Knowing you've found the perfect person to be your other half isn't always extremely clear in the moment.
Life is funny that way. Even when the perfect thing is sitting right in front of you, you don't always know it. Sometimes it's not until later when the moment is gone that you can finally realize how badly you missed an opportunity.
Luckily, sometimes life gives you a second chance.
I think it's safe to say that a good handful of us all have someone who "got away" from us, someone that slipped by at some point in the past. Maybe we were too young at the time, or maybe there were other things happening at that point in our lives that were fogging our judgement, and true love got away.
These 12 stories of people getting a second chance with their "one that got away" are proof that there really is no telling what can happen in life. Sometimes it works out, and sometimes you finally realize that you made the right decision all of those years ago. These stories certainly vary in whether rediscovering an old flame led to love or disaster.
Do you ever think of the "one that got away" in your own life? Why not try SHARING on Facebook to see if they're thinking of you as well?
1.
"I moved away from the area but would always think of him and how I had never known another guy like him.
"Seven years later I had moved back to the area. I was moving into a new house and when I was going through some papers I found the piece of paper I had originally taken his phone number down on. I decided what the hell and called the number. To my surprise it was still his number and he picked up the phone!
"He was also happy to hear from me and we hung out that night. It was just the same as before, minus all the baggage. We've been together ever since (6 years ago) and tomorrow is actually our third wedding anniversary. He is the most fantastic father and husband and I thank my lucky stars every day." – Metalmorphosis
2.
"My high school sweetheart left me for another guy. It devastated me at the time…even though I did deserve it in hindsight. 4-5 years later I caught wind that her and that guy broke up.
"2-3 months later I run into her… and immediately hit it off catching up on family and life. Agreed to meet a couple of days later for coffee and it was surprisingly uncomfortable. Just the way she talked and carried herself, something had changed, couldn't put my finger on it, if it was her or me.
"Anyways I remember walking home and after all those years finally being able to just put that s**t away for good, she was no longer my great white buffalo." – macdees13
3.
"About a year and a half after…and over a year of not hearing from her at all…I got a text out of the blue…
"We meet up and she's more beautiful than I remember…
"A month later, she moved in with me. Another month later, we got married. Another year later, she's now making weird noises in her sleep and it's adorable and I love her more than anything." – mioko
4.
"There was a girl I was close friends with for all of high school who I actually really liked, and she really liked me too. We just naturally clicked. After high school, she moved far away for college, and we only saw each other once in the next six years or so.
"Randomly one day I noticed she'd moved back, checked Facebook, no relationship status. I hit her up for coffee and it was like no time at all had passed, we immediately connected again and became inseparable.
"We will be celebrating two years in a few weeks" – Facefoxa
5.
"My Perfect One and I met in high school. Dated intensely into early college and then, being a monumental dumb ass, I tanked us and went on my way.
"Throughout the next two decades, whenever I thought of her, it physically hurt. I was married to a woman I knew was not right. My Perfect One was married and three thousand miles away. She tried reaching out a few times and I never returned her calls.
"Finally found the courage to reconnect while going through my divorce. Discovered she was already divorced. Discovered that I had always been her Perfect One and, well, we are blissfully, ecstatically, deeply in love. Married now. It's been several years and we are still like dippy, lovestruck teenagers with each other." – ImVerySerious
6.
"I met him in high school. I was a freshman, and he was a senior. Before him, I'd always chosen the people I liked, but with him I had no choice. He graduated a few months after we met, and because I was an awkward, self-conscious fourteen year-old and he had a girlfriend, I never did anything to let him know how much I liked him.
"He disappeared from my life for a few years, and I was sure I'd let go of the only person I'd ever really like. Then he found me on the Internet, we met up in person eight years after we met, and now he's been my boyfriend for a year. I'm not letting go of him this time." – Reddit User
7.
"We dated for a bit, didn't work out. Kept in very minimal contact. 10 years go by, and we're living halfway across Canada from each other. She came out this way to visit relatives, and since she was within 3 hours of me, figured she'd send me a text. Met up for coffee. Had a great time.
"Going on 5 years together now, married for 2, and we just had a beautiful baby girl 4 months ago. Worked out wonderfully for us." – Lrauka
8.
"I was hung up on him for years. I fell in love a few more times, had other successful multi-year relationships, but I never found that feeling I had with him.
"Four years passed. You know what reconnected me with my old flame? [A dating app]. I laughed out loud when he popped up…
"We met up and it immediately occurred to me that he was different, wiser, more selfless… and I was still in love with him… he told me that I was his One That Got Away, and he kissed me.
"That was two years ago. We have a beautiful apartment. We backpack the Cascades together with our perfect dog. I still get that tight-chest feeling every day because I love him more than ever, and I was so lucky to have found him again." – pixelbow
9.
"Ran into him a few years later, and realized that I'm perfectly okay with the fact that he got away. There was nothing wrong with him and our break-up had been amicable, I just grew up and moved on." – throwaway6308
10.
"Ran into each other by chance while both visiting home one summer. We were just making small talk and as we said our goodbyes he kissed me.
"Super weird, he knew I was taken. I slapped him on instinct and never spoke to him again. I'd had a crush on him all throughout high school but he'd always had a thing for my best friend so we were only really ever friends, though I was pretty smitten when we were.
"Do feel bad about slapping him though." – Lights-0n
11.
"My first real girlfriend was one of the nicest people I've ever known. She truly was devoted to me and we loved each other. I was only 18 at the time and very immature and possessive. I was terribly afraid someone would take her from me.
"She and I met over lunch 30 years later. She was widowed. We were both into all the same things: running, biking, new music. She is gorgeous. Her curly red hair and her Mona Lisa smile are both intact. We picked up our conversation right where we had left off years and years ago.
"We are friends and occasionally get together over drinks or lunch. I have told her I think she's totally gorgeous. She seems to be aware that I still hunger for her." – very_large_ears
12.
"Deployed with each other back in 2010, came home and went our separate ways. Three years later we were reunited through a second tour. A couple months in I decided to finally tell her how I felt. Two and a half years later and we're still sharing the same bed." – reepthecreep
Do you ever wonder what would happen if you ran into your one that got away? Please SHARE with family and friends on Facebook!
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
