How did you and your partner get together?

[OkayHazel]

Lots of these threads can be a bit sad, so I thought I'd ask a happy question for a change!

DP and I met as students. He went to school with one of my friends, and we were introduced in our first year. Then in second year, I moved in with the girl and he was just around my house lots - I didn't think much of it, never got dressed, just went about my business as usual and if I'm honest found him quite annoying. He asked me out a few times and I always said no.

Fast forward a couple of years and DP and I had both lost touch with the girl I lived with, but remained good friends. We are both really into football, and if you'll remember last summer, City and United were drawing for the Premiership title right until the end. Well, I am a blue and he's a red - so we bickered and trash talked about the football, which grew into lots and lots of flirting over the summer.

It gets to a point where we are in really close contact and find ourselves in the same bar, but quite tired and want to go home (walking distance from this place). Both of us pick up a pizza, and he comes back to my place. We watch a bit of TV, generally muck about like drunken idiots and he is the perfect gentleman the entire time, totally respecting my boundaries despite the obvious sexual tension. As he is leaving, he holds my hand and asks 'please will you say yes this time if I ask you out?' - and I did!

I then freaked out completely - he was my friend, and I wasn't sure if I actually fancied him. We'd planned a Saturday date, but I cancelled due to cold feet. Plucked up the courage to go out on the Monday instead. We did cocktails and dancing and at the end of the night sat and talked about us. I explained that he was too important to me to be a fling, and I wanted something serious. He agreed. (I then got more drunk and told him, only half jokingly, how many babies we're going to have and what the dog will be called).

And it's all worked out well since!

Would love to hear your romance stories too! How did you meet? What was your first date like? Did you ever get the feeling that he/she was the one?

I'm very much still in the honeymoon phase and very loved up, so sorry if this thread is incredibly soppy and that's not your thing, (I'm in my early 20s, childless and over the moon!) but I'd love to hear your romance stories too!

internet dating. A lot of our friends met like this.

When DH's maternal grandfather died, his grandmother married his paternal grandfather (already widowed). So his parents are step-siblings. Nice story though.

I was working as a barmaid while studying for A levels. DP came in, we started chatting each week and it led on from there.

Match dot com. Been married 10 years in October!

On a gay website called The Pink Sofa. Very exciting! Met in person after a few weeks of messaging. Love at first sight. Still blissfully happy after 9 years, feel very lucky.

We worked together. We shagged. We starting going out. Been together 12 years.

I was waiting for a sort of blind date in a pub, and walked up to the wrong man, who turned out to be my DH [busmile]

Ball. nearly 25 years ago. I still have the dress I wore that night although I can't zip it up anymore. And I looked at his place name (he was three to my left and we hadn't exchanged a word at that point) and something in my head said very loudly "I shall marry you". We had a dance much later and two months later he phoned me up and asked me out to dinner having remembered the name of the company I worked for. And my heart went boom bang a bang just like in the film Sophia Loren was in.

Mutual friends 30th birthday party in a nightclub.

He chased me over Waterloo Bridge. I'd run off from him after a few high octane dates saying "You're Australian! I'll never leave the UK!"

He followed.

In a crappy bar in Catterick (both in the Army) I was drunk and told him off for staring at my boobs and not looking at my face - he swears to this day he didn't even look at my boobs!
I put my number in his phone and he actually text me!
Crazy drunk girl chat up must have worked! Still together 7 years later! 1DD TTC #2!

We went to school together, but I didn't know him in school. Had lots if mutual friends. Met at a few parties when we were 18. I split up with DS's dad, went out with friends etc. went out to punk trap, a punk night at barfly (now closed :(), and kissed. Both very shy.

We have had a very up and down last ten years, split up for a year, some very rough patches but OH has stepped up and become the man I always thought he was. We're getting married in August :)

Before we got together he used to text me a a milne quotes. :)

Met at primary school aged 6. Barely spoke to each other. Sat together (not by choice) in final year there. Went to same secondary school. Barely spoke to each other. Fast forward to age 23. Met on online dating site before it was considered "normal". Fast forward to age 34. 2 DC. Married. Barely speak to each other. Everything comes full circle.

Mysinglefriend.com

I set my friend up with a guy from work- she suggested I date one of her male friends. I wasn't interested but she found a way to 'repay' me by setting up a really touching profile. I joined on a whim (first time dating site user).
We went on a lunch date and he talked sooo much i knew he was nervous but he was genuine and we had loads in common.
We have been inseparable ever since.
Engaged after 2 years. Married over a year later. DD came 11 months after wedding. 3 year anniversary coming up in May.

He proposed on a trip to Dubrovnik. Hired a boat and we went island hopping. Bought the ring from liberty i had my eye on (but thought was over the budget!) wedding in Thailand with 100 guests.

Doesn't quite seem real sometimes!

Met DP thought Match.com, although it wasn't like I was that excited about our first date - all the dates I'd had up until that point had been disasters and I'd not long come out of a five year relationship with a complete tuwnt...anyway, we met up ostensibly to talk about writing - I'm a writer and he's an aspiring writer and he'd sent me the first three chapters of his novel to read before we met, up so in my mind, because I had my defenses up, we were meeting up primarily not to see if there could be romance, but to discuss whether he wanted to join my writing group....

...except it didn't quite turn out like that. I know it sounds cliched, but I knew within about five seconds of meeting him that he was THE ONE. My first thought was: "You have the most beautiful voice I've ever heard" and my second thought was "You're so much more my type than you appeared in your photos"! As the night went on, I couldn't believe what a connection we had - we shared the same sense of humour, had the same interests and it was obvious we fancied the pant off each other. We slept together for the first time that night, which as it turns out was completely out of character for both of us, but somehow it felt right and I just had this sixth sense that things were going to work out.

Within a week we were officially in a relationship and had said the L word to each other. Two years on we're both still head over heels in love, he's moved in with me and we hope to spend the rest of our lives together. He's my best friend, my lover, we have so much fun together and he treats me with the utmost respect. I feel like pinching myself, I can't believe my luch

I'm 34 now, so it's fair to say I've had my fair share of relationships as opposed to being a naive loved-up teenager, so it's about time I've finally met someone who's worth it. Sorry if my post is soppy, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share my happiness :-)

Aww yay! Vast majority of stories are so lovely! A thread like this would really have given lonely, single me that love can come out of anywhere unexpected.

Fave stories so far are:

Daisypops Arresting the brother! Hilarious
bunchofposy Walking up to the wrong man on a blind date? Fate!
marriedinwhiteagain So envious of that special moment where you just knew, must be so overwhelming at the time, and so marvellous now everything worked out.
PipsWife Drunk flirting is obviously when your seduction skills peak! And he definitely was looking at your boobs. You're right.
roughtyping The A a milne quotes are so cute. If you don't name a DC, or at least a pet, a Winnie the Pooh themed name, you've miss a fabulous opportunity!

Very impressed with how many found love online - I've always been so scared to give it a go before!

And also, I hope this thread serves as a big two fingers to anyone still slut shaming girls that sleep with men on the first date- evidently it can, and does work out!

Thanks ladies!

hazel, no, no names I'm afraid, but we still have to choose readings for the wedding..!

I met dh at uni, doing our MSc. We had both done our first degree at the same uni, same department but he was the year above me and I'd never even noticed him, despite him being organiser of the departmental social club (I'd never been to any of the events) and living in the same area of town and getting the same tube into college. Oh and his best family friend from school days was inthe next door room in halls to my best friend at uni so was around there a fair bit too. he was doing his MSc over 2 years, I did it in a year so finally met him.

When we Finally got together he said about getting married within the first few weeks. I was only 21 and so not ready to settle down - he was 26 and would have been happy to - I just told himmot to be so ridiculous. He then asked several times over the next few years; I finally said yes when we'd been going out for 13 years! And been together ever since. We do tend to celebrate our anniversary of getting together rather than wedding anniversary though. And bugger. Just realised that it's my actual wedding anniversary today and I haven't got dh a card let alone a present. Better go find out what's traditional for your 9th anniversary!

I've also had a hand getting two other couples together - one when looking for some supplies for my wedding I'd spotted a friend's ex in the newsletter of a supplier. Mentioned it in a 'guess who I saw when hunting for xxx' sort of way (and yes, I'd left it much to late to do as usual) to her at my hen do (just an evening out rather than a weekend away) and she managed to make contact with him, dedpite the fact he'd moved on from tbe firm by then They were pretty much together by the wedding and are still happy together now

The other one a friend from MSc course had come to stay, she'd moved over to Canada and was missing the uk. First night she arrived, I went to a regular event that I went to, interesting talk followed by drinks in the pub afterwards. So she came along too, another friend from there was canadian and had also bought a friend along - who also was Canadian. My friend and her friend were talking, turned out my friend had just moved to other's city for work so didn't know anyone there. Her friend was involved in that city's version of the group i went to, same sort of format, so suggested that she come along as it was a nice way to meet people without there being any pressure or expectations or singles/dating element. She did go along once back in Canada - and is now very happily married to the brother of my friend's friend from that evening (who was also a member of the group!)

On the internet - but not a dating site.

I was chatting online about dog training, and local classes, he was wandering through the forum, killing a couple of hours one evening, and messaged me because my nickname on there had caught his eye. (He'd been looking for advice on home brewing!)

I waved back simply because his location was part of his name and i used to live there.

No photos for either of us. We chatted till 3am that first evening. And the next evening .... and every night for 4 weeks. Amazing chemistry through a keyboard.

We decided to meet - i thought that would be the end of it to be honest. We still hadn't exchanged photos.

Wrong!

That was 7 years ago. 1st wedding anniversary is next week :)

Ex DP and I met at university. I didn't like her at all. Then I met her again at work, and we got married really quickly.

We are now divorced. First impression was right.

DP and I met at a singles event. I knew I really liked her the moment we met. There was one awkward moment that night when we worked out that I know her ex DP's ex OW (the one who broke the marriage up).

When his DD's tooth fell out at the pub I worked at!
I made her a special envelope out of a napkin to put it in whilst he was having a panic attack about the blood on the new carpet in the pub!

4 years later and we have bought a house, loving life together and TTC our first together.
DSD has lost 4 teeth in the last 6months and loves to bring up the story about if it wasn't for her teeth DP and I wouldn't be together

Blind date. His brother was marrying my friend. Told me he fancied me and him that I fancied him.

On the first date I asked why he fancied me and we realised we'd been set up. But fell in love l.