Recently we asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us the weird stories of how their parents (and/or grandparents) met. Here are the most adorably bizarre submissions we received:
1. The Match Made in a Haunted Tuberculosis Hospital
2. Love Is Not a Race, It's a (Half) Marathon
"My parents met while they were waiting for their friends to finish running a half-marathon. It turned out they were waiting for the same person, so my dad got my mom’s number and they starting dating. They dated for less than three weeks before getting engaged, but now they’ve been together for 22 years."
3. The Ol' Switcheroo
"My parents were actually dating other people and ended up on a double date. Both couples ended up dating the other person, and both couples are still together 45 years later!"
4. The Burning Love
5. You Have a Visitor
"My mom, who is a klutz just like me, fell off a swing and broke her arm. My dad's friend, who had her appendix taken out, was my mom's hospital roommate — and guess who came to visit!?"
6. The Recon Mission
"My parents met at camp. My mom had just got broken up with, so she went into the dining hall to see if anyone wanted to go kayaking to spy on her ex-boyfriend. My dad agreed to go, and that was that!"
7. The Developing Relationship
8. The Orientation Week Ice-Breaker Success
"My mom and dad met at a college freshman orientation week. All the girls had to take off one shoe and put it in a pile. The boys then had to take the girl whose shoe they picked to the freshman mixer. My dad picked my mom's shoe. They've been married for 52 years this June."
9. The Forgetful Roommate
"My parents met when my mom and her friends went to have dinner at their coworker's apartment, and halfway through, someone was banging on the door shouting, 'Let me in!!!' The coworker said, 'Oh, that's my roommate. Don’t let him in because he didn’t take out the trash.' Well, my mom let him in anyways, and now that forgetful roommate is my dad!"
10. The "Fall Athletes" Who FELL for Each Other
11. The Prank Turned Passionate Love Affair
"My parents met through a prank phone call. My mom was in college studying with a friend. When they took a break from studying, the friend mentioned a guy she’d recently spoken to who basically never stopped talking. She suggested that my mom call him, act like she knew him, and see how long it took him to admit that he had no idea who she was. Anyway, that guy was my dad. (For those who are curious: It took 40 minutes of conversation for him to admit he didn’t know her.)"
12. Don't Try This at Home
"My mom was learning how to drive with my aunt right next to her. My dad was riding his bike in the same neighborhood, and while my mom was driving, she ran over him. She frantically got out of the car to see if he was OK. It was love at first sight — six months later they were engaged, and a year later they were married! They just celebrated their 42nd wedding anniversary this past December!"
13. The Bet
14. Have You Heard the One About the Ghoul and the Trash Can?
"My parents met at a fancy dress costume party. The theme was black and white, so my dad was dressed up as a ghoul. My mum wasn't planning on going, but she changed her mind at the last minute. She didn't have a costume prepared, so she went dressed as a bag of rubbish. If you can fall for someone when they're dressed as trash, it's got to be true love!"
15. The Step in the Right Direction
"My stepmom's first husband was my dad's best friend in high school. She and her first husband used to hang out with my mom and dad all the time, and I even played with my stepbrothers when I was a baby! They reconnected after they were both divorced and got married like a month later. Now they've been married for almost 12 years."
16. Well...She Wasn't Wrong!
17. The "Spiritual (and Life) Partners"
"My parents went to seminary school together. In one of their classes, they had to pick a classmate to be their 'spiritual partner.' The teacher actually had a rule that men and women couldn't be partners, in case they developed feelings for each other (I guess gay people didn't exist back then??? LOL. Then again, what do you expect from a seminary in the late '80s/early '90s?) Fortunately, the gender composition of the class was such that my parents ended up having to be partners. And then chose to be partners. Because, you know, they got married."
18. The Whirlwind World Romance
"My grandfather was going to become a doctor but decided to see the world first. His last stop was in the city where I live. He met my grandmother there and proposed three days later."
19. The "Silver Foxes"
20. The Dad's Cousin's Half Sister's Friend's College Roommate's Mother-in-Law (or Something Like That)
"My parents were set up on a blind date. My mom was my dad's cousin's dental hygienist for YEARS. The cousin's wife loved my mom and thought she and my dad would be perfect together. Thirty years later and we still all call her Saint Sue!"
21. Well, That Worked Out
"My dad had been drafted for Vietnam, and my mom was his blind date for his going-away party. His orders got rescinded at the last minute, so the party turned into a celebration that he didn't have to go. They ended up hitting it off, and the rest is history!"
22. The Facebook Page Reconnection
23. And Finally, the M&M's
"My parents met in a summer college math class. My mom was crying because her boyfriend had just broken up with her, so my dad offered her M&M's and they became friends. My dad ended up failing the class and said he only continued to go because he wanted to wait until the last day to ask my mom out (so if she said no, he’d never have to see her again). They were together for almost 25 years until my dad died almost two decades ago. To this day, at any point in time, my mom always has M&M's at her house."
Note Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.