How I Met My Husband Online

As a little girl, I always dreamed of being a wife, having about three children, and living in a big house. I thought I’d meet my husband in church or at the grocery story somewhere… you know, just like you see in the movies. Obviously, the adolescent version of me had no idea how the dating scene would completely change by the time I was older.

Before meeting Ed, I was fresh out of a “situationship.” I had been dating a guy on and off while I was in the military. I allowed him to convince me that we would be in a full relationship once I came home for good, but, needless to say, that didn’t happen.

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One day, while I was at my nail salon, a message popped up on my phone. “Here’s another weirdo”, I thought to myself. A man had slid into my DMs. I read the message, but didn’t respond right away. I did, however, go search through his Instagram photos to get a visual. He was cute, dressed nice, and seemed very reserved in his posts. So I responded… what did I have to lose?

We chatted for a day or so before he asked me out on a date. He was straightforward and planned the actual date. This was new to me! I was accustomed to men beating around the bush and not being certain about what they really wanted.

I actually stood him up on our first date. My friend had a birthday party and I cancelled on him for her. Plus, it all seemed too good to be true! I wanted to do more background digging. We had mutual friends, so I called a few that I knew personally for intel. You know, you can’t be too careful nowadays, and I was NOT up for any mind games. After all of the positive reports from our mutual friends, I called him one day while he was out with his friends. He told me to come and meet him to hang out, and I’m glad I did.

I hung out with him and his friends until it was really late and I was ready to head home. Before I left, he made me promise him that we’d go on an official date — the following morning! I was in shock because I knew for sure he would want to talk more or wait at least a week or so. Well, we went out on our first date the next morning and he was genuine and a pure gentleman. He opened doors, pulled out chairs, and even ordered for me. We talked about everything under the sun, and he even planned out the entire day for us, literally! Our first date lasted a full 24 hours!

I wasn’t certain if Ed was just a really good talker, or serious in his pursuance for me. He didn’t just talk, he took action on everything. On our first date, he said I would be his wife. He said he would propose to me after we were together a year, buy our house and we’ll have everything aligned by year three. This is when I knew he was the one. I never met a man who made plans for us, and not just wait for me to approach him with it. He was very respectful. I didn’t have to groom or teach him to be the man that he already was. Fast-forward, we are at year three and we have all of that plus more.

So here’s the thing ladies, like many other women, I had tried dating online before and it just didn’t work out. I hear women complain about men sending messages to them on social media all the time, and I sit back and giggle.

Related: 5 Ways To Make Romantic Connections Work For You

But if a man approaches you with respect, I’d say give him a chance and reply with respect. Being selective and open to love is okay.