Recently, I asked you to cure my cynical heart and share real-life moments that felt as though you were in a rom-com. Of course, the answers didn't disappoint, and here are some of the best:
1. "Junior year I fell in love with my lab partner in chemistry. I started out thinking he was intolerantly annoying and cocky, but soon fell hard. I asked him to a dance and a week later our orchestra class went on tour to Disneyland. We essentially fell in love at Disneyland."
2. "When I was in high school I met a boy who was a little older than me. We spent the summer going on dates but decided that we shouldn't pursue anything at that time."
"But, he couldn’t stay away. I was in a beauty pageant and I lost. I was devastated. I looked through the crowd and there he was. He grabbed my hand and said, 'Let’s get out of here'. We ran through the halls of the auditorium with me in a ballgown, hand in hand. We got to the car and he told me to close my eyes and count to ten so I wouldn’t see how dirty his car was. He asked me to be his girlfriend and I loved him very much. We went our separate ways and I’m married to someone else. It’s the most rom-com ending I have in my repertoire."
3. "We agreed to meet Saturday at noon for our first date. We walked around the downtown market and then went to the waterfront area for lunch. Around 3:30pm we sat down on a park bench and continued talking. Right at 4pm he turned to me, his face white as a sheet, and blurted out, 'My God, this is actually happening!' I felt as if the back of my head had been whacked by a shovel, and blurted back 'I know! I feel the same way!'"
"And the universe clicked into place. We've just had our 24th anniversary."
4. "My ex and I lived in a small town in Kansas, and we were on a gravel road on our way home from a party late one night. There's a country song by Josh Turner called 'Why Don't We Just Dance', and it came on the radio as we were driving home. Without saying a word, he stopped the truck in the middle of the gravel road, walked around to the passenger side, opened the door and pulled me out towards the front of the truck to dance in the headlights."
"This was over a decade ago, and I still swoon about it."
5. "I met a guy on a night out whilst I was on a holiday, he was a local. We hit it off instantly and spent the rest of the night on a rooftop talking and kissing for hours. I spent the rest of the weekend at his and cancelled all our other plans. When I had to fly back to my country, we decided it was a surreal and beautiful weekend but not to keep in touch as we both couldn't do LDR. He texted me as soon as I landed that he couldn't stop thinking about me."
"We spoke everyday for the next five years and visited each others countries a few times. We finally stopped speaking when I met my now husband. I hope the guy I met on holiday all those years ago found true love and happiness, like I did."
6. "I went to a party with my then-boyfriend, met a new guy and fell in love almost immediately. It really was love at first sight. My then-boyfriend met his new girlfriend at the same party. Win-win!"
7. "Years ago I was on a plane by myself and both seats next to mine were free. One guy sitting right before me kept looking and chatting to his friends. At some point he stood up and sat next to me cause he just had to. We talked the whole flight and we just clicked."
"Before getting off the plane he asked me for my email address which he memorised (or so he said). He was on his way to Portugal and I was home in Spain though we lived in the same country back then. A couple of weeks later I got an email from 'boy from the plane'."
8. "My first kiss with my now-husband. We’d been out drinking and he walked me home. At my door he said ‘I hope you don’t hate me for this’ kissed me and then turned and ran away. He was just nervous and suffice to say I didn’t hate him."
9. "A friend and I went to an open casting for extras for a music video. It was a long day of shooting, and lots of down time between takes, so we had lots of time to talk to other people there. One guy kept catching my eye, and we ended up chatting and flirting quite a bit. At the end of the shoot, we parted ways — I left with my friend and he with his; they were driving, and we hopped on a streetcar. We didn’t exchange numbers, and my friend kept telling me I should have asked for it."
10. "I had the cliché 'dramatic crying argument in the rain', 1000000000/10 would not recommend."
11. "I met a cute guy at a bus terminal while I was travelling in Mexico, we decided to take a local bus line to see the local sights in Puebla that day. We both had other plans for a couple days, so we agreed to meet up at a cafe in the Zocalo in Mexico City in three days at noon. I arrived to the cafe a couple minutes late, and he was nowhere to be found."
"I went up to order a coffee, and the barista asked, 'Oh, are you Melody? Someone left a note for you'. He had left me a handwritten note (we didn't have cell phones back then) saying that he'd gone out to watch the lowering of the flag at the National Palace and he'd be right back. He came back in and had a huge smile when he saw me. We ended up spending the entire night walking around in Mexico City and just talking. Then we said goodbye at the metro station the next morning, exchanged our favourite books, and never saw each other again."
12. "Our second date was the day after my birthday, and I awoke to a whole Choose Your Own Adventure text string that continued throughout the whole day. All day I was given the choice of what we did next and the date ended when I decided."
"I had never seen someone put so much effort into making a date so creative and filled with things I enjoyed doing. There was the excitement of the unknown mixed with feeling so comfortable because the ball was in my court the whole day. I knew then that this one was special, and he hasn't let me down since!"
13. "My now-husband and I planned a trip to New Orleans to celebrate New Year's together as it is our favourite city to visit. We had been out walking all day, seeing the sights and having our nostalgic drinks and meals. When it came down to close to midnight we made our way over to the river front to watch the fireworks."
"We stopped off to purchase some champagne to toast and I told him the amount he spent was crazy for just a small toast between us after we had been drinking, eating, walking all day. He laughed and said let’s celebrate! He told me to stand up when the fireworks started so I obliged and then he got on one knee right then and there and asked me to be his wife! I still don’t believe it and we have been married three years now. Dated on and off for about 15 before. New Orleans is still one of our favourite places to visit!"
14. "I had just finished the last shift ever at a job I hated and was riding the packed train home, beaming. I notice a guy with beautiful blue eyes standing at the other end of the carriage. We made eye contact, looked away, smiled, looked away again... There comes my stop. I get out and think, if this was a movie, he would come after me."
"I walk up the stairs and hear 'Hello? Excuse me?' and it was him! With a French accent no less! I couldn't believe it. We chatted a bit, exchanged numbers, and arranged a date. Fast forward to the date: I was nervous, he was nervous, I tried to cut him so much slack but oh my was he a douche! He talked and talked and didn't listen to me at all, bragged about all the property he owned and treated me like a prop. I felt zero chemistry while he acted like we were practically engaged. We weren't just not on the same page, we weren't even in the same bookstore."
15. "My partner and I were living almost door to door for 23 years before we finally met in a course the employment agency recommended to the both of us. We have been together for 12 years now."
16. "I was about 26 and taking a trip back to London to visit some friends. There was this very nice-looking guy on the shuttle to the gate that I struck up a convo with on the ride over, but we go separated once at the departure area. Fast forward to me getting on my plane, and who should be my seatmate, but the cutie from the shuttle!"
"We spent the entire flight talking and spent most of my trip together. We didn't end up together in the long run, but we do share a perfect child together."
17. "I wrote a story about two people meeting at a music festival and falling in love. I posted the story online, got some nice feedback and someone reached out to me. After some weekends of e-mails back and forth, we decided to meet at a music festival where we fell in love. Together for 17 years now, married for 14."
18. "My (now) partner and I sat next to each other in high school multiple times, have same beginning letters of our last names, were next to each other in the yearbook senior year, and sat next to each other at graduation. I didn’t really now him but I recall having a nice conversation during the graduation and left thinking that he was really nice. Little did I realise that he gave me his phone number in my yearbook and I never called."
"Ten years later after I got divorced, he and I matched on none other than Facebook Dating at the start of Covid. Four years later he’s still the sweet guy I sat next to during graduation. Our paths finally crossed, we bought a home together and will marry next year!"
19. "After our first breakup my ex took me to YO! Sushi and put sticky notes on the dishes going round all with apologies and then asking me back out. All the staff were watching waiting for my answer."
20. "My parents were both in the RAF and had never crossed paths before, until my dad got in trouble and was sent to be disciplined. The receptionist for his higher up was my mum. My dad was a bit of a Jack the Lad back then, but when he saw my mum, it was love at first sight. He ended up proposing to her after three days, and she accepted."
"They were married for nearly 30 years, and had two kids together. They were absolutely crazy about each other the whole time. My mum sadly passed away in ‘09, and my dad never expressed an interest in dating again, because she was the love of his life. He passed away earlier this year, fifteen years later. Part of the reason I think I’m not catatonic with grief over that is just the fact I know they’re together again now."
21. "I met my now-fiance in 2016, and before meeting him I was actually planning to go abroad! Unbeknownst to me, we had both been studying at the same university at exactly the same time, and though we hadn't met during that time, we shared a mutual friend on Facebook. I saw his photo pop up in the 'suggested friend' section and thought he was so good-looking I added him on impulse — not something I normally do!"
Do you have anything else to add? Let me know in the comments below!
Note: All submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
Additional thumbnail credits: Getty Images / Nickelodeon / Warner Bros. / Fox / New Line Cinema