Life

These 25 Power Couples Who Met On Dating Apps Are Proof Love Isn't Dead

by Laken Howard
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When you've been single and online dating for a long time, it's easy to get frustrated and feel like you're never going to find a real relationship online. The good news? That feeling of despair is totally unwarranted, because happy couples meet on dating apps all the time. To prove this fact to the more cynical online daters out there, relationship-focused dating app Hinge rounded up the most adorable, swoon-worthy date stories from 25 happy couples who met on the app.

"Our goal at Hinge is to help our Members create meaningful connections, starting on the app but also beyond it on dates and IRL," says Olivia Abramowitz, Hinge's VP of Marketing. "By showcasing a few amazing Hinge couples and the meaningful, often unconventional, dates they went on, we hope to inspire our single Members to put themselves out there and go on unique and noteworthy dates to start their own relationship journeys."

If you need a little romantic inspiration, here are 25 real power couples from dating app Hinge, whose memories from their most meaningful dates are proof that it's totally possible to find true love on a dating app. (Just make sure you aren't suffering from dating app burnout, because that will really hinder your romantic success.)

1Lizzie & Chris

Courtesy of Hinge

Chris and Lizzie are a married couple who had their first date at a bar in New York — after which Chris walked Lizzie to a cab, totally forgetting to pay the bill. Lizzie is a Manager of Instruction for the General Assembly and Chris is a Senior Counsel at Blue Apron.

2Alex & Dylan

Courtesy of Hinge

Alex and Dylan are a couple from San Francisco who recently got engaged in front of a crowd of 50 people (!) on a trip to Greece. Dylan is an Emergency Room Physician and Alex is a Head of Partnerships and Account Management.

3Pietro & Rachel

Courtesy of Hinge

Pietro and Rachel are a married couple from LA who once spent a date night at the museum (no, really) when they went to the first-ever sleepover for adults at the American Museum of Natural History in NYC. Rachel is Associate Principal Counsel at Marvel Studios and Pietro is an Attorney at Proskauer Rose LLP.

4Merary & Jon

Courtesy of Hinge

Merary and Jon are a married couple from Nairobi, Kenya, but their most meaningful date took place in NYC: they went to Governor's Island, where Jon taught Merary how to ride a bike. Merary is the Vice President of HR at Andela and Jon is the Director of Finance at Sun Culture.

5Jessica & Peter

Courtesy of Hinge

Jessica and Peter are a married couple from NYC who once spent a whole day recreating the details of their first five dates. Peter is a Senior Vice President at Simulmedia and Jessica is a Director at Unilever.

6Chelsea & Tom

Courtesy of Hinge

Chelsea and Tom are a married couple from NYC whose third date involved Tom surprising Chelsea with his affinity for karaoke. Tom (CFA, CPA) is an Associate at Building and Land Technology, and Chelsea (CPA) is a Tax Manager at KPMG LLP.

7Sarah & Ryuk

Courtesy of Hinge

They're now married, but at the beginning of their relationship, Ryuk took Sarah to a Korean BBQ restaurant and told her how he'd grown up eating at places like that with his family. Sarah is a Senior Associate, Foundation & Government Relations at New York City Ballet, and Ryuk is an Associate at Morgan Stanley Investment Banking Division.

8Chelsea & Evan

Courtesy of Hinge

Chelsea and Evan live together now, but when they first met on Hinge, they kicked their conversation off with the controversial cat versus dog debate. (They're planning to get one of each: a cat named Barnes and a dog named Noble.) Chelsea is the Co-founder of SMITH & STARR and Evan is a Product Analyst at Pandora.

9Elton & Erica

Courtesy of Hinge

Erica and Elton — who live together now — went on three dates in a week because they liked each other so darn much...swoon. Elton is Head of Sales at Suiteness and Erica is a Commodities Origination Manager at DTE Energy Trading.

10Ricki & Josh

Courtesy of Hinge

Ricki and Josh are an engaged couple from Philadelphia planning their upcoming wedding in May of 2018. Josh is an MD/PhD student at University of Pennsylvania and Ricki is a Pediatric Hospitalist.

11Marisa & Chris

Courtesy of Hinge

Marisa and Chris are an engaged couple from Chicago, who met on Hinge three and a half years ago — and are now expecting a baby girl! Marisa is Director of Marketing at BCV and Chris is Director at Alix Partners.

12Paul & Catherine

Courtesy of Hinge

Paul and Catherine are both former college athletes who share a passion for exercise — and eating. They now live together in NYC, where Paul is a Finance Associate at Point72 Asset Management and Catherine is a Legal Recruiter at Freshfields, Bruckhaus and Deringer.

13Mitchel & Rachel

Courtesy of Hinge

Rachel and Mitchel are a married couple from Jersey City, NJ, who once spent July 4th weekend in Wyoming, where Rachel was working on a family farm for two months. Mitchel is an Attorney at Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP and Rachel is a Nutrition and Physical Activity Coordinator at Bronx Health REACH/Institute for Family Health.

14Erin & Ross

Courtesy of Hinge

Erin once jokingly invited her now-fiancé, Ross, to a Saturday a.m. Zumba class — but he actually showed up, ready to work out. Erin is a Buyer and Ross is a Consultant.

15Jennifer & Henry

Courtesy of Hinge

Jennifer and Henry went on their first date — drinks at a local craft brewery — on the same day they matched on Hinge. Jennifer is a UX Designer at HomeAdvisor and Henry is the Owner of Denver Motorcycle Shop.

16Kelsey & Evan

Courtesy of Hinge

Evan proposed to Kelsey on their first date, and now it looks like the couple (who currently live together in NYC) will actually take a trip to the altar someday. Kelsey is a Global Merchandising Manager at Coach and Evan is an Ad Sales Planner at A&E Networks.

17Alex & Anthony

Courtesy of Hinge

For their first date, Alex and Anthony strolled around NYC's West Village and shared some delicious Italian desserts. Alex works in eCommerce Strategy at PepsiCo and Anthony does Application Sales at Oracle Marketing Cloud.

18Ali & Cole

Courtesy of Hinge

In their first year of dating, Cole sent Ali on a Chipotle run, just so he could sneakily set up an outdoor movie theater in the yard. Cole is a Recruiter at Insight Global and Ali is a Marketing Manager at Gander Outdoors.

19Jay & Rachel

Courtesy of Hinge

This now-married couple from Arlington, Virginia, formed a deep bond while dating: Jay — who went through cancer at age 13 — felt that Rachel, a pediatric oncology nurse, would be able to truly understand him.

20Arielle & Hugh

Courtesy of Hinge

Arielle and Hugh, an engaged couple from Washington, D.C., bonded over their shared love of bourbon on their first date (which was also Arielle's first-ever Hinge date). Hugh is a Senior Project Manager at IBM and Arielle is a Digital Strategist at Well and Lighthouse, LLC.

21Craig & Paul

Courtesy of Hinge

This married couple from Boston had a super expensive first date: after they'd had a few too many cocktails, Craig ordered pasta with lobster to soak up the alcohol — and TBH, who can blame her? Paul is CFO at Soundtrack Group, Boston office and Craig is a Luxury Real Estate Agent.

22Simon & Mona

Courtesy of Hinge

They're married now, but when they were dating, Simon impressed Mona by inviting her over for dinner — and making fresh, homemade pasta instead of ordering takeout. Simon is Senior Manager of Data Science for United Airlines and Mona is a Dermatologist.

23Tara & Craig

Courtesy of Hinge

This NYC couple's favorite date memory is almost too cute: Craig won Tara over when he visited her in the hospital when she got sick, and he even brought her M&Ms. Tara is a Dental Student and Craig does Finance/Sales and Trading at Baycrest.

24Lauren & Brent

Courtesy of Hinge

This now-engaged couple's second date sealed the deal: Brent invited Lauren over for BBQ, and even invited some of his friends to meet her. Lauren is an Account Manager at Omega Scientific, Inc. and Brent is a Sales Manager at USAopoly.

25Janelle & Nicholas

Courtesy of Hinge

Nicholas impressed Janelle early on: for their third date, he made homemade pizza for Janelle as a nod to their Italian roots. Nicholas is a Senior Art Director at FCB and Janelle is an Account Manager at Conversant.

Whether you believe in the idea of "The One" or not, these success stories are at least proof positive that dating apps aren't just a hookup zone. And if these cute date stories didn't warm your heart even the slightest bit, then you might be a little too cynical.