Let’s hear some stories from the thready-verse about how you guys met your significant other.
For me it was during the first year of COVID, my company asked who from Europe (I was living in Sweden) wanted to go for a three month business trip to coach a big Korean automotive supplier on how to do modern software development. Most of the other people had families and especially during COVID nobody wanted to travel. I said I could do it, even though I never coached before. But because nobody else volunteered they sent me and and another guy who also was single without a family, etc.
I was convinced that the other guy would have good game with the women here, and thought that there is no harm in installing some international dating app and to try my own luck. During COVID I just lost a ton of weight and found new confidence and it was far away from home and what happens in Korea stays in Korea and so on :D
Anyway, to my surprise during the first two weeks I got some matches and I hit it off with one of them. We met and started dating and very quickly fell for each other. Then when the 3 months were over, I asked the company if the customer would still have some use for my skills and they said yes and send me for 3 more months. I had to go back to Sweden to get a new Visa and spent another 2 weeks in quarantine (as the first time). But then the second tree months were over too and I asked again for more. By that time I was really sick of all the time in quarantine and asked if they could move me from the Swedish office to the Korean office and they agreed.
I went back to Sweden, threw away most of my stuff and put the most valuable things up on a friends attic and moved to Korea with one suitcase. I stayed at AirBnB’s for two more months and then we found an apartment and moved in together.
She has a daughter from a previous marriage and we now have a 1.5 year old son together and we still live in Korea :D
So I was between relationships, hanging out with a friend, dropping her off at work when one of her coworkers catches my eye. I ask my friend who she is, and she laughs and says she’s in a long-term relationship. I laugh and move on.
Later on, I try to call my friend at her work, and this lady picks up the phone. I’m in a good mood, I flirt with her a bit and hang up once I’ve gotten the info about my friend.
Months after all that, I’m renting out a room and this friend refers her coworker who just broke up with her boyfriend. She moves in, engages in some rebound activity, and we hang out a bit. I determine I’m interested in her and she’s interested in me, but I’ve been dating someone for a while. This relationship is only a few months old, and it’s reminding me of my first marriage. I break it off and have sex with my roommate on what could charitably be called our first date. Within 6 months she stops having her own room.
We proceed to blow past a number of other red flags, and have now been together for about 14 years, married for 7.
I told (and tell) my kids that we did everything wrong in starting a relationship, but it worked out in spite of it