1. “I was so nervous to say it. I thought it was way too early, and that she’d think I was crazy or obsessed, but I knew the way I felt about her. It got to the point where I basically couldn’t hold it in any longer so I just said it. We weren’t doing anything important, it wasn’t on a holiday, or a monthly anniversary, or her birthday, the only thing that made that night memorable was the fact that it was the first time I told her I loved her.” —Jeremy, 25

2. “We were at her sister’s wedding. She was a bridesmaid so I was in the crowd with all the other guests and when they were saying their vows and talking about love and what love means, I just looked at her standing up there and thought about how I feel all of those things every time I’m with her. So I said it that night, and it was perfect.” —Chris, 25

3. “She was going away for a couple of weeks on vacation with her family, and I kept thinking about how much I was going to miss her, and as morbid as this sounds, I just kept thinking, shit if anything happens to her on the plane and I never get to say it, I’m going to live the rest of my life wishing I would’ve, so I did.” —Tim, 24

4. “We were watching a movie together, not embarrassed to admit it was Pitch Perfect. She said something about wishing she had Anna Kendrick’s skinny legs, and I told her that I loved her the way she is. And then she looked at me like ‘did you just say the L word?!’ so I just came out and said it full-on, ‘I love you.’ So yes, the first time I said, ‘I love you’ to my girlfriend was when we were watching some chick flick about an all girls a cappella group.” —Greg, 25

5. “It’s one of those we have been on and off for 3 years but never actually dated, and it was right after we made it official so I was worried it was too soon. The first time I told her was when I woke up before her after a night together and whispered it to her while she was sleeping next to me. She still doesn’t know I said it. I said it because just looking at her while she slept was the most beautiful thing to me and I knew that I loved her. I did before we were dating.” —JJ, 24

6. “We had been dating for about 6 months and we were sitting in a dog park (with her dog) and she said ‘I love this dog so much,’ and I just kinda stupidly blurted it out because I had been feeling it and wanting to say it for so long, but never knew how. So when I heard the word ‘love’ even though she was talking about her dog, I just said it. She thought she misheard me at first and I said it again to reassure her I actually said it, and meant it.” —Martin, 25

7. “We were laying in bed after a night of cooking dinner together, and even though we both knew we had to wake up early for work the next morning we couldn’t stop talking. At first we were just talking about stupid stuff, but then we started talking about the day we first met, and how happy we were that that day happened. And then I told her how much I cared about her, and I said it. And she said it back.” —Daniel, 28

8. “It was the weekend before her birthday, and we were celebrating with all of her friends the night before so naturally there was lots of drinking. I know she loves to have donuts for breakfast when she’s hungover, so that morning I got up to get them before she woke up. I left her a note telling her where I went, and I decided to sign it with ‘I love you.’ So I guess technically I wrote it first, but when I got home she was awake and she clearly read the note, and she told me she loved me too. It was a great morning, one of the best ones I’ve ever had.” —Nate, 26

9. “I first told him when he took me to meet his family. My parents don’t agree with my sexuality, so it was extremely emotional for me to be accepted by his, and I just felt it. I knew I loved him, and I knew it was the right moment to say it.” —Tyler, 25

10. “She brought me along on her family vacation, and the entire week we had so much fun together, all of us, not just me and her. And I had known I loved her for a little while, but I just never knew when to say it. It was a perfect time, we were happy, we were relaxed, and she was with her family, so I told her, and I didn’t have to think about how to say it or what exactly to say, I just said it. It was simple and it just felt right.” —Ray, 27

11. “It got to the point where she basically meant the world to me, and I thought I should let her know. And that’s exactly what I said, that she meant the world to me and that I loved her, because it was true, and it was how I felt.” —Mark, 26