How I Met My Husband…Online

Today when I tell people that I met Brian online it’s generally accepted. Lots of people meet online and develop relationships, but it wasn’t always so socially acceptable. Plenty of people thought it was a bit weird back in 2001-2002.

And better yet, we weren’t single at the time. No, no one was doing any cheating. Our timing was just all wrong… Or maybe it was perfectly right?

I was no stranger to meeting guys online. It was my preferred method throughout college. Sure, there were cute guys at my school and the bar, but online gives you a chance to get to know someone differently. And back then you didn’t always see a picture before meeting. Pictures were more common around the time I connected with Brian.

I was browsing Yahoo Personals and spotted an ad for a guy who sounded nice and funny. Right about that time Yahoo started to charge to use their service. My freebie days were over. Thankfully I was smarter than them. I made note of his username and located him via Yahoo Messenger.

Yep, I virtually walked straight up to him and started chatting.

It was quite friendly but I thought he was farther away from me so I did not try to meet up in real life. See, I was away at college and didn’t know southeast Wisconsin that well. It would be 6 months or so before I found out he was only 45 minutes away!

Our chats continued as friends. I was dating someone (a friend’s cousin) and Brian had a crush on a girl at work.

I helped him with this girl.

We gave each other advice for dealing with the significant others in our lives. Looking back its a bit crazy! Unfortunately, my boyfriend was the jealous type. He didn’t want me talking to any guys on or offline.

I had to start hiding from Brian online.

He’d spot me while I was playing on Yahoo Games. I felt horrible trying to virtually ditch him. Then our birthdays came up because they were within the next week. We discovered they were on the same day.

Fast forward a bit… I tried to help Brian win back his girl (not really sure why she broke up with him..something stupid as I remember). I was having issues with Chris and finally ended it. I tried to get Brian to talk on the phone more….he gave me his number but was sooo quiet. He was way more chatty online.

Then finally one day we talked about meeting….just as friends. You know, to hang out.

Since we were 45 minutes away from each other, we agreed to meet about halfway. That ended up being silly because we went back to his town. Anyway, we met up in the McDonald’s parking lot in Mequon. (Internet dating rule #1: Always meet in a public place.)

We chatted and assessed each other to not be weirdos before I got in his beat up truck for our non-date. He took me out for ice cream then we went bowling. After bowling we sat in the bar and talked for hours over a couple of nursed drinks. We will never forget the movie “Badlands” was on the TV. We couldn’t hear it in the bar so we made running commentary MST3K style.

Brian took me back to my car in the McDonald’s parking lot at 3am. A cop pulled up because we looked suspicious…hanging out and talking. He ran our driver’s licenses to check for warrants. It was a relief that the guy I was with was all clear!

We parted that night, planning to “hang out” again in the future…

How did you meet your significant other?

Now I’ll add to my list of reasons why I love my husband.

The first 13 reasons
14. His smile. It’s kind and sweet. I feel special when it’s meant for me.
15. His smirk. It’s so him and cute. I usually know what he’s thinking when I see it.
16. He’s quiet. Makes him the perfect compliment to my personality. We bring good balance to each other.
17. His taste in movies. I rarely have to worry about him picking something I won’t watch. We have a lot in common in this area.
18. He’s sweet. He truly is but doesn’t always know it. He has a way of tugging at my heart strings.

Darcy Zalewski

Darcy is the founder of “Life With Darcy and Brian,” where she combines her love for education, board games, and crafting to create engaging learning experiences for kids. Her creative projects and writing have been featured in outlets like The Toy Insider, CafeMom, Mom.com, Parents.com, Country Living, and The Pioneer Woman.