One of my very favorite kinds of stories is a how we met story, when romantic partners describe the moment they connected.

And it's not just the spark or the chemistry that makes these stories powerful, even though those are great.

It's about all the factors that had to line up to bring these two people together.

These days, those factors often include an algorithm.

A dating app shows you someone and you feel something and go from there.

But also, uh, dating apps, they can be a slog.

And there does seem to be a growing push these days for offline

dating experiences. I keep hearing more and more about running clubs or speed dating events or just the

people who are deleting their dating apps and have decided to move through the world optimistically

looking out for romance wherever it shows up.

But we know offline dating, it's not always a picnic either. Where do you go to look? How do you know

who's really available? There's a lot of letting go and leaving those things up to fate.

This week, we asked you to share those kinds of stories about

meeting in real life and falling in love, and we fell absolutely head over heels for your responses.

I met my now wife about 10 years ago at a concert in San Francisco.

My now husband and I met actually through softball.

Brandon, I met at his family's little tiny dive resort in the Bahamas.

We met at my friend's birthday at a club.

It's very cliche.

I am a sound recordist in film, and she's an actress. And I

remember I first saw her, and she was wearing this beautiful red dress and this black wig. She was so

beautiful. When I saw him, I just felt this recognition. I felt like I knew him already.

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