В Инстаграм има едно много специално място, посветено на истинската любов - не розовите мелодрами от филмите и сериалите, а тази която устоява на всичко в живота. "The Way We Met" е специално създаден профил, който представя красиви любовни истории от цял свят - красиви, именно защото са истински. Бруклин Шърман е мозъкът зад идеята, в която може да се включи всеки с вълнуваща интимна история - вижте любимите ни от снимките по-долу, както и повече в сайта на проекта, които вече има близо 400 000 последователи в социалната мрежа.

 

"I met my husband Pete in college. His sister, Nancy, was my roommate in the dorms and I noticed a picture she had of Pete on her bulletin board. I told Nancy I thought he was cute and she insisted on setting us up on a date. That was 34 years ago and we've been inseparable ever since. I'm an interior designer and Pete is an engineer. Our unique skill sets and talents have made us an incredible team. We've built our marriage upon faith and family. We raised three amazing children together who are now married and have their own families. We treasure every minute we get to spend with them and our two grand babies (and a third one on the way!) Throughout the years, Pete and I have always shared this little tradition- we take walks together several nights a week with our black lab, Maddie. This is just one of the ways we continue to invest in our marriage. We have always wanted our children to see how committed we are to each other. What our future generation needs to see is more inspiring examples of couples who have made their marriages work long-term and still love each other."

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"It's not a phase, you don't just grow out of it, and you CAN still be feminine." These are just a few things Megan & Whitney want the world to understand about being LGBTQ women. They were recently the first lesbian couple to be featured on UK's Say Yes to the Dress & are on a mission to continue breaking down stereotypes. "I think in recent years there's been more acceptance, but there's still a stigma towards gay women," said Whitney. The couple originally met on MySpace over 10 years ago, but being that they had 2 oceans and a continent between them, it would be years before they met in person. Megan is originally from Windsor, England, while Whitney was born & raised in Corbin, Kentucky. "As if distance wasn't a big enough obstacle, add in the fact that I'm from a small Christian town in the South that's very closed-minded." said Whitney. The couple shared similar experiences with coming out to their families at such a young age. "Both of our moms did not react well." Said Megan. "My mom made negative comments about gay people so I was extremely nervous to tell her. It took her a few years to come around, but she LOVES Whitney." Whitney also received initial backlash from her mom: "For me it was a little different because I'm the only child. My mom worried that it would be a hard life for me- but at the end of the day, she wants me to be happy." In 2008, Whitney moved to London to study abroad for a semester, & that's when the two finally met in person. "It was Whitney's first weekend here. We walked around London for hours just talking & drinking to settle our nerves, and later that night we shared our first kiss," said Megan. 2 weeks later, Megan & Whitney were officially a couple. 4 years later while in Hawaii, Megan proposed and Whitney said yes. Finally, in 2012, after one rejected VISA, Whitney's second VISA got approved & she was able to permanently move to the UK. The couple shared an intimate ceremony to celebrate their civil partnership. Now, with the legalization of same-sex marriage in the states, they're set to have their dream wedding this September in California. "We're living our happily ever after & hope to inspire others to do the same."

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"After 9 years of being in a relationship with a man I cared deeply about, he proposed and I said yes. I remember in that moment feeling overjoyed. After all, I was 31 at the time, and after 9 years of being in a relationship with someone, marriage felt like the natural progression. I truly never imagined that 6 months later, I would be giving back the ring. But when planning our wedding went from exciting to a chore neither of us enjoyed, I think we both knew our issues ran much deeper than flower arrangements and cake flavors. So we agreed to call off our wedding and go our separate ways. I never knew what "soulmate" love felt like or if I even believed in such a thing, but I did know that I always felt like something was missing in that relationship. I knew I was settling for mediocrity, when I really wanted magical love. Fast forward 2 years later... I went out for the night in Vancouver with two of my other single girlfriends. We had a few drinks beforehand and joked about how one of us needed to meet our husband that night. Well I guess the universe was listening, because at the end of the evening as we were headed to get late-night, I spotted Daniel walking down the street. The energy between us was palpable. As I got closer, something came over me and I yelled out, "Where have you been all my life?" We bantered back and forth for a few minutes and then he took down my number. I wasn't thrilled when Daniel made me wait a whole week before he called, but he explained later it was because he was scared. He knew this was going to be something big and he was still guarded. Turns out, Daniel had also just ended a 10 year relationship prior to meeting me, after his ex-wife cheated on him. The night he called, he invited me over for wine on his patio and we got lost in conversation for hours. He asked me to dance and we danced until I fell asleep in his arms. The next morning I woke up and heard "Beautiful, what would you like for breakfast?" He gave me the kind of attention and affection I had always longed for. On our second date, he said, "Listen, I have no interest in seeing anyone else. Will you be mine?" I was ecstatic! I finally found my magical love."

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"Hutch and I both come from parents who got engaged after only 3 months of dating. As fate would have it, Hutch and I followed suit and also got engaged after just 3 months of knowing each other. We met at a climbing gym in San Clemente, CA. He's a marine and happened to be stationed there, living a block away from me. Hutch never got to meet my mom. She passed away 3 years ago from a rare form of cancer. Hutch knew how deeply saddened I was that my mother wouldn't be here during some of my most important moments in life. So on my mother's birthday, Hutch proposed at her memorial park bench in Redondo Beach. He proposed with the ring she wore for 25 years. He wanted me to feel like my mom was part of our special day and there celebrating with us." SWIPE TO THE NEXT PICTURE "35 years ago these two lovebirds walked down the aisle. This picture was taken of my mom and dad when they were 20 & 19- a few months before they got married. My dad saw my mom do a flip off the boat into the ocean in Catalina and said, "I'm going to marry that woman!" A year later, he did just that."

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"I come from a divorced family, so by age 9 I made up my mind that all I wanted to do was travel, take in all the world has to offer, and perhaps find the Stedman to my Oprah some day. Marriage and kids? Out of the question! Well... life had different plans for me. I met my now husband, Nenad, at our unconventional workplace- a cruise ship! I was an entertainer at the time and had just walked onto my second ship. I was seated in the welcome meeting when Nenad walked in. He was tall, tan, very in shape, and had the most piercing green eyes I’d ever seen. I was immediately taken by him but was way too nervous to say anything. Little did I know, I caught his attention too and he was just as nervous to speak up. After months of passing each other in the hallways with awkward smiles, hellos, and “how are you’s?”, we finally worked up the courage to talk to each other at a party held just for crew members. After that night, we essentially became inseparable. We decided to stay together and do another contract sailing the seven seas. 8 months later we surprised everyone by getting married at our dream destination in St. Thomas, USVI! It was just the 2 of us, our mothers who watched it all via Skype, and a random vacationer on the beach who kept walking by and snapping photos of our big day. We laughed quite a bit about that. It was easily the best, sweetest day of my life. Nearly 3 years later, we have found our land legs. I am still traveling and having amazing adventures, but with the most incredible man by my side. I think 9 year old me would be very proud."

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"Coming out was a long and painful process that took me many years. I first had to admit it to myself before I could admit it to those closest to me. I was a Mormon in a heterosexual marriage with children, so I had a lot at stake and a lot to sort through. I certainly did not want to be selfish, but I knew that by staying in the closet (and my marriage) I was depriving myself the opportunity to grow and connect with others in a more meaningful way. I was also keeping others, including my kids, from knowing the real me. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life without expressing my true self or without ever experiencing the love of another man. When I did finally come out, it was difficult to do it in a way that was loving and sensitive to those I care about, but it's a decision I've never regretted. Not long after my divorce, I decided to download a dating app for the first time. It took me a mere 5 minutes before I swiped through all the men in my small town of Northern Utah. However, 85 miles away in Salt Lake City, Rob had just expanded his dating radius to see what other options were out there. We matched, sent a few flirty texts, and then agreed to meet halfway for wings and beer. We fell for each other quickly and started spending every weekend driving back and forth between our two homes. Rob knew when we started dating that the kids came as a packaged deal. Even though it wasn't something he was fully prepared for, he stepped up to the plate and has been a great second dad to our boys. We love being dad's. We feel it's important for others to see regular gay people as parents in order to break down stereotypes and false perceptions. We hope we can inspire others who want to be parents but don't want to give up another part of their identity. We realize we were lucky and our kids came into our lives much easier than it does for others, but we live in a time where there are more options now for same sex couples to start a family. The bottom line is, to anyone reading this who might be living their life inauthentically: Free yourself. Gay, straight, or otherwise- we all deserve to live our truth and be loved for it." (