Did You Just...Know?

Okay, well yes, I'm the cheesy sap that said to my girlfriend on the night I met my husband that I was going to marry him. So true! Although, it did take him a full seven days to call me (jerk!) after that night so I was starting to question my judgement, but luckily he was just shy (and embarassed...we had quite a first meeting!)

We got engaged 9 months later, married 6 months after that and now we've been married almost 7 years and still going strong!

I knew after 3 months I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. After 6 months lying in bed he asked me to marry him. 3 months later we got married. From the day I met him to the day we got married was 9 months and 10 days together.

We have been married for 5 years now. I know its not past the 10 years.. but I am in love with him more now than when we got married.

Nope, I didn't. I actually thought I would never see him again...

And now after (not quite 10) 8 years - nope, not crazy about him any more. We 're fine, content... but it's not much of a love story.

I think that hyper-romanticizing marriage is not doing society a favor.
We got married because yes, we were in love and also because it was a sensible thing to do.
We stay together because we have a child together, because we have built a life together and because it is the sensible thing to do.

If I believed that I had to be "crazy in love" with my DH to have a happy and content life with him, we would be long divorced.

Now granted, maybe some people do experience "crazy in love" for 10 + years, but from what I see around me, most people don't - and many would not be divorced if they didn't have the expectation that they should.

Sorry to burst the rainbow bubble--LOL--but I really thought I was going out with my (now) husband to kind of, for sure, check him off the list of potential relationships!

However, I quickly adored him and the rest is history.
We got engaged after about a year of dating. I probably "knew" halfway through that, that he was "the O.". I certainly wasn't looking for a husband!
We'll be married 15 years early next year.

I met the man I married when I was 5 years old on a soccer field the summer before kindergarten.... We were schoolmates for the next 13 years.

Fast forward to 2002. He emailed me, we decided to hang out. He picked me up for a date, and we went to an amusement park. 1 hour into the date, I remember thinking I was going to marry him. This was Sept.16 2002. We were married 11 weeks later on December 31 2002. We're a year from the 10 year mark, and I adore him (most days). He gave me the 2 most wonderful offspring.

I don't believe in "the one", but I do believe that what I have was meant to be.

Thought that about the first husband, glad I was so wrong. I actually met my 2nd husband through an online, non dating forum about religion. LOL we had the same idea. At first I really didnt like him. He kept replying to all my threads and I was getting irritated. In my mind I realllllllly hated him. Then he asked me to join a live discussion group. I was bored so I did. LOVED the group, still hated him. After 2 group sessions, he asked a select few of us for coffee. I agreed. We were the only ones left after a few hours and it was closing. My mind changed that night. Then the next meeting I went home with him, and we had our daughter 9 months later. Its some-what happy marriage, after some rough patches. I am married now going on 5 years, but feels like 10. Does that count?

My current husband (Troy) was actually the friend and employee of my former husband - and noooo, nothing happened while I was married to my first. We would hang out as friends, and they played softball together. I do remember having one of those "Which of my friends do you think is the hottest?" conversations with my ex and I said Troy - who knew?!?!?!?!Things just didn't work out between us after a rough patch and a miscarriage.

About 8 months after my divorce Troy asked if I thought it would be weird if he asked me out. Even then I didn't think he was the one. I just knew that I was ready to start dating again, and he seemed like an easy "first date", especially since we had been friends for almost 3 years. I knew he was who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with after about 6 months of my denying how much I really liked him. The rest is history. We have been together 14 years. I am so so so so so so in love with him. I get butterflies in the morning when I look at him, he can melt me with a kiss, and there is nowhere I would rather be than in his arms at night.

Met my husband in Alaska in 1999 shortly after I moved there. First date was ice fishing. My husband says he knew immediately after that that I was "the one". 2 weeks later I was pretty sure I was going to marry him. We married 16 months later in June 2001 and yes, we are still crazy about one another! We've been through some storms: My husband asked my parents for my hand in marriage and they said "NO"; moved across the US, new jobs for both of us and built a house within our first 9 months of marriage; first baby cried for hours a day first 4 months of her life and refused to eat (what a nightmare!); both of our elderly parents have been ill and in need of financial support from us at times; had a contraceptive failure resulting in our 3rd child (what a wonderful change of plans!); husband lost his job of 15 years when his company closed last year (thank God he was employed within a few months!); the list goes on and on.
We had similar backgrounds, families, faith, finances and expectations for childbearing/parenting. We had premarital counseling for 6 months which helped us figure a lot of things out before we tied the knot. Really the full credit goes to God who held us together when it would have been easier to fall apart, helped us hold on to our commitment when the "lovin' feeling" just wasn't enough to keep us together, and helped us to become less selfish people by giving us 3 needy children.
So that's our story. Good marriages don't just happen, they develop over time with a whole lot of effort and committment from both spouses.

I don't really know the exact moment that I knew we would marry, but it definitely happened within the first 6 months. We didn't get married for a few years after that. Our 10 year anniversary is next April, and I still can't imagine being without him.

I knew for certain probably six months into our relationship. We started out very young, 14 and have been together 14 years at this point. I am still crazy about him and he definitely is still the one for me.

I met my husband in 99. We got married in 2000. After we met, we compared notes and discovered our fathers had done to the same high school at the same time (my dad is 90). We discovered my parents both knew my m-i-l's twin sister back in college - in the 1950's. Too many commonalities to think it was just chance that bought us together. We knew by Christmas we were going to be married (in fact his mom was mad he didn't pop the question over Xmas!) - but he was already planning on a Valentine's day proposal. Yes, I am still nuts about him and thank the Lord every day for bringing him into my life. I used to wonder why relationships were so complicated and hard. But when I met him, everything was so easy. We could talk about anything - even hot button issues (we have agreed to disagree about politics!). We got married on my father's bday...and also the day that would've been my in-law's 50th anniversary (if his father was still alive). Thanks for inviting us to remember those days!

I came home the day that I met my husband, and said out loud to myself "that's the man I'm going to marry". 6 yrs later, I did!
we'll have 13 yrs together this month.

He's my best friend, my joker, my solace, my comfort and my lover.

I met my husband through eharmony...gasp! We spent two months corresponding via email and phone. But when did I know for sure..
immediately when our first in person date was over. Actually no before the date was over, we had planned on meeting for lunch and some bowling...that turned into dinner and talking.

7 months later we got engaged and 2 months after that I moved two states away.

We've been together for 9 years (married 7)...and yes I am still crazy about him...

ETA: That because of distance between us we both drove 4.5 hours to have lunch and bowl in the middle of Kansas...so yeah I knew at lunch...and when I didn't get home until 2AM from driving back from the middle of KC I knew he was the one...I would never have considered moving anywhere for anyone at the time...and when I the thought went through my head...I knew.

i met him when I was 19 and wouldn't marry him right away. It all worked out though because 10 yrs later I married him and we've been married 5 yrs now. Just can't be too careful :)

I was very drawn to him. I swore I didn't believe in love, that love was actually a negative side effect that occurs when hormones and brain chemistry cause you to be a little off balanced, resulting in neediness and compromise. But....yeah. I couldn't get enough of him. Just took a little while to be able to handle that I had caught that disease, despite my most valiant efforts. (ha). But he said that right after our very first conversation, he said he was a little worried about himself when he thought "She's my angel. I think she's going to save me" (LOL!) So nerdy. Fortunately, he knew it and was worried by his nerdiness.
But at any rate, he just knew for sure that this chick he talked to (me) was important and his life was going to change. He's not usually so "dramatic" but it was just a strong feeling he had.
We went through all kinds of craziness together and supported each other through until our individual crazy trains finished their little routes, and we've been married 6 years (and actually dated 6 years BEFORE that), and still love each other very much. 12 years of best friendship, 6 years of marriage and it's really flying by! About 9 years ago, we went on our first cross-country roadtrip and we were sitting at the Grand Canyon watching the skyline for the sun to rise, when Jeremy said he had that moment where he was like "Hark! I'm marrying this girl...now all I have to do is rope her in". I thought that was sweet. So we had our wedding there, in the Grand Canyon, 3 years later. I like to make fun of us (I'm not all that dramatic, this answer is largely tongue in cheek), and we do have our little aggravation moments, but we have it really good, we're really blessed, we really love each other, and we know it.

I met my husband on May 4th, 2001. I wouldn't necessarily say, I knew the second I met him, I thought he was the cutest thing I had laid eyes on. LOL By about the second week of "dating" though, I knew without a doubt, I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. We married March 22, 2002. It hasn't been 10 years yet, but we are coming up on it, and let me tell you, we are still going strong, and I am more crazy about him than ever. When I see not only him, and think about all we have been through together, it makes me even more crazy about him. Don't get me wrong, he drives me crazy sometimes, and there are times I think, why do I put up with this, but all in all, I wouldn't trade it for anything. He is a wonderful father to our little girl, and tries with all his might to make me the happiest woman in the world.

I knew after our 2nd date. And really we were just hanging out at that point.
We celebrate 10 years next August.
Though he his driving me nuts at the moment...I am still very much in love w/ him.

We met online 13 years ago, thought he might be the one after 6 months, married 11 and a half years ago, and have a child who is 10. I would say I like him better than any man I have known.
For me it was like "He is the least annoying man I know. We agree on most everything. We enjoy the same food and things. He is financially secure. He might be the one to marry."

Yes, I knew immediately. And I had never met him in person! It was 1999, had known of him via a newsgroup for 3 years, but we didn't personally correspond till 1999. We flirted for a few months via email since he was in London, and I in Chicago. Luckily for him and me, my best friend was in Ireland, and I was planning a trip to meet up with her and do some travelling. We were both 29 at the time, he working for a bank, me working on my doctorate. We had these great philosophical discussions via email. I just knew. We had this amazing short hand because our shared knowledge was so similar.

In any case, I ended up planning a layover in London before heading to Dublin to be with my friend. He picked me up, took me to this amazing cafe for lunch, and then to Chinatown for dinner. When we were walking back to his flat, he asked to hold my hand, we then sang a song from My Fair Lady together, and I truly knew then.

The next morning, when he put me on a plane, he told me he loved me. A week later, I left my friend, and my hubby and I headed off to Paris for a long weekend. A year later, we got married at the courthouse.

In April, we will celebrate our 11th anniversary. And yes, I still love him. I think I love him more today then I did then.

I met my husband at a bar in Feb. of 2001 and I did not really like him at the time (lol), so he gave me his number and a few days, I decided to call him. we went on our first date and had good conversations. We hung out more and more and were together everyday for about 2months, and after that I just knew that he was the one for me. I was going to Las Vegas for my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary, which was May 5th 2001. I simply asked if he would like to go.. and surprised he said "Sure" well, when he got there and got off the plane, he looked at me and said "let's just get married while we are here" I was like "yeah right>>lol Well, we went to meet the family and then after 2 days he said "let's do it tonight" It just felt right and so we eloped at a wedding chapel on Las Vegas Blvd. on May 4th 2001 (3 months or so after meeting) . We told my family that night and they were shocked..(they thought I was pregnant.. lol I was not) we went home and had a reception in July of 2001. For me it was everything working out perfectly and just having a feeling of it being right. It worked great and my dad paid for the honeymoon,(since we saved him so much on the wedding) After 10 years and 2 girls later, we are still together and have had many ups and downs, but overall it is good! We just celebrated our 10 year anniversary in Maui, Hawaii... The BEST place ever!!! Loved it and we reconnected and Life is good!!!
Good luck to you!

I met my husband over 30 years ago when he was looking for an illustrator for the hands-on science books he writes. I was instantly struck by his warm voice, sense of humor, intelligence and creativity. Since I had been out of an abusive marriage only a couple of years, I did NOT think I was interested in trying marriage ever again, but that night over dinner, I told my 8yo daughter that IF I were to marry a second time, I hoped it would be to a man like the one I met that day. Nine months later, we were wed.

We still work together daily. Our personalities, needs, tastes and habits are very well matched – just enough differences to keep things "interesting" without much friction. I adore this man, and hope we have many more years together.

I really appreciated having his calm, thoughtful, and kind-hearted example for my daughter as she grew through her teen years. She ended up (after dating a few alarming men who were too much like her father) marrying a man who is just as level-headed and ethical as her step-dad.

OMG! Either I am really hormonal (pregnant), or these are just some of the greatest love stories. I haven't stopped crying!!!! It is just so wonderful to hear how some of us had to go through so much to really realize how fortunate we are. My husband and I have been together since highschool. I was 14 and he was 17. It's been 14 years. We have been married for 8 years. I am completely in love with him. We've had our fall outs but with faith, love and understanding we've mended our relationship back together. I couldn't imagine a life without him and our three beautiful boys. Every day is a breath of fresh air knowing he's my husband and I'm not affraid to share my love for him with anyone. I still get butterflies everytime I see him come through the door. He's an amazing husband and father. I couldn't ask for anything else.

So unless you knew me when it happened...you might not believe me! I knew the first time I layed eyes on him. He came into my work...we had no interaction..just looked at eachother. I went home and told my mom I met the boy I'm going to marry today! She thought I was nuts. Crazy circumstances got us to actually meet...1 week later we went on our first date..10 months later, he proposed. We celebrated 5 years this past summer and have 2 beautiful boys:-). I still can't believe it when I tell people about it. I just knew it was him! And I have never thought otherwise!

After going through a really rough break-up when I was 19, I decided never to have another serious relationship again (ha!). I stuck with it for well over a year going on first dates only & not giving my number to anyone until I met my husband. Our first date we ended up spending the night together *gasp* & I asked if I could keep him. Seriously. I didn't even know where it came from & it scared me that I had said it. I knew he was the one pretty much right away. We moved in together after only 5 months of dating & got married 1 year after that. This January will be our 13th wedding anniversary & yeah, I guess I still like him, lol!

I spotted my husband in front of the motorcycle shop that his dad had. It wasnt until 2 years later that I actually met him. His ex and my ex cheated on us with each other. I was 18 and he was 19. He handed me his number if I wanted to talk and 2 days later gave him a call. He picked me up, we went to the state fair and ended up just talking all night. Neither of us wanted anything serious. We went out a few times that week and by the end of the week I knew he was the one.
I ended up pregnant 9 months into the relationship, found out a year later that he was in the works of asking me to marry him, but didnt because he didnt want to everyone to think it was because of the pregnancy.
We had a rough patch that we ended up splitting for about a week when our son was 2. After we realized that we couldnt live without each other we have been together everyday since then.
It took 8 years for us to get married and mind you everyone was saying finally. He watched his mom go thru 2 bad divorces and he and I both wanted to make sure that this is what we wanted. Its been 11 years together and it will be 4 years of marriage in May!
I couldnt imagine my life without him. He does drive me nuts at times but we have been told that we still act like teenagers in love.
I just found out recently that his group of friends had a bet going as to how long it would be before he asked me to marry him. They could tell by the way he was that I was the one for him!

I knew immediately that I wanted to know more about "that guy" when I first saw him across the room. I knew within about six months of dating that he was it. We were young at the time, about 18, and we lived states away from each other. We both had significant others when we met, but soon after, we both dumped them and started with a long-distance relationship. He moved up to Missouri to be with me and finish out college so we could see if our relationship would work when we were in the same place. It did! We dated for 4 years and after we both graduated from college, we got married and have been ever since! It'll be 10 years this July. (crazy). And yes, I'm still crazy about him. :)

I don't know how old you are, but if you have time, it would be worth it to date for a while just to confirm that he's everything you think he is. And vice versa for him. If he's it for you, he'll be it for you in a few months, or a year, or two years, right?

Congrats on finding the man of your dreams!
Hilary

I met my husband when we were both 19. We met on the 4th of July. August 4th, we were engaged, just 1 month later, lol! I can't really describe "how I just knew", I just did. We waited a year and a half until we got married though. He was a marine at the time and he had to deploy for 6 months. We are coming up on our 10 year anniversary in February. I love him more than I did when I married him. He is my best friend

I knew pretty quickly, but we met as he was graduating from college, and his plan had been to move back "home" (1700 miles away) after school was over to get a job. He was clearly very committed to me and our relationship, but never seemed to consider altering his post-college plans. Now, after almost 12 years together, I know that this is just how he works, he makes and plan and by God, he sticks with it, but at the time I found it a bit odd, it was like he hadn't even thought about the fact that moving back to his hometown meant moving away from me. He had this weird disconnect going on, it's hard to explain unless you know my husband. Then, one day, it clicked, he figured it out and started looking for work here.
Like I said, that was almost 12 years ago, we have been married for seven years and have 2 boys. And yes, I'm still crazy about him :)

Don & I crossed paths but never saw each other at a track event when he was 13 & I was 14 & boy-crazy. Don is from Houston; I lived in Waco, TX, at the time. Our dads knew each other professionally. In fact, my dad ordained his dad in '82 when he became a pastor.

Fast-forward to 1984, my (now ex-) SIL spotted him at our church (he was new) and invited us both to her Christmas party. We didn't date until Memorial Day of the next year. At the C party, however, my 2 nieces almost blew it by telling him "She's 30!" "She's not married!!!!"

On our second date, I looked into his blue eyes and knew. :) And after 25 years, I still get that tingly feeling sometimes.

I followed him to China & back (like I promised I would when we got engaged). He took good care of our very sick little baby (especially when I could not take it anymore), so I told him that he is "divorce proof."

thanks for asking!

I met my future husband and we were engaged after 2 months. I 'knew' after about a month b/c I felt sick when I found out someone else wanted to date him. Not sick like the past jealousies but sick like my gut was raw. I felt like I could not breathe. When I was with him I felt safe and protected. He was easy going, loyal, respectful, and looked me in the eye when he spoke to me, he held my hand, he rubbed my back when he was close to me. He is a gentleman and always thinks of me before doing anything.
We just celebrated our 11 yr anniversary and oddly enough my FB post said that I was still "giddy in love and blissfully happy". I get butterflies when he calls me from work, I smile so big when he walks in the door, and his voice makes me so happy and tingly. I had boyfriends that I thought I loved and dated for 6 yrs, 4 yrs, etc but this was so different. it was so easy. I never, ever got nervous before our wedding, never had doubts. We never fight and always communicate. Communication, respect, honesty, and loyalty are key. Good luck in your relationship!!!

Good question. I saw my husband across a crowded room (literally) and I just KNEW. First and only time that ever happened to me - and he actually had his soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend under his arm if you can imagine that. We were introduced by mutual friends about a week later (he had already ditched the girlfriend). We went on a few dates. Exactly 3 weeks after dating him, I wrote in my journal "this is the man I'm going to marry - I see him as a husband and father of my children." Yep, I was over the moon. A couple of years into the relationship, the light finally went off for him. I was pretty patient back then. We'll be married for 20 years this coming May and I'm more in love with him today than I was when I married him. We've had our ups and downs but he's even-keeled so we usually get onto the right path pretty quickly. He is the best father I could have chosen for my daughter. He's everything my father wasn't to me & then some.

I know my DH was "the one" within 4 weeks after our first date. I got a phone call one fine summer day that the guy I dated when I summered in Scotland (the year before) had died in an accident. Without even thinking, my DH was the one I called and he dropped everything, took the rest of the day off work to take care of me. For a whole afternoon and evening, he held me as I cried and listened to all of my stories about this other, now dead, guy. It wasn't until after I crawled in to bed after he left that I realized what I had done. I cried in the arms of new boyfriend over the death of old boyfriend. I figured that any guy who could be so giving was worth his weight in gold.

We've been married 21 years (together for four years before that) and I'm still head over heels for him. My mom once told me that the stories you read in romance novels are modern day fairy tales. The men aren't as great, the sex isn't as great and men never treat you that well. I can emphatically say that, even after all these years, she is flat wrong on all counts!

Thanks for letting me share...

I think I subconsciously knew after a month. But I KNEW within about 4 months. We got married not quite 2 years after we began dating. We actually had gone out on one date previously years before. He called me several times when I wasn't home, left notes for me, etc. It kinda scared me, because at the time I was not looking for the guy I was going to marry. I was just looking to have fun and chase the "bad boys". He was way too classy and good hearted for what I was interested in those days. You might even say "boring"... at least at the time. Fast forward about 6 years... my best friend had JUST started dating this guy (she's married to him now) and it was the day before New Year's Eve. I had several parties I was considering, but just really didn't feel like going all out. Wanted to do something quieter, but was single. So... called up my bestie and asked what her plans were, in case she was going low-key also. She was, but with her guy (of course). So, she says, I have an idea. I'll call you right back. Calls me back and says she has set me up with her friend (again). Yep, same guy from 6 years before. Wasn't sure that was a good idea, since I kinda blew him off and he might've been a little ticked about it. But, ok. We go. He was fantastic!
And much cuter than I remembered, too. My friend had actually dated him for over a year in high school, until she started college (and she and I became best friends), but when they broke up, they stayed good friends. Yes, really. I would have known if there was more to it, she and I were roommates for a few years in our 20s and I knew all about ALL the guys she dated, lol.
Anyway, we began dating every weekend after that. He went out of town to visit family about 3 weeks later, and I went out clubbing with a girlfriend. I felt guilty the entire time I was flirting with other men. And there wasn't any reason to, except my heart knew, even if my brain didn't.

We celebrate our 15th anniversary a week from today (Friday). And my best friend (and his high school sweetheart)? I am going to visit her in the hospital in the morning---she and her husband (the guy from 17 years ago) just had their first baby. :)

Oh.. .and yes, still crazy about him. He even offered to call in to work tomorrow and stay home with the homeschooling kiddos so I can go visit her in the hospital without worries on the home-front. He is absolutely my best friend in this world. He's the only guy not related to me, who's ever seen me cry. He would do anything for me, and often does. He is a strong, honorable man, and FAR from boring. I'm the boring one now, lol. He doesn't have quite as much hair as he once did, but he still has fabulous green eyes and makes my heart go pitter pat. A smile from him or one of his classic laughs, makes my heart smile every time. I sometimes think that song "Crazy Girl" was written for me, lol.

We've been together 25 years and married for almost 20 years. Yes I knew early on but what's MORE important is I STILL THINK SO this many years later.

If I go out with my friends I can't wait to tell him how glad I am to be with him. People are INSANE and act like idiots. I'm SO GLAD I don't have to be dating and dealing with all those shenanigans.

Well, i knew that he was the man i was going to marry when we were teens. You know that puppy love teen thing. A year later, we were pregnant. Then he really became the man i was going to marry.

We have been married 15 years. We have grown a ton in those years. Yes, i now still get that feeling. More on stress free, i feel sexy and had a glass of wine kind of days :) I do know that i have different feelings now. I feel his heartbeat when he sleeps and pray that it beats forever. I see him getting frustrated (like tonight putting lights on the tree) and giggle inside and hope i get to see this for many, many more years. I know that this is a different feeling. Not bad or good. But to me this is part of growing together. I now cannot imagine my life without him.