There are a few things in life I’m not afraid to admit:
1) I have an irrational fear of spiders, heights and parallel parking.
2) I often hide in my closet to eat a piece of chocolate, because I don’t want to share with the kids.
3) I met my husband through an online dating site.
YES! It’s true – after being unceremoniously dumped by a former boyfriend who just didn’t want to commit, I decided that rather than spend my weekends getting dolled up for a dance club, I’d rather nurse my broken heart with pizza and Star Wars. Unfortunately, after about 3-4 weekends on the Domino’s diet, I was no further ahead on the romantic front – but about 6 pounds ahead on the scale. Hence, I decided to give online dating a shot.
I asked my brother to take a picture of me in my mom’s bedroom (she had nicer furniture), spent much time creating a witty profile, and proceeded to try to find my Prince Charming via the scary world of online dating, also known as Lavalife. Of course, that was seven years ago, when it was still considered somewhat taboo to meet a stranger online. Today, with social media connecting people all over the world, chances are that you have more online friends than IRL (in real life) ones.
(In the end, I chose the picture on the right as my profile image. The picture is actually called “MeReallyClose.jpg” and I have no freaking clue why I would ever choose to show so much “face”. Ugh! And was I really wearing a brown corduroy blazer? Good grief.)
Now I’d known friends who had tried their luck with varying degrees of success; some had gone on several dates, one had nailed down a serious boyfriend, while others were still waiting for the right one to come along. I had absolutely no expectations, and was really just looking for another avenue to connect with guys. Preferably cute, emotionally-available guys with no commitment issues, of course. #notBitteratAll
So you can imagine my surprise when I fell head over heels for the very first guy I chatted with. He was funny, incredible sweet, and most importantly, did not set off my “weirdo radar”. We decided to meet for drinks – and I decided to accept his marriage proposal six months later :)
(In between our first meeting and his proposal was a ton of mushy, exceedingly romantic stuff that I have vague memories of. I sometimes try to return to that happy place when I am sleeping on the couch, as my husband snores away beside my two little guys who have hijacked my side of the bed.)
Today, one in five couples meet online. If you’re currently single, chances are that you have an active profile for at least one dating site. And I salute you! I happened to meet a pretty fabulous guy online, and with the right tools, finding love is only a click away.
Would you consider online dating? Have you tried it? Do share!