coffee shop had to ask us to leave because they were closing. On our second date, we sat on the restaurant patio until 10 p.m. in the dead of winter. I got accepted to eight graduate school programs, seven of which were many states away, but the one in-state program offered me a scholarship and a job. I always say that’s why I chose the in-state school, but secretly, it was because I knew he was worth staying for..."
2. "I was fresh out of an abusive relationship when I started dating again, and I really didn't know what to expect when it came to meeting someone new. As soon as he met me, he wrapped me up in this big hug and said my name so sweetly, as if it was a relief we were finally meeting. Then he apologized for being a few minutes late because he'd stopped at a gas station and bought me my favorite chips and four different kinds of Vitamin Water because he wasn't sure which was my favorite. Our nine-year anniversary is coming up now, and he still does small, adorable things like that to remind me why he's 'the one.' He's my person, and I just knew that when I met him."
3. "The first time I saw him at work, he didn’t acknowledge me and just walked by, but I got butterflies in my stomach. Fast-forward about six months later: We started dating, and three weeks in, I told my mom I was going to marry him. It was the comfort, ease, fun, and connection we had. Everything felt simple for the first time in my life. Now we’ve been together for 12 years and married for 10, and we have two kids!"
4. "It was my mom who called it. I was going on a second date with a woman I'd been getting to know. Out of the blue, my mom asked me if I was going to marry this one. I thought she was nuts. But now, seven years later, that woman and I are indeed married and nauseatingly happy with each other. Good call, Mom."
5. "Met this cute boy many years ago. We worked just a few stores away from each other. We became friends, and after chatting for a bit, we decided to go to the movies. I was a smitten kitten. When we arrived at the theater, he opened my door for me and held my hand. That was the moment I thought I never wanted to hold hands with anyone else ever again. And I was right. It's been 18 years, and we've been married for 15 years. We are still holding hands!"
6. "We matched on Bumble about three years ago and lived an hour away from each other. Coincidentally, he had just accepted a new job in my town and would be moving there the following month. What were the chances? We continued talking until we finally met in person a year later when he completed his move. As soon as we locked eyes, we both knew that we would spend the rest of our lives together. We exchanged 'I love you's' within the first month of dating, and after six months, we exchanged promise gifts. He has taught me to love myself again and stood by me in countless difficult times, and I couldn’t imagine my life without him. We are now engaged."
7. "I was on the phone with my sister about two weeks after my husband and I started dating. She wanted to know what he was like and how things were going. I remember responding, 'Well, I'm pretty sure if I were ever going to get married, he'd be the one,' and we laughed about it. At that time, I had zero plans to get married or have kids. But the joke's on me. We've been married for 17 years and have two kids."
8. "I met my now-husband in 2008 when I was dating one of his brother's friends. After that relationship ended, we remained friends. A year later, my friends and I were at a car show that our city held, and I ran into my ex-boyfriend and his brother, my now-husband. I don’t know how or why, but when I gave him a huge hug, I just had this unexplainable gut feeling that I was meant to see him again. After we parted ways, I told my friend I was going to marry that man someday, and we had a laugh. Jokes on us! We’ve been together since then and have been married for seven years!"
9. "About a week after a coworker and I made the risky choice to 'cross the line' and kiss, we went to a music festival together. He asked me to dance, and we locked eyes. It hit me like a lightning bolt: I felt as if I was looking at the man I’d be dancing with at my wedding. Two years later, I asked him when he fell in love with me, and he brought up the same moment. Our first dance at our wedding was just as magical as I’d pictured it years prior."
10. "We met as overseas pen pals. I moved to his country, and we got married. I knew instantly that he was the one. It still seems wild to me. Our relationship feels like magic."
11. "I met my husband at a Sukkot party that I decided to go to on our college campus. I had rarely been to an event at the Jewish student organization, but I decided to go to this one on a whim. He drove me home that night, and I remember being instantly smitten. I immediately knew there was something special about him. It was the Doctor Who and Star Wars references that had me obsessed! Two months after we started dating, he moved to Toronto so we'd be closer, and it's been seven years together now. We got married in 2020."
12. "I knew on the third date that I’d marry him. We’ve been married for almost 17 years now. It hasn’t always been rainbows and sunshine, but we're a good team."
13. "The first time we kissed, it was as if we were in a movie. Instant fireworks 💥. We’ve been inseparable ever since. We were engaged two months later, have been married for seven years, and have two kids now. He’s my best friend."
14. "I was at a Christmas party at my cousin's house. I was drawn to this man even though he was the total opposite of every guy I'd ever dated until then. He is the best person I've ever known, and I still get fluttery when we kiss. We have been happily married for 16 years."
15. "On our first date, the movie theater alarms went off and I took his hand so we wouldn’t be separated as we walked out. It hit me that this was the hand I’d be holding at every milestone in my life for the rest of my life. A week later, we said, 'I love you.' A month later, we were engaged. Six months later, married. It’s been 24 years, and his hand is still the one I reach for. Always will be."
16. "It was the only blind date either of us had been on. We didn’t talk much the first night, but on the second date, I called my sister from the restaurant bathroom and told her I was going to marry him. I just knew. We’ve been married for 22 years."
17. "On our second date, he picked me up at my place. He had a bouquet of flowers for me and a stuffed toy for my dog. I knew right then he was the one. My dad asked me how things were going a few months in, and I said, 'I'm gonna marry this one.' I sure did. We've been together for eight years, married for four, and have a son together."
18. "I met this guy briefly in college. At the time, he was in a long-term relationship and we were just friends. Fast-forward, and we'd both graduated and reconnected on social media. He's single, I'm single. We talked, planned a meetup, and he came to spend a weekend at my apartment. It felt so right. He was living in Brooklyn at the time, so he took the bus to visit me upstate in Albany. I saw him standing on the corner with his backpack, Mets hat, and Ray-Ban sunglasses, and I knew I was going to marry this man. We celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary this past fall and have an incredible 5-year-old son."
19. "We matched on Tinder after I had just decided to move across the country. We met anyway, agreeing that we'd have a short-term fling and part ways when I eventually moved. Three weeks into dating, we spent Valentine's Day in our underwear making tacos at home. I wrote him a card. A few weeks later, I told my friends I would marry him. They gasped because I was always afraid of commitment, but they encouraged me to share my feelings. Turned out he felt the same. We managed a long-distance relationship for a year, and in a month and a half, I’m moving back to live with him. I've never been happier or healthier. It’s truly been one of those 'When you know, you know' things. He’s everything I ever wanted, and I feel so grateful every day to have him. I have no doubts I will spend the rest of my life laughing and in love. All from a Tinder hookup!"
20. "I was in college and I saw a guy walking across the quad. I was instantly smitten, and something clicked. I was very shy and never went out of my way to talk to anyone, but I remember thinking that at the very least, I was going to be his friend. A few months later, I was getting coffee from a cart. I overheard the quad guy telling a story about his divorce being finalized. After he left, I asked the guy behind the cart if the quad guy came here for coffee often. He told me about 9 every morning. The next morning and every morning for weeks after, I made sure to be there. There's a 22-year age gap between us, so at first, Quad Guy never thought he was anything special to me. It's been 20 years since, and Quad Guy is now my husband. We still make sure to have a coffee date every Saturday."
21. "We met on a blind date and immediately decided to be exclusive. He was sweet, funny, and charismatic. About three months into the relationship, I was cleaning my apartment and I suddenly thought, I’m going to marry this guy. We hadn’t been talking about marriage. It just popped into my head randomly. Sure enough, we got engaged seven months later and married a year after that. Been married almost 21 years!"
22. "During my senior year of college, I was talking to a random classmate, and something inside me told me he was going to be my husband one day. I laughed it off, but now we’re been together for 10 years, married for six, and have two adorable boys together."
23. "I met him when I was helping my ex-husband move out of our house and into his new apartment. He was friends with my ex, and we had an instant connection. Seven years later, we got married. The best part is that my ex-husband is cool with it, and now we have this unique and amazing blended family."
So now that we're all feeling like hopeless romantics, what's your love-at-first-sight story? Whether it worked out in the end or your story is a little more complicated than that, tell us about your experience in the comments or drop it into this Google form.
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.