Anyone who met someone online dating and it led to long-term/marriage/kids - stories please?

[itsasurprise]

If you met someone online and it got serious, or you married and had kids...could you tell me your story?

How long did it take?
Which sites do you think are better?
Any general tips?

Thanks!

I met DH online 9 years ago, been married 6 years, 2 lovely cheeky daughters, just moved into our first property. I'm really happy with how my life has turned out, we're a good match. I was struggling before being a French expat and a christian to find someone who had the same outlook on life as me and enough shared interests so I couldn't believe my luck when I met him and I know he felt the same.

I think with all dating, you have to hold it all very lightly, not have major immediate expectations and be ready to have a nice time and be open and honest. I always try to be genuine and always disliked people who have to big up any of the things they have done or what they do or own.

My sister also met her partner online 15 years ago when it was still a newish thing. I was appalled and thought she was nuts when she travelled up to meet him. She was very lucky but her DP is her perfect match. Of course life isn't always plain sailing but it helps when you have an equal partnership with someone.

I signed up to POF on a tuesday. arranged a date for friday.
2 years later we live together with our blended family.

had previously been on match and had an awful date. so thought I'd try POF.

Was a lone parent to DD, signed up to several dating sites (OKCupid, POF etc) in 2011, had several dates, one went onto develop into a relationship but I ended that after 9 months cause he was a complete bellend. I then gave OD a rest, signed back up in Feb 2013, went on a date in March...got engaged to him in the September and then got married in September 2014...After festival season I will allow him to try and I'm pregnant me

Stick with it and have firm boundaries! good luck my DH is fucking awesome so there are many out there!

I met DH on match. He proposed 19 months after our first date. We've now been together almost 4 years and are very happily married and TTC our first child

I tried POF too but met a lot more time wasters and the calibre of man wasn't what I was interested in in a life partner.

Met on match affinity just over 3 years ago. Now married with dcQ due in September
We moved in together after a year then married just before we'd been together 2 years.

I tried a few sites. This was the most expensive and time consuming with the questionnaire but worth it to get matched by personality, values etc
I decided that if a bloke was prepared to pay a decent amount and fill it in, he was more likely to be serious and worth bothering with.

I have four friends who have met partners online, three living together and one married. All seem very happy.

I have had quite a few first dates, one pretty awful relationship and am now seeing a very lovely guy, all from the same dodgy site.

The difference this time round has been a very definite idea of what I was looking for and being myself - not trying to make someone like me but finding someone who likes me as I am :)

Met DP online 2.5 years ago, DC1 due in 2.5 weeks. Met him on POF after a year and a half of being single and online dating on and off for about 9 months. There are lots of chancers but you soon learn to spot them, you also need a fairly thick skin. I used to get very upset by unanswered messages and rejection but soon realised it's not worth taking personally. Once I got the hang of it I met some great people, not all suitable but a few I have remained friends with and DP of course

We met on eHarmony at a time when it was embarrassing to admit that you were trying online "dating." It was expensive, but possibly the best investment I've ever made.

It's been 10 years since we met, and we've been married over eight years. Three children, a fourth on the way.

Both of us were clear from the start that we were looking for somebody to marry. Don't know what eHarmony is like now, but at the time, it was great at filtering people so that you were matched with more or less like-minded people with the same values.

I liked how intentional it was--i.e. you both know you want a marriage partner, so there was no fiddling about on that point.

As for which site is the "best," it depends on what you're looking for. For us, a "serious" site like eHarmony (which used to tout its psychologist-designed matching process for people looking for marriage) was the only one we would have considered.

I met DH online exactly 9 years ago tonight! Not on a dating site though, on a chat room site that is probably now defunct faceparty. We met for a drink the next day and the rest is history. We've now been married 6 years.

Although I must say there were plenty of twerps before him from the world of online chat, some experiences better than others and some far too hideous to mention.

Doesn't really answer your questions though does it OP I guess the advice I would give is keep going, weed out the shite and wait for the hidden gems to pop up.

Oh, and I know it's a really old cringey cliche, but I firmly believe when you know, you know. Follow your instincts.

Good luck!

I know of 3 friends off the top of my head. All married and one couple with 2 kids.

i met my husband online, now we have been married for 3 years, I love him to death and he is the loveliest man i ve ever met. we also have a wonderful 5 month old daughter which we love to the moon and back.

these stories are very uplifting!!! :)

Met DH almost 8 years ago on 'My Single Friend'. I chatted to him (emails) through that for a while before we met up. He was the first and only person I met in real life from online dating. We are now married and have 2 DC.

He said that what he liked about my profile was I was so normal He explained that he found the profiles of women full of partying pics/travel adventures etc a bit intimidating. I had a selfie of me taken in my front room and talked about my love of crap tv.

I also met my DH on Mysinglefriend in 2006. Now married 3 years and expecting a baby. Seems to have worked out!

My sister is currently online dating (had had a couple of short term relationships so far) and things seem to have moved much more into the app world now (Tinder, Coffee Meets Bagel, etc.) She likes it because it's way less time consuming than websites.

met DH on loopylove I think it was. we've been together 10 years and are expecting DC4.

chatted online for a couple of weeks before meeting then met for coffee and chatted like we'd known each other forever. we were both very honest from the outset that we were looking for something serious/long term.

obviously we have ups and downs but I recommend it! it allows you to be more honest about what you're looking for so don't waste time with people who aren't looking for the same type of relationship.

Keep them coming :) :)

Met DH through a dating website 14 years ago (like bobthetomato, no one admitted it then!) and he's still the nicest man I have ever known. Our DD is 8 (would have liked some more but that wasn't to be). I can't imagine what my life would have been like without him and internet dating, except it would have been much much poorer.

Met my DH via match 6 years ago, been married nearly 3 years 1DD and #2 due any day.

Met DP on POF 5 years ago. Love him so much, we own a home together but so far no DC (6 MCs though). Im kin of expecting a ring on our Italian holiday this summer.....

I was on POF - finally plucked up the courage to give it a go in 2009. I met a few nice men that just weren't for me and only one blatant liar (knocked 12 years off his age in his profile). At that time POF seemed to attract a lot of self-employed men with their own businesses, no idea what it's like now.

My DP was about the eighth or ninth bloke I met in real life. It took nine months to find him and we'd never have met in any other way as we lived about 40 miles apart. We now live together and we're very happy, making lots of plans for our future.

Looking back on that time of dating, I remember it as being quite exciting and interesting. It certainly beat waiting to meet someone through "conventional" means - I tried, but after five years of rolling tumbleweed a more proactive approach seemed called for.

My sister met her husband through an on-line dating site. She was working very unsociable hours and lacking in self-confidence. Her (now) husband was the same.

They have been married for about 18 yrs, or thereabouts. Two girls, two dogs, one daughter has just had her School Prom and is sitting her GCSEs. They are all very happy.

That's a happy outcome - but I think sometimes you may have to be careful with some sites. (And sorry, no, I don't know what site Sister used).

We met on POF. Been together three years now, married for the last year and we have a DD too.

Married for last two years that should say.

Met DH in a free chat room.
I just googled 'free chat room' one night because I was bored. Wasn't looking for a man (I had a boyfriend at the time who I soon after finished with!)
Chatted to a lovely guy, spoke on msn for a few nights, spoke on the phone a few times, and met up. Then had a lovely 'courtship' that has ended in marriage and kids.

I totally recommend!