8 Women On How They Knew Their Partner Was The One

While every couple finds their way to one another differently and on their own timeline, that so-called ‘I just knew!’ moment is pretty special, regardless of who you’re talking to. From couples who knew met and instantly knew they had met their life partner to others who had that gut reaction and waited years before acting on it, the secret to finding The One isn’t always narrow or easy to navigate.

If you’re lucky enough to know a few truly remarkable couples — the ones who seem like they fit together naturally — then you likely know their how-I-knew story. Regardless if you’re single or in a relationship of your own, there’s something inspiring — and a little cheesy — about these declarations of fate.

Let these sweet stories give you that bump of confidence that you might need to keep putting yourself out there and stomaching through another date in the hopes that it could be something magical. Or if you’re unsure if the relationship you’re in can go the extra mile —or if you think you should know already — maybe these tales can help guide the future of your couplehood:

1. Tia, 26

“I got married at 18 years old, and I knew after six months that it was not a match. Four years later, we separated and soon after, I met my now-husband. We had gone to high school together and I bumped into him, stumbling adorably from a bar. We spent two weeks texting one another about failed relationship and how distasteful it is to have sex on the first date… but when he finally asked me out, we shared a bottle of wine and ended up being tangled up together, laughing at ourselves. We spent every night together for a week, and on the eighth day, I received an email from my estranged husband, begging for another chance. After a not-so gentle nudge from my Southern Baptist parents and a pep talk about the sins of divorce, I caved. The following day, I moved from NC to Washington, D.C., but the moment I pulled into that house, I realized how much this new man meant to me and that he was truly The One for me. I immediately called him and explained my stupidity. There was no begging, no questions, only ‘come home.’ Loving my husband has been the easiest thing I’ve ever done since then.”

2. Jenn, 26

“I knew the night the we met. My friend, whom I met in college, introduced me to Dan and I immediately assumed he was her friend from home, since I'd never met him at school. We all went into a comedy show and took seats at the bar. There was an open seat between Dan and I, and he scooted over instantly to sit by my side. I felt this weird connection, like I just wanted to spend the whole show talking to him — even though we'd barely said a word to each other aside from ‘Hi, my name is...’

After the comedy show we took a cab downtown to a bar. Again, I felt this weird compelling sensation to be near him. I was so upset when he insisted on taking the front seat in the cab because that meant I couldn't sit next to him. I kept shaking off the awkward, uncomfortable feeling that honestly felt really good, and just told myself to relax. We got to the next bar, got a few drinks and instantly started talking. Before we knew it an hour had passed and we had totally lost our friends. As our favorite 90s hits filled the room, we both started to dance and even went up to the DJ booth to request a song. I felt so happy, carefree that I completely lost control over what came out of my mouth next: ‘I have a crush on you,’ I told him with a shy smile. ‘I have a crush on you too,’ he replied. And then we had our first kiss. I was spinning and euphoric in every way. I texted my best friend that very night and said ‘I found my husband.’ And I had!”

3. Dana, 32

“The moment I realized he was The One came before we even started dating — I had a long time crush on him from work but didn't think he saw me beyond a co-worker. We ended up planning a day road trip to a Blink 182 concert in another city together and spent the day going on unexpected adventures — visiting his childhood home, going to Tijuana for an hour to visit a $1 wax museum. It all showed me how much I desperately liked him beyond a friend and I pictured a lifetime of fun beyond that day. Six years later, we just got married and our lives are filled with similar moments that remind me why he's my one.”

4. Meghan, 27

“You always kind of dream that every man is your soulmate at some point when you are dating after a certain age, but I had never known how sure that feeling was until I was dating my husband. We were dating for a couple months and nothing was too serious. His grandmother had extreme dementia and while we were out and about one day he needed to stop by her rest home for some reason. She was in bad shape but he sat there and talked to her, held her hand, and talked with all of her friends at the table. She had no idea who he was, but he would drive every week to have dinner with her. I knew if a man treated his grandmother this well, with such love and tenderness, the woman he would marry would be the luckiest women. I wanted to be that woman because I knew he was faithful and would stick it out...for better or for worse.”

5. Hannah, 26

“Ben and I met through a mutual friend. She invited us to see a movie, which is a terrible idea for a blind first date! We went and saw Cars and learned absolutely nothing about one another. The only thing I knew was that he was decent looking and had a super nice truck. Those were both important to my 18-year-old self. After that first date, we went out consistently for a few months.

We went to the Hickory Motor speedway to watch Coleman Pressley race. This was not at all my kind of night out but I was into this guy so I just went along with it. Before the race, we went through the drive-thru at a Wendy's. We parked at the race track to eat in the car before we went in.

To preface this moment, I have to go back to my previous relationship. It was a terrible and destructive one. As a Christian, I sought a godly man and the man prior to Ben was anything but that. I prayed for a godly man and promised to God that I would wait until he came around.

That night at the Hickory Motor Speedway, I discovered that I had found my godly man. Sometimes it is the simplest things that open our eyes. As I was chowing down on my French fries, Ben looked over and said, ‘Would you care if I asked the blessing?’ That's it, God. I'm done. This is the man for me! Four years, a million crocodile tears, mountains and valleys later, we said ‘I do.’”

6. Rochelle, 25

“I knew my husband was The One was the day that he volunteered to help pick my younger sister up from school, all on his own. My sister has special needs, and it really warmed my heart to know that he wanted to be another role model and positive influence that she could count on in her life!”

7. Jennifer, 28

“I had been writing letters to my future husband for 10 years, and when I wrote one after we had been dating for about three months, I addressed it ‘Dear Brad’ instead of just starting the letter. It just felt right.”

8. Whitney, 30

“I knew he was The One when he was cooking a ‘stay-at-home picnic’ before my new couch got delivered and Monsters INC was on TV. He knew every line. Disney love is true love!”

9. Melissa, 29

“I knew Kerry was the one I would never divorce when we both came down with the flu right after we got married. We had it bad. We could barely move. Coming out both ends. Couldn't take care of each other. Miserable. After battling the sickness for three days, I set the alarm on my phone, hoping I was well enough to go to work the next morning. The next morning the alarm went off and Kerry shot straight up in the bed; frightened. I woke up startled and started to peel back the covers. Kerry had heard the alarm and it literally scared the shit out of him. Diarrhea soaked to all corners of our king size bed and all over me. I helped him clean up, took a shower, went to work, and waited a week for his bruised ego to heal before I made fun of him. But thats when I realized if we could get through that much shit in the first month of marriage, we could get through whatever else came our way."

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