Love of your life?

[ClawsandEffect]

Do we all have one?

And did you all know when you found yours?

For me I knew when I'd found it. But no, it didn't last forever.

Yes. I’m very lucky to have married mine and I genuinely do a little mental ‘thank you for him’ to whatever is ‘up there’ above us, every night when we’re cuddled up and going to sleep. I don’t know what I’d do without him or how I ever managed before I met him.

Reader, I married him 😁:

Yes. Were engaged. I knew the moment we met 5 years ago.

I knew I’d met mine when I was 13. He was my first love and I was his.
We married at 20 and moved into our first house that we’d bought. We had our first baby at 22, and 2 more wonderful children also followed.

We’ve been happily married for 43 years in January and I love him more each day 🩷

I thought I'd found mine but he turned out to not be who I thought he was.

My great aunt and uncle were absolutely the love of each others lives though. Met in primary school, started dating in early teens, married at 21, two children by 26.

Both went on to have to have good professions, he was a dentist and she was an actuary. He was very supportive of her perusing a career even after having children, despite it being the 1960s/70s. He was her number one supporter in everything though, and she was his.

Even after 60 years of marriage they would light each other up, you could almost see them as their young courting selves when they were together. Absolutely kindred spirits, best friends and devoted to each other.

She had a pretty severe stroke a few years ago and he cared for her night and day despite being in his 80s. It took its toll physically but he did a fantastic job and wouldn't countenance anyone else doing it. He stayed by her side for every appointment and hospital admission and physio therapy session and cheered her on, cheered her up and generally had her back. They were still totally besotted with each other. She adored him as much as he adored her.

She had another stroke shortly after the first and passed away. He was dead just over a week later, classic broken heart syndrome.

We did ended up burying them together in a double coffin. They are holding hands and always will be, just like they promised to on their wedding day. A love like theirs I really think is very very rare, and very very special. If there's such a thing as reincarnation I think they'll find each other in every life.

I'm intrigued to know what happened OP if you are happy to share?
I am lucky enough to be married to mine. I nearly lost him last year & I am so glad he made it through. I really don't know what I would have done had he passed away. I'm more aware now of how fragile life is & I know in the future that one of us will be without the other but hopefully that will be a while off yet. I do appreciate life more now.

Sitting here looking at mine ❤️

If by 'love of your life', you mean that there's only one, then that's nonsense. I adore DH and have been happily with him since 1992, but I'm perfectly well aware that there ware other people I could have been equally, though differently, happy with if we hadn't met. I've met a couple of them down the years.

personally, I believe there to be several love of your lives that fit the you at that stage. My husband is my absolute love of my life it's not sweetness and light and quite frankly I could pop him in the bin and put the lid on regularly but I wouldn't choose anybody else to do life with.

I met my husband at 14 and was besotted with him. Until I found out he was having an affair and everything was a horrible lie. Taken me another few years to process all the abuse that I convinced myself was the greatest ever love. I don't believe in any of that anymore.

I married the love of my life and can’t imagine being with anyone else. But that is as much about time invested as anything. I wouldn’t have a first or last baby with another man, I wouldn’t watch my children grow up with another man. These are all things we have done together and what solidifies our love for each other.

Married to mine after meeting at 15 ❤️ Genuinely the best person I have ever ever ever met.

What is your definition of “love of your life” OP?

I have mine, too.
I am sure there are some other men in the world who I could have been compatible with and loved greatly, but me and DH have something which my wildest dreams could not conceive. It is based on shared values, matching characters, kindness, selflessness, utter honesty, and so on. It is not based on looks, money, or "falling in love" (that came later).

To answer your question, I knew I had found a man worthy of me when I saw that he was utterly honest so I could trust his promises, and how he treated people who wound him up. I knew that's how he would treat me if we ever disagreed/argued.

Ready salted crisps with brown vinegar added and bag shaken.

Or DH who does infuriate me sometimes but as DS says Dad and you are like an old pair of slippers he is the left and you are the right. He also said between us we make a complete human as we compliment each others skill sets and make up for stuff we are both lacking and this is very true.

I knew when I found it and it just scared me if I’m honest.

This is how feel, I think my husband would answer the same.

I don't have just 1. I have 3:

1. We were engaged and he was lovely in every single way but I wanted to have children and he did not. So I broke off our engagement in the end but we remained friends until, sadly, he died in his early 50's.

2. The father of my children. We are separated but so many amazing times, memories. He's a brilliant father.

3. My partner now, just moved in together (in our early 50's) but been together for 5 years now. He's like a great big fluffy blanket and I adore him.

Yes, but he's married to someone else.

@Stickytoffeepuddingss I am quite a 'big' personality in terms of being willing to be open to new things. And he very much was not. So I did my very big things (well, big to me) on my own. Distance developed between us. Also a big age difference meant we wanted very different things from life. So no big dramatic breakup. But... distance.

No @Quondam, I don't think there is only one. I've been in love 3 times. BUT the LOML was the biggest one. And I don't want any more. I'm happy with the peace and clarity I have alone.

@SmileyMoonset I just think of it as the biggest love really. Where it encompasses every aspect of your attraction. I've had sexual attraction with others. Intellectual completion elsewhere. Etc. But he was the 'all in one'.

After a 7 year relationship with the wrong guy, my now husband was completely different. Everything was so easy. I loved to be around him and I missed him when I wasn't. I never had that with the first guy. 9 years later and I still get excited for him to come home everyday. He is everything I always wanted. He just wants to look after me and he provides for our family because he wants to not because he has to. Ive also never had to question his trust. I honestly believe we were meant to find each other, we have so many links connecting us from our past. When you know, you know. Corny yes but it takes your breath away when you find it and you'll think "so this is what they all meant!"

Yes, we met very young and we always say how grateful we are for that! Genuinely the loveliest person on earth. No idea what he sees in me 😂

This is gorgeous 🙂

I found mine but he left me for his.

I met mine at 17 on Christmas eve. Didn't know he was the love of my life straight away, as I didn't really want a boyfriend, and wanted to be footloose and fancy free. He just kept persevering and I couldn't shake him off. I even cheated on him twice during the first year, although he never found out. Then we went on holiday, and I fell completely and utterly in love with him. We stayed together for 5 years, and i always felt guilty for cheating on him in the early days. We split due to life taking us in opposite directions. I still love him and think of him every day 20 years later. Bumped into him, 7 years ago at an event i was at with my ex husband, and we spoke. There were still sparks between us which was weird but nice. He's married now, with children, and he seemed happy. I hope he is.

My father said about a year after his wife's death, that he'd just come to realise they were soul mates. Tragically, he said he didn't realise it when she was alive, this only came to him once he'd processed a lot of the final years and then her loss.

For me, I was in love before, but I've been with my perfect match for two decades now. It feels like only a hand full of days have passed since we met, we still want to talk and laugh together, spend time together. We're best friends and we feel so lucky. No one is garunteed to find someone so perfect for them.