35 Real Love Stories That Will Warm Your Cynical Heart

Couples you'll adore.

By: Alexa Lisitza

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Photo By: Matt and Abbie

Photo By: Amanda and Tyrell

Photo By: George and Jaime

Photo By: Hadiya and Demyon

Photo By: Ananya and Ashish

Photo By: Tyree and Anjel

Photo By: Ewelina and Dennis

Photo By: Jamel and Vicqueria

Photo By: Jack and Keiran

Photo By: Jamai and Guy

Photo By: Sara and Sonny

Photo By: Latasha and DeAngelo

Photo By: Jovanna and Alex

Photo By: Tristen and Nick

Photo By: Jenifer and Alex

Photo By: Ariana and Jamal

Photo By: Lillian and Eduardo

Photo By: Lex and Kaia

Photo By: Ryan and Janet

Photo By: Mylo and Jameshisa

Photo By: Mike and Stephanie

Photo By: Jerel and Dominique

Photo By: Jonathan and Brittany

Photo By: Lee and La'Keidra

Photo By: Adrien and Savanna

Photo By: Clara and James

Photo By: Ashley and Devan

Photo By: Caden and Haley

Photo By: Stacey and Kenny

Photo By: Valentina and Rodrigo

Photo By: Asha and Kyree

Photo By: Carmen and Fred

Photo By: Alexa and Muhammad

Photo By: Taylor and Casteel

Photo By: Aliyah and Bryan

Matt and Abbie

We originally met in London through the dating app Happn. It turned out we lived one road away from each other but had never crossed paths. Dating was short-lived in London as Matt had already planned to move to Australia for a new life in Sydney.

As fate would have it, one year later, one of my best pals was moving to Sydney. I daringly had a "f*ck it" moment and decided to get my working holiday visa and went with her.

Since Matt had left, communication between us hadn’t been regular at all but, thanks to social media, it was pretty obvious I had landed, and the rest is history. We got together and spent a year in Sydney meeting each other’s pals, frolicking at the beach and enjoying a few road trips.

As my one-year visa finished we planned to head home, but before landing back in London we enjoyed 6 months of traveling. The last country we visited was India where Matt proposed to me at the Taj Mahal!

– Abbie, London

Amanda and Tyrel

Ty and I met at church. His mother, a deaconess who I was very close with, introduced us. He's a writer/filmmaker and I'm an actress.

During a film screening, Ty's cousin had a stroke outside of the theater and he was out there helping. I came outside and he urged me to go back in and watch my part in the film, but I told him I wasn't leaving his side. To this day, he always tells me that it meant to world to hear me say that. Now we spend our days being partners in love and art.

– Amanda, New York

George and Jamie

George and I were set up on a blind date. I walked into the restaurant and the first thing I noticed was George's eyes. His eyes smiled as big as his lips did–it was a good sign.

We chatted our way through salads and, at some point, we both just decided to "put everything out on the table." I was sober, a reformed party girl. He was older, a twice-divorced father of three.

We ended up seeing each other again the very next day. Then the day after that, and pretty much every day after... for the past eight years. We are perhaps an unlikely duo, as he’s 20 years my senior, but we literally never notice. Our shared passions are fitness and wellness, so we share a youthful spirit routed in movement and adventure.

– Jamie, New York

Hadiya and Demyon

My husband and I met at a basketball gym. It was the strangest and best thing that has ever happened to me. It was 2016 and I was unhappily single. I didn’t know what else to do, so one night I decided to talk to God about it. Honestly, I didn’t think anyone was actually listening to me.

The next morning, I went to the gym with my brother, and there he was. I knew he was the man I wanted to marry after our first conversation. I couldn’t help but think: "Did God actually hear me?"

A year later we were engaged, and two years after that we were married! Talk about instant manifestation!

– Hadiya, Georgia

Ananya and Ashish

Ours is an arranged marriage with a twist. We found each other through a matrimony site but once the introduction was done, we realized that our parents knew each other and were family friends. In fact, had we met when we were in kindergarten and then again after 20 years.

We were in a long-distance relationship for a year before our marriage. He was working in the U.S. I was working in India. With our busy schedules, there was no way we could travel to meet each other. We didn't see each other until the day Ashish came to India for our engagement.

It might seem absurd that we decided to get married without meeting but as they say: "When you know it's right, nothing else seems to matter."

– Ananya, California

Tyree and Anjel

During the law school admission process, we marketed ourselves as a package deal instead of networking individually. We viewed each other as equals and never felt like the success of one came at the expense of the other. Before long, I recognized that my partner has everything I did not know I was missing. We have been upgrading one another ever since.

– Anjel, Illinois

Ewelina and Dennis

We met on a silvester party for 2012. We both had partners in that time but we weren't happy with them. When we were introduced, we felt an immediate connection, and, when the fireworks started, I was just...happy. I cried. Before, I had been giving up on love, but he came to me and hugged me. Two weeks later, we broke our old relationships. Now, we just celebrated our eighth anniversary.

– Ewelina, Germany

Jamel and Vicqueria

From the moment he saw my picture and heard my voice, he knew I was the one. We were long distance at the time, and he came to visit me one week during Christmas and he decided to stay for good. It caught me by surprise that he would move to NYC for me, but he did and I am forever grateful. Now, we're getting married in 2020.

– Vicqueria, New York

Jack and Keiran

Keiran and I met via Instagram, but at the time I was with my ex. Fast forward three years and we asked each other for advice — he was having family troubles and I just didn't feel like myself. We wanted to reach out to someone who held no judgements. We spent two hours on the phone and I just knew there was something special aout this boy... We met for the first time late one evening in London and, as soon as we caught eyes with each other, it felt right for me. I knew I'd found the one.

– Jack, Essex

Jamai and Guy

We met our junior year in college through mutual friends and literally from that day on we were pretty much attached at the hip. After we graduated in 2017 I moved to Texas, and he went home to New York. But not even 2 months later he moved down to Texas to be with me after we had been taking about missing each other and how we hated being apart.

He just came out and said he wanted to move and asked if I wanted him to. I said, "Duh." That’s when I really knew he was the one.

We got engaged in 12/31/18 and said "I do" on 01/04/2020. Marrying him was the best decision I ever made.

– Jamai, Texas

Sarah and Sonny

Our love story began when we first locked eyes at yoga. Sonny was there as a photographer and I was doing the asanas. We ran into each other again the next night at a different event where he showed me the amazing photos he took and asked for my number.

Although we have the same taste in fun activities, Sonny and I are complete opposites in terms of character traits. He is the perfect taste of calm during my moments of anxiety and I am the vehicle that pushes him forward when he feels stuck. Every day of our relationship I am thankful for how we complement each other and what we learn through the journey.

– Sarah, Arizona

Latasha and DeAngelo

It was Labor Day 2017 and a friend of mine called to invite me to a yacht party last minute. I had already made plans to attend another friend's bbq but I reluctantly agreed to go to the party instead.

I saw DeAngelo but, honestly, I wasn't checking for him or looking for love at the time. I was at a point where I wanted to focus on living my best life and having a good time with my friends. All of a sudden, DeAngelo introduced himself to my friends and I. At that very moment I SAW him; I gravitated to his dimpled smile, our eyes locked, and we sat next to each other for the rest of the time on the boat and talked about everything! Life...our dreams, our values, our upbringing.

Two years later, today we are married with a beautiful son together.

– Latasha, Wisconsin

Jovanna and Alex

Our love story started with a car ride. Alex and I were both headed out of town for a weekend and a mutual friend arranged for us to ride together. We went into it with some hesitation because we were about to spend 4.5 hours with someone we barely knew. Can you imagine the possibilities for awkward silence? We got on the highway, started talking and didn’t stop. There was not a single pause and the radio didn’t come on once.

We talked about big, deep things with an ease and a flow that would’ve made you think we’d known each other for years. I remember him dropping me off and thinking: "Something big just happened in my life." Unbeknownst to me, Alex felt the same way.

We lost touch for a few months after that car ride (because he’d moved away) but later reconnected over email. Soon after that, we started dating. We got engaged 11 months later and married nine months after that. We now have three kids and recently celebrated 8 happy years of marriage. We’re both eternally grateful for how our love found us.

– Jovanna, Florida

Tristen and Nick

We met in a leadership class and he asked me to be his homework buddy. He came to my apartment for the first part of our assignment. I cooked and when he ate, you would have thought it was the greatest food he had ever tasted!

We talked all night about everything but homework. He practically never left, and we didn't even notice. We've been inseperable ever since.

– Tristen, Georgia

Jenifer and Alex

Along with my closest girlfriend at the time, I was traveling to Ibiza with a big group of friends. I wanted to have fun, distance myself from the city and clear my head after having just ended my previous relationship.

That Sunday night we went to Pacha. I saw Alex there. We instantly recognized each other from a job we had done together in Brazil seven years earlier...We would see each other around the island, finally kissed after three days and spent time together until I left. Alex took me to the airport where we said our sad goodbyes, thinking we would not see each other again anytime soon.

During my flight back, I couldn’t stop thinking of him. I was thankful for the time we spent together but didn’t think it would lead anywhere.

Back home, we couldn't stop texting each other from morning till night. We had so many things in common! We would travel to see each other and got married only 6 months later! On January 25th we celebrated 2 years of marriage.

– Jenifer, Florida

Ariana and Jamal

We met at a party he wouldn't let me into during undergrad at Hampton. We basically got into a screaming match until his fraternity brother pulled him aside and told him I was B-North's little sister and could come in.

Later one night, he randomly saw me and said "hi," and I reminded him that I didn't like him because of the party, but he claimed he didn't remember. After that, whenever he saw me, he was really nice. I don't know when I gave him a chance, but as soon as I did, I was smitten. We'd walk around campus together and he showed me parts I never knew existed. Ten years later and we're celebrating one year of marriage and our first born child.

– Ariana, Maryland

Lillian and Eduardo

After traveling together, we knew we could not only work together and grow together, but relax and enjoy life and the world together. Sometimes, people think having peace of mind, being present and enjoying the world is easy but we both have to work at it. So with that, when we visited New Orleans and could unwind together, it was a huge moment for us.

– Lillian, Illinois

Lex and Kaia

I fell in love with Lex in a sunflower field, which sounds super corny but it’s true. She took me apple picking and we took some pictures in front of these giant sunflowers and I remember just knowing. We’ve been together for a year now and in that time we’ve learned so much about each other and about real, intentional relationships.

She's my forever and I wouldn’t trade my life with her for anything.

– Kaia, Washington, D.C.

Ryan and Janet

Four years ago I fell in love with a pizza store and it gave me him. When I moved to study abroad in England, he worked to make the eight hour difference work.

When we graduated college, we realized out futures happened to be right next to each other. So, instead of accomplishing goals apart, we are now living together and supporting one another in our daily lives.

– Janet, California

Mylo and Jameshisa

Opposites attract. A class clown meets a dedicated student. The New Jersey boy meets the New York girl. Two ends of the same bridge. Together [we] balance. [We] fall in love.

– Mylo, Georgia

Mike and Stephanie

We met as parent volunteers on a field trip...Being a single mom made me nervous to catch attention from a dad at school. I was relieved he wasn't wearing a wedding band.

He sat next to me on the bus home. We discovered we were divorced with two kids each. He found my email from the school roster and asked me for coffee... Things got difficult between us during the family blending process, but his mother's spirit–she passed away 10 years ago–came to me and revealed a deeper capacity to love her son and endure all hardships. Now, we've been together for three years.

– Stephanie, California

Jerel and Dominique

On Facebook in 2007, my wife sent me a message saying she recognized me from school. We spent the next 3-4 hours talking face to face, getting to know each other. I knew she was meant for me because we became friends before I fell in love with her.

We went on a date to Olive Garden and I remember talking about what life would be like in the future with each other. The night ended and I asked how close she was to falling in love with me because I was already there.

– Jerel, Illinois

Jonathan and Brittany

We met through my college best friend in the fall of 2014. He was a hopeless romantic, I was a realist. All I could think about was the long distance of me being Canadian and him being from Colorado. I couldn’t and didn’t want to think of the possibility of me moving away from my family. I told him I would be his friend and we talked most evenings for hours on the phone.

Three months went by and I couldn’t shake the thought of not spending the rest of my life with him. I went to visit my family and came across a note that I had written in 2007 with 30 things I wanted in my husband. I was in awe of how this man that I friend-zoned checked off everything that my teenage self had ever wanted and so much more!

I called Jonathan the next day to see if he would give me another chance. We started dating a few months later. After many international flights and too many hours on the phone, we got engaged in December 2016. We applied for a 90-day fiancé visa in January, got approved in September, and I packed up and moved to Colorado 3 weeks later. We got married on November 17, 2017. We have been happily married for 2.5 years and have a 10-month-old baby girl. We wake up every morning and choose each other.

– Brittany, Colorado

Lee and La'Keidra

When Katrina hit, we were not seriously dating. We evacuated to two different states...Once we got semi-settled, we kept in touch through lots of texts, picture sharing and phone calls. My heart opened. I returned to New Orleans in January 2006 and Lee returned in March. 10 years later and we're still here. Marriage is hard and takes work, but it's forever worth the effort.

– La'Keidra, Georgia

Adrein and Savanna

Though high school sweethearts, we didn't go to the same high school. I still remember the nerves of meeting him through mutal friends for the first time, but when we hugged, it felt like immediate comfort. Little did I know that comfort would accelerate me through all my teenage years.

Through the dramatics and hardships of young adultood, we have managed to stick together and I couldn't be happier. I sat down and tried to think of a defining moment but each one we spend together continues to shape our relationship into something beautiful.

– Savanna, Illinois

Clara and James

We have known each other over 40 years. We both admired each other from a distance, but never crossed the lines because one of us was always in a relationship.

I didn’t realize he was in an unhappy and unhealthy marriage for almost 25 years. When he decided to end the relationship, I shared my experiences and told him what he needed to hear and not what he wanted to hear. We started doing things as friends — dinner and movies. When he asked me to marry him, I said I would think about it. I had to decide if I was willing to trade friendship for a relationship. After three days, I decided love must be right and, 17 years later, love couldn’t be more right.

– Clara, Indiana

Ashley and Devan

We started dating when I moved to a new city in Arizona. I was living on my own for the first time. Within two months, we found out we were having a baby. We were both so young–we were beyond terrified. We got married while pregnant in Las Vegas. It was a small, little wedding we planned in a weekend.

Many people doubted us; they assumed there was no hope for our relationship to last. Now, 12 years later with four kids, we’ve had our fair share of ups and downs. Our middle son has severe autism and our baby has a congenital heart defect that has required multiple heart surgeries. We have spent the last year in and out of the hospital with him. We have been through some of the hardest times of our lives together with things that could easily break us. Special needs are stressful and hard on marriages, but I can assure you that if you can find someone who will stand by you through the storm, they are worth fighting for.

The good and bad times. The days are long, but the years are short.

– Ashley, California

Caden and Haley

It started when we were 19–a couple of kids having the biggest crushes on one another and not doing anything about it. Social media comments, likes, and small talk here and there, but nothing crazy.

A conversation with my best friend changed everything. She mentioned Caden and how he’s been wanting to ask me out and I was floored because the idea of dating one another was distant, yet something that felt like it was meant to be. I was living in Virginia after being stationed there from the Navy and he was in California focused on school and work. I messaged him over Instagram and gave him my number — ever since it’s been nonstop.

It’s been over a year now. Next thing you know, I was coming home to the Bay from the east coast for a concert, then extending my visit so Caden and I could see each other. Our first date was on a plane to LA, heading to Universal Studios, then our second date was him flying to Virginia then going on a road trip to New York. It was an adventure that stapled us to where we are now—always exploring, always supporting our growth together and individually, and falling in love more and more every single day.

We recently celebrated our one year in Hawaii and I can’t wait to keep exploring the world with my forever travel partner and the love of my life. This adventure will never stop!

– Haley, California

Stacey and Kenny

We saw each other across the room at a party and I absolutely had to know him. Two years into our marriage, my daughter was born at 24 weeks. We spent as much time in the hospital with her as we could but it was hard to go home everyday without our baby in tow. Getting through that experience defined how committed we are to each other. He never wavered. Now, two daughters and 27 years of marriage later, it'd be hard to find a more infinite love.

– Stacey, North Carolina

Valentina and Rodrigo

From the beginning something told me I was going to love Rodrigo forever. I met Rodri at the University of Chile; we were classmates and quickly became friends.

Rodri asked me to be his girlfriend on February 14th, 2014. He played a song on the piano for me, saying he had known the piece for long time, but was saving it for the love of his life. That was how our relationship started!

We were celebrating our anniversary after graduation when he covered my eyes, took me to a balcony in the middle of the forest, and we watched the sunset together. He gave me a notebook, the same one that I wrote to him about our love story in, and said to check what was written. After my part, he had written his own version of our story, his thoughts in the same moments where I wrote mine, and it was magical to see how we are really connected by our souls.

I looked at him and he told me to go to the very last page of the notebook and...in that moment I knew. I looked very fast at the last page of the notebook and I saw: "Would you make me the happiest man in the world? Would you marry me?"

When I looked back on him, he was down on his knee with a ring and of course, I said "yes!"

– Valentina, Sydney

Asha and Kyree

Like every teenage love affair, you don't expect them to last but over the last seven years, we have truly grown into adulthood together. We haven't lived in the same state since we were 16 and now we're both 21. We've learned to make distance work and...everyday is a win.

– Asha, Maryland

Carmen and Fred

We initially met in high school through friends. I was 16, he was 17. We dated for a couple of months but broke it off because my strict parents didn't allow me to date.

He went to college and I went to university the following year. We didn't see each other for a couple of years after that. Eventually, we crossed paths again through our friends. We had dated different people, gone to different universities, but found ourselves back in our hometowns.

One day I told my girlfriend that I thought he was cute. She must've told him immediately because we had a heart-to-heart about our feelings, where we were at, and ultimately that we were really attracted to each other. By then, we were 22 and 23 years old when we finally started our relationship. We celebrated seven years together in January and are saving up for an engagement ring!

– Carmen, California

Alexa and Muhammad

We met online and he eventually transferred universities for me and came to Howard. He's an Arab Muslim, I'm a Black girl from Texas raised Christian. Our families couldn't see it at all and gave us hell for a while, but six years later, we're still blissfully in love.

– Alexa, Texas

Taylor and Casteel

After a failed marriage under one of our belts and what felt like a long list of disappointments and dead ends for the other, both of us decided to give all that we had to Lord and pursue ministry.

We met during Casteel’s last semester of ministry school, which was my first. Confident but broken, I got to know my classmates–all with the exception of Casteel. After all, he looked like a heartache waiting to happen and I’ve had enough of that to last a lifetime.

One night I lingered after class to pray in the chapel and really poured my heart out. I was on my knees crying, praying and pleading for the Lord to restore all I had lost. Praying for my heart to be restored for my future husband and to know true joy and happiness again. Little did I know, I wasn’t alone in the chapel. I gathered my things and when I went to leave, I saw Casteel! Wanting to crawl in a hole, I hurried out. Annoyed and embarrassed, I dreaded seeing him the following week in class.

The following night, he saw my mom at church–a church he didn’t normally attend–and went out of his way to ask about me. He told her that he was praying for me. As weeks followed, he would jot down scripture and hand it to me, and slowly my walls came down. In a way, it’s like our entire class was watching and waiting for us to end up together. Our professors would stick us in the same groups for projects and we’d laugh and talk almost to the point that they regretted it.

Fast forward to the present and we just celebrated our first anniversary as a married couple. I have two beautiful stepchildren and Casteel now has three rescue animals. Our love is a redeeming love and so is our story.

– Taylor, Georgia

Aliyah and Bryan

Our love story started four years ago at work. We had both just gotten out of relationships, but our cheminstry was undeniable. We're so much alike sometimes it's scary, but that made falling in love so much easier. And now we get to plan our future together.

– Aliyah, Pennsylvania

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