3 Online Dating Stories to Warm Your Heart (2024)

Over half of singles

in the United States have used a dating site or dating app, according to the Pew Research Center. Another study, conducted by Stanford University Study, shows that almost 40% of couples met each other online. Additionally, dating platforms have been recording a surge in usage since the first of the year.

It’s clear that going online has become the top way for singles to connect, so I wanted to share with you three online dating love stories that will make you swoon.

Hillary had been using dating apps on and off for a while. When her relationship dissolved with the man she was dating, she decided to give Bumble a shot.

It was the beginning stages of the pandemic, and Hillary spent her spare time swiping left and right on Bumble. She matched with Jonathan, who lived nearby, and they were both instantly attracted to each other’s profiles.

The two started chatting, and they quickly realized they had similar interests, including hiking and cooking. During an in-app chat, Jonathan asked Hillary what her deepest hopes and dreams were. It felt like a sign of bigger things to come.

Then, when Hillary didn’t hear from Jonathan for a week, she assumed she’d been ghosted, which is not uncommon on dating apps.

But Jonathan resurfaced a week later, and they began planning an in-person meeting. They self-isolated for two weeks to feel safe meeting up.

Hillary and Jonathan’s first date was a socially-distanced walk with Jonathan’s dog, Chanel, at his side.

This first date lasted two hours, and it was clear that Hillary passed the puppy love test. In his heart, Jonathan knew that Hillary was “The One.” At the end of the date, he asked her out for dinner the next night. By the end of their second date, Hillary felt the same way about Jonathan as he felt about her.

Hillary and Jonathan met on Bumble and had a strong bond right away.

Because they were so at ease with each other, they decided to jump right in and spend the entire weekend together.

With the COVID-19 lockdown and stay-at-home orders in place, Jonathan and Hillary decided to fast-track their relationship and quarantine together.

“We felt as though we had known each other for months, not days,” she told me shortly after they met. “We realized it was risky to meet under the circumstances, but when you find something so special, you take the risk.”

Since that first weekend, they’ve been quarantining together and realized that being together 24/7 forced them to get to know each other on a deeper level very quickly.

According to Hillary, “Love found its way through a pandemic. Jonathan makes me feel safe and comfortable.”

With so many dating profiles listing “no drama” as a requirement, the two felt their relationship was effortless from the beginning.

For Valentine’s Day, Jonathan took Hillary on a romantic weekend away. He handed her a box filled with assorted desserts with a note that said, “I wanted to wish a very Happy Valentine’s Day to the sweetest, most amazing woman I could ever have hoped to spend the rest of my life with.”

As they’re coming up on their first anniversary as a couple, Jonathan plans on introducing Hillary to his son, and their relationship is still going strong.

When Courtney, a public relations company owner, joined eharmony, she was a woman on a mission. At 34, she said she was done with dating for the sake of dating and knew in her heart, it was time to start dating with intention. She wanted to find a man to fall in love with and who also wanted a relationship that would lead to marriage and a family.

After only one month online, she matched with Jeremy, a government contractor, who liked Courtney’s profile because, as he said, “She read real books.” Jeremy was fed up with reading profiles from women who listed “50 Shades of Grey” as one of their favorite books on their reading list. Courtney, an avid reader, named “The Sun Also Rises,” a classic by Ernest Hemingway as one of her favorite titles, and this appealed to Jeremy.

Jeremy had been a member of eharmony for about one year and wrote to Courtney first. Initially, the two took the slow path of answering the generic questions on the platform, but then Jeremy decided they should meet up for a drink.

What Courtney didn’t know is that Jeremy almost deleted her from his matches. Frustrated with the online dating process, he came close to checking a box that would have deleted his existing match pool so that he could start fresh with new matches. Fortunately for Courtney, her Hemingway mention prompted Jeremy to write to her before getting unmatched.

On their first drink date, Courtney was immediately impressed with Jeremy. She thought he was attractive and funny and had a lot of activities going on in his life. She also liked that he was tall (6’3″). Little did she know, Jeremy had a dating rule of his own, and was told by a friend that he shouldn’t date women below 5’3″ in height.

While it seems silly to both of them now, just shy of 5’3″, Courtney decided to wear heels for a few months on their dates to appear taller so that she could put her best foot forward.

After their first successful date, Jeremy emailed Courtney the next day with a message that made her laugh. Jeremy quoted something humorous from the television series “Arrested Development.” Courtney, who had never seen the TV series, immediately did a Google search for the show. “It was such a funny email,” said Courtney, who instantly liked Jeremy’s sense of humor.

Courtney and Jeremy connected on eharmony and are now married with children.

One night, a few months into the dating process, Jeremy told Courtney he thought she was only dating him because he was buying her lunch and dinner. While there’s still some confusion in the dating world as to who pays for a date, or if splitting the bill is acceptable, Courtney says she’s the last person who can’t afford to pay for a meal. Once she understood what made Jeremy feel comfortable, she started picking up the tab from time to time, and he never brought the topic up again.

Then, months later, things ramped up when Jeremy broke his leg during an afternoon of Australian football practice. Courtney decided to jump in to take care of him. “It was a pivotal point in our relationship,” Courtney told me. “I knew he needed me, and being his caregiver brought us closer.”

While the two never had “the talk” about being exclusive, they were on the path to a committed partnership and most likely marriage.

After one year of dating, Courtney knew for sure that Jeremy was the only one for her. From then on, their relationship became very serious. They would see each other multiple times during the week. On weekends, they took turns staying at each other’s places.

Still, Jeremy needed a nudge. When he thought they should start living together as their next relationship milestone, Courtney didn’t feel the same. She wanted to get engaged before giving up her place, and she knew there was no negotiating on this issue.

I guided Courtney on how to have a conversation about their future. She confidently told Jeremy she wasn’t interested in living together in an apartment for a significant period of time. Courtney explained that she wanted to spend her life with him, be married to him, have children with him, and build a life together.

Fortunately, Jeremy clearly understood her words. Six days after they moved in together, he proposed during a romantic walk. While their courtship started on a slow path, things accelerated rapidly in the right direction once they became engaged.

Six months after his proposal, they had their dream wedding, followed by a romantic Caribbean honeymoon in Turks and Caicos Islands. Now they’re the proud and loving parents of two adorable baby girls.

Melissa, a real estate specialist and single mom, said she was nervous about trying online dating for the first time.

After her 20-year relationship ended, she joined Match, and we created her username of LAFarmGirl. With her love for animals and having lived on a ranch, she wanted to meet someone who was a pet-enthusiast and family-oriented.

Very quickly, Melissa’s inbox on Match was flooded with messages, and she felt so overwhelmed that she almost canceled her membership. When she received a message from someone with the username of DogLover just three days after her profile went live, she knew it could be a match.

Being flirtatious, he asked, “Is that what you really look like?”

Perhaps they both felt it was too good to be true, but Melissa replied with, “I sure hope so. I just took the photos last week.”

Melissa and Ross had grown frustrated with online dating, but they stuck it out and are now in love.

Ross encouraged Melissa to go out on dates with three other people before they met to rid her of nervousness before their first date. Call it confidence, or call it a hunch, but his suggestion worked in his favor. Melissa did go on three one-and-done dates before agreeing to meet with Ross.

While the two were chatting online, they both quickly found out that not only did they have children and pets in common, but they went to the same university at the same time. They also lived two blocks apart while in college, but never met during their time at school.

These facts allowed Melissa to vet Ross in advance of meeting him. Their mutual friends kept giving Ross the thumbs up, so it made her feel comfortable to meet him in person finally.

Between their pre-dating, mutual friends, and common interests, by the time they went on their first date, there was an instant connection. Melissa said she felt like she had known Ross forever, and Ross admits that he knew when he saw her picture and first heard her voice on the phone that she was someone he wanted to be with forever.

They quickly introduced their kids and family to each other, and now they say they know they are each other’s forever love — without a doubt.

Their romance continued to blossom, and when the pandemic hit, they grew even closer. While both Melissa and Ross have their own separate homes, they spend every weekend together, in addition to several days a week.

They had to cancel their Europe vacation to Spain and Italy due to COVID-19, but they look forward to rescheduling their dream trip and to creating more memories together.

In describing their relationship, Melissa told me, “He’s my quarantine buddy, and we laugh all of the time.”

Whether you’ve been dating online for a while or are newly single and giving it a go, you want to make sure you have a profile that’s full of compelling content, recent photos, and is clear about your dating goals. After all, your next great relationship may be just a swipe away.