17 Women Share the Moment They Knew Their Person Was The One

If there’s one moment in life that most romantics look forward to—aside from walking down the aisle to the love of their life—it is most certainly the moment that they know their person is “the one.” 

At certain points in life, it can feel like this moment just may never happen, especially if you’ve gone on your share of dead-end dates. But, when the right person comes along and the right moment strikes you, you know, for sure, that certain things in life are meant to be. 

While this moment might look and feel different for each person who experiences it, and not all people truly “know” in a single instant, these experiences make for the sweetest stories for years and years to come. 

In honor of love in all its different shapes and forms, we asked real women to share the very special moment they knew that their partner was the one they wanted to spend the rest of their life with.

"He showed up with Pedialyte, saltine crackers, and carpet cleaner for my son.”

“After my divorce, I was a single mom with a baby, and I was anxious about dating again. I met an amazing man named Louis through work, On our third date, he was going to bring dinner to my house. Once he was on his way, my baby got sick and threw up all over me. I called Louis to tell him to go home and I would have to reschedule our date. But, he showed up with Pedialyte, saltine crackers, and carpet cleaner for my son, and dinner with chocolate ice cream for me. I knew he was the real deal and someone who could handle my life even when it got messy! We were married October 25th, 2020.” — Sara T. from Charleston, South Carolina

"He helped me through one of the hardest times of my life—and loved me through it."

“I was 28 and was diagnosed with melanoma on the back of my head, while also going through a job change. My fiancé went with me to my surgery, took me home after, washed my hair for me, fed me as I was very weak from blood loss, and helped me regain my strength by taking me on gentle neighborhood walks. He also updated my parents to let them know I was okay. Having someone like this who loved me even when things were really hard made me realize he was the one for me. Dating can be magical and perfect, but it's the imperfect times that reveal someone's character and ability to be self-sacrificing." — Amanda H. from New York, New York

"We wanted to be together all the time."

“I knew my husband was the one when we were both preparing to go out of town (on separate trips) at the same time and we both acted as if we wanted to cancel our respective plans and just be together. This was only four months into our dating phase and every time we would meet up, we'd close the restaurant down and walk out with the staff at the end of the night.” — Marsha A. from Atlanta, Georgia 

"He had just planned our first getaway together.”

“We had briefly talked about our love for hiking and I had gone once before. But, after only a month of dating, he threw in the idea of going away together. I was so crazed with work that I couldn’t even fathom thinking of planning a weekend getaway, but he took the reins, booked the Airbnb, found the area to hike, looked up restaurants and breweries I would like, and took care of the whole thing. The moment I realized he was the one was at the summit of our hike. He took out a bottle of champagne and an entire bottle of Aperol, knowing that I love Aperol Spritzes. He carried all of our water, snacks, and the surprise without complaining or giving it away. It was the little details throughout the trip and his memory of knowing what I love. The rest of it is history! We're planning for our wedding, March 2022.” — Selena Y. from New York, New York

"We had a connection right off the bat.”

“We went to a rooftop bar in Manhattan and spent hours getting to know each other and talking. He even says I saved him that night when he was choking on the peanut snacks that were at the table, and I quickly and assertively asked the waitress for water. For our second date, I went all the way up to the Bronx to meet him and said I was one of the first to offer to do that! That's when he said he knew I was the one. After the third date, he met my identical twin sister and they meshed immediately. The rest is history!” — Danielle D. from the Bronx, New York

"He never irritates me—really.”

“I've been married for nearly nine years and with the same man for nearly 14 years. I knew he was the one I wanted to marry two months into dating. I knew after I realized he didn't irritate me at all (even after spending a week together on vacation). He just balances me out. We bicker from time to time now, but we haven't fought.” — Kristin M., from New York, New York

"I knew Mike was ‘the one’ the moment I saw him!”

I saw Mike in a grocery store on my way out and I was immediately drawn to him. As soon as I walked out of the store, I was overcome with a feeling that I had to go back inside and meet him. I listened to my intuition, went back in the store to find him, and introduced myself! That was in 2010. We have been in love for over a decade and are getting married this New Years Eve! As a matchmaker and relationship expert, I always tell my clients to listen to their instincts. Sometimes you just feel something in your gut and you have to trust that! I'm glad that I followed my own advice!" — Amber A. from Richmond, Virginia

"He came by with a toy for my cat, so he 'wouldn't feel forgotten about.'"

"My husband and I were acquaintances for several years through my best friend and ended up dating after her wedding. I had my guard up with him for a few months after a horrible breakup I went through about a year prior. About six months into our relationship, I adopted a second cat. Justin came by with a new toy for my first cat so that he ‘wouldn’t feel forgotten about.’ That was the moment I knew he was the one! It meant so much, especially because my ex used to tell me I would need to get rid of my cat if we ever got married, and here Justin was embracing him instead.” — Desiree B. from Batavia, Illinois

"It was simply love at first sight."

“I never bought into the notion of ‘love at first sight,’ but I have no other explanation for how my husband and I met because from that moment I knew. We were only 18 at the time, so that indescribable feeling of magnetic attraction I felt had to be destiny. I knew somehow, someway from that moment on, he would be in my life. We grew up in different states, but met on a Mediterranean cruise while vacationing separately with our families. We tried to sneak away and spend as much time together as possible before exchanging phone numbers and AOL names. We stayed up late and talked for hours almost everyday for the next year living far apart from each other before planning to go to the same college together. There were breakups while we were in college, but something always kept bringing us back to each other. Fast forward 17 years later and we are happily married with two kids celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary this summer.” - Michelle W. from Palm Beach, Florida

"I knew from the very first phone call.”

“My husband was a stranger to me, as we met on a blind date. But, I knew from our first phone call that he was the one for me. I had crafted a list years prior of the qualities in a spouse that were most important to me and at the top of my list was ‘a good listener.’ I could tell before even meeting him in person that he was a good listener from our initial phone call and so I went into the date with a great feeling. Turns out that great feeling was a hunch that led me to make the best decision of my life!” - Rivka S. from Baltimore, MD

"After a grueling day at work, he left a Chick-Fil-A gift card under my windshield wiper.”

“My husband and I met when we were in college, but we also shared the same hometown. When I was home one summer, I worked the typical fashion retail job, but there was one day that was especially grueling. There were people that hadn't come in for their shift, so I ended up pulling back-to-back days of over eight hours standing and running around with not much time to have a proper meal. Of course, I shot my husband (then boyfriend) a text about the exhausting day, and how I barely had enough time to eat. When I left to go home that night, I saw a Chick-Fil-A gift card under one of my windshield wipers. It was accompanied with a sweet note, and as silly as it might sound, I knew right then he was the one. We had only been dating for a few months, and he not only listened, but he knew I hadn't been able to eat much and wanted to make sure my needs were met. We still laugh about it to this day, and of course still eat a lot of Chick-Fil-A.” — Lindsay F. from Charlotte, North Carolina

"He brought a third piece of cake—for my roommate.”

“I knew my fiance was the one already a month after we started dating. It was my birthday and he brought me cake. At the time, I was living with a roommate and, instead of bringing only two pieces of the cake for us, he brought three pieces—one for my roommate. I was blown away by this simple gesture! This is when I saw, for the first time, that he was a person that puts others before themselves, and I wanted to have this kind of person in my life for good.” — Rebecca D. from Zagreb, Croatia

"I knew I loved my husband at 15 years old.”

“I had just performed in the high school fall chorus concert, but snuck into the auditorium with my best friend to watch my now-husband play piano in the jazz band. I will never forget that moment. Even though I can't remember the song he was playing, he had perfect posture, dedication, focus, and such ease when creating something so beautiful. I leaned over to my friend and said ‘I'm going to marry him one day.’ She laughed at me. That was 2003. Now, we have two amazing boys, a pesky shepherd mix, and will be married for 10 years next May. To this day, I feel that amazingly giddy feeling when I watch him play piano.” — Ronnie K. from Rhode Island

"The moment I knew Chelsea was the one was the same moment she knew.”

“After our first (failed) attempt at dating, we decided to attempt a friendship nine months later. We had both come out of the closet later in life and were desperate for queer friends. However, just four days after attempting to grow this new friendship, we were in a wine shop and Chelsea decided to grab a lone feather duster sitting on the shelf. She danced around the wine store dusting off every bottle while I giggled hysterically. We had our first kiss that same night and have been together ever since." — Mia I. from Brooklyn, New York

"He not only cared for me, but for the ones I love as well.”

“My dad doesn’t cook and my mom was sick with interstitial lung disease while we were at my family’s home for Thanksgiving a few years ago. It was a sad reality for my family to face, but, without hesitation, Chase took charge of the entire operation. He jumped into action to help me buy groceries, cook, and clean in order to make Thanksgiving happen for my family. While he had never cooked a turkey, he went full-chef mode and was dedicated to making it a special day—and he did. My family was so thankful. I recall my mom leaning over to me to say, ‘You’re so lucky you have Chase. He saved the day.’ My family means the world to me and when I saw him take such genuine care of them, it just made me envision our future together and our own family at Thanksgiving. It was at that moment I knew he was the one." — Mikaela F. from Portland, Oregon

"I knew he would take me as I am—just a girl who loves burgers.”

“After trying my best at online dating, I was throwing in the towel and giving up on love. I cancelled my membership and was waiting out my last couple days when I received a message asking to meet for coffee. At that point, I was more interested in the free coffee than the date. Once I arrived at the coffee shop and saw him, he had this dashing smile and friendly demeanor that made me want to be around him. We drank coffee and he asked if I was hungry. I definitely was. There was a burger place next door that we went to and as most men would, he expected me to order a salad. Not me—give me the biggest burger! He was surprised and amused by my order. As we sat there and I devoured my burger, he looked at me with pure delight. At this moment, I knew he would take me as I am—just a girl who loves burgers. We have been together since.” — Brittany G. from Scottsdale, Arizona

"The first time I laid eyes on my husband, I knew he was the one.”

“I was at a New Year’s Eve party and knew I wanted to go over to introduce myself. But, because I was really shy, I didn’t know how I was going to approach him. Luckily I was with a friend at the time who volunteered to walk over with me. As I took the first step, my mind was racing. What was I going to say and would he be remotely interested in talking to me? There I was, next to him and his friends. He welcomed my presence and was happy that I came over. After talking for a few minutes, it was confirmation: I was going to marry this man. After talking for a few minutes, we danced the night away and we’ve been together 27 years.” — Lisa AM from Toronto, Ontario