1. “We were hanging out and getting ready to call it a night. I was driving her back home and on the drive I already missed her. We hadn’t even said goodbye yet and I missed her. I’d never felt that way about another person.”
— Damian, 26
* * *
2. “When I get into fights with people, my immediate instinct is to bail. It’s like some part of me just shuts down and I need to escape. I’ve done it in previous relationships. It’s like I’m not invested enough to stick around the see the fight through. I just move on. And then I got into a huge fight with my current girlfriend. I was sick about it all afternoon. Nothing in me wanted to flee. I just wanted to fix things. I wanted to hug her and talk it out. That was huge for me.”
— Derek, 29
* * *
3. “Because I imagine her old with wrinkles and still want to get down and dirty.”
— Matthew, 25
* * *
4. “For me, it wasn’t some singular moment. It was a gradual building of things. She’s patient, kind, incredibly intelligent. The more I get to know her (even though we’ve been together almost seven years), the more I learn that I love. I want the opportunity to do that the rest of our lives.”
— Wesley, 32
* * *
5. “We were on a hike and she burped the loudest burp I’ve ever heard. Instead of acting embarrassed, she laughed and extended her hand to high-five me. That’s when I knew I wanted to marry her.”
— Sandy, 27
* * *
6. “It was like the day I met her. I was so enamored with her. I had never seen a human being glow like that before.”
— Kraig, 30
* * *
7. “She showed up to my house wearing lingerie with a shit ton of tacos. Dream woman.”
— Adam, 28
* * *
8. “We actually broke up for almost a year. I tried dating other people, but I just kept coming back to her. No one else compared. It was miserable. I’d come home from a date and feel pathetic because she was the only one I wanted to be with. Thank God we found our way back to each other.”
— Blake, 31
* * *
9. “It’s in the way she touches me. Not just sexually. I just want her near me always.”
— Gabriel, 25
* * *
10. “I lost my job unexpectedly. I was so stressed out and probably not the easiest person to live with. But she remained my rock. She stood by my side through it all and never made me feel emasculated or ashamed. She couldn’t have been more understanding and supportive. I don’t think I would have gotten through it without her. And that’s when I knew we could get through anything.”
— Chris, 35
* * *
11. “He worked really hard to establish a good relationship with my family. I’m very close to my parents and siblings and he knew that. He has individual relationships with all of them and it’s so thoughtful. He knows it’s important to me. And he makes such an effort.”
— Graham, 28
* * *
12. “I knew it the first time we kissed.”
— Zackary, 23
* * *
13. “We traveled all over together. They say you really know someone when you travel and it is so true. You see the worst in people. And I was still crazy about her even when we were mean and sleep deprived.”
— Justin, 29 
