11 Real People Explain When They Knew They Would Marry Their Partner

As the saying goes, "when you know, you know." But in an age when you can land a date every night of the week with a swipe and a few taps on an app, how do you know when something is the real deal? To find out, we asked 11 real people when they first knew they would marry their partner. Here's what they had to say.

"Within the first month of dating, my husband and I stayed up all night talking and laughing until our stomachs hurt. I had never had so much to talk about with anyone, and I had rarely laughed so hard. And then I thought, You know what? I think I want to talk to this guy every day for the rest of my life." —Chloe, 35

"I knew I would be marrying my now-husband when we traveled to a beautiful town just south of Mexico City called Tepoztlán. It was to celebrate his birthday, and we had the entire spa and hotel to ourselves! The morning of his birthday, we watched one of the most beautiful sunrises over breakfast and deep conversation. It was then that I knew, after only two months of dating, that I would be marrying this man. Some believe in soul mates, some maybe not. My husband and I? We live it." —Sara, 33

"On our first date, my wife split a large pizza with me and never complained about being too full. She wanted that whole half to herself. That's how I knew we were meant to be. Turns out I was right." —Albert, 61

"Before I started dating my husband Todd, I had the most terrible boyfriend. I once ate a sandwich in his car, and he yelled at me for getting crumbs everywhere. After telling Todd that story, he handed me a bag of chips the next time I got in his car and said, 'Bring on the crumbs!' I never looked back." —Brenda, 50

"It was our second date. We were set up on a blind date on the first date, and I remember not being quite sure. He had a huge burly beard! And on our second date, he had shaved it quite down so I could see his face better. He was so cute. He kissed me good night, and that was it—I knew." —Kristin, 36

"She was the prettiest girl I'd ever seen. I said, 'Do you like basketball?' She said, 'Oh, I love basketball!' And then sat through tons of basketball games with me. One day she says, 'I can't take it anymore. I hate basketball, and I want you to know it.' I laughed so hard, and in that moment, I knew this was the girl for me. We were married a few months later." —Sid, 95

"It was the first time I went home with my now-fiancé for the holidays. I remember I kept looking over at her while she talked and laughed with her parents, and I still wasn't able to believe, even after 10 months together, that she had chosen me. That's when I knew I was going to marry her." —Brian, 30

"We were 19, and my now-husband told me he wanted to make things 'official.' I told him this was a bad day for us to have an anniversary because it was the anniversary of my favorite TV character's death. He didn't question it; he just agreed that we could make things official the following day. How could I let a guy like that go?!" —Nadia, 42

"This is the weirdest story, but my then-boyfriend lived in this awful apartment that felt like a prison cell, and I kept pestering him to add some color and put some art on the walls. One day I came over and he had hung up these hideous towels that he'd gotten for free at a baseball game. He thought it passed as art. I couldn't stop laughing, and somehow I knew this was the person for me." —Lily, 37

"After a string of the worst online dates that involved too many drinks at too many dive bars, this one guy messaged me to tell me he'd noticed I was a painter and asked if I want to meet up in Central Park and do some painting with him. He said he'd bring the watercolors. I remember thinking to myself, 'Is this the guy I'm going to marry?' It was." —Melanie, 38

"On our first date, I was trying to impress my now-wife by telling her fictional stories about all the places I'd traveled. Girls in the past had been impressed with it, so I thought it would work on her, too. Then she goes, 'I think you're lying. I don't think you've ever been to Japan, but I'd love to go with you sometime.' She had seen right through me! From then on, I knew I would marry her." —Eric, 43