Dane —— I’m a GP and Scotty is a partner at a Tauranga law firm. He hates conflict so works in property and trust, which was very handy when purchasing our first home together and also works in my favour when I want something my way! We play sports, have a pub quiz team, and have the surf at our doorstep in Mt Maunganui. We also have two boys – Harrison (10) and George(8) – who keep us busy.
We were slightly tipsy in a dodgy pub at midnight a month or two into our relationship when Matt told me I was the most beautiful girl in the room. To be honest, there weren’t many people in the room and the clientele at that point was questionable. But it was very sweet and we were absolutely fixated on each other.
Paige ——We’re both small business owners from Southern California. I’ve spent the last decade as a destination wedding photographer, while Andrew owns a custom furniture business. We met on Match in 2012. Andrew didn’t actually show up in my matches but I was browsing profiles and stumbled across him. It was his chocolate lab, Yager, that prompted me to send the first message.
When the time came for us to start looking for our first home together, we knew we would share the rest of our lives with each other.
We met when we were quite young and our relationship slowly developed over the years to become what it is now. We often talk about how we quickly fell in love with each other but the beauty of our relationship is that it hasn’t had major turning points or changes, but grown and developed as we have. And here we are!
We met in our first year of high school and were in the same friendship circle but were never on each other’s radar. It wasn’t until 6 years after we finished school that we reconnected and officially started dating in 2018. It was so natural and easy because we already had such a strong friendship and long history, everything just fell into place.
Since we didn’t have a bridal party, and therefore no ring bearer, we decided on an Oprah moment, hiding the rings under two random seats. Everyone had to look under their seats to see if they were there!
Jake actually never asked me to be his girlfriend officially. I think as time went on we both just knew we wanted to be together. We moved in together quite quickly, then moved down to Christchurch and then moved overseas. We lived in Europe and the UK while Jake was playing rugby for three and a half years–we both just knew it was something we would always do together.
Roberta — Well, for many moments I thought we were soulmates, and destiny just wanted us to meet and be together. However, I must say that seeing him play and care so much about our two little neighbours (pretty much our nieces) just sparkled something in my heart, that told me: he is the one, I want to marry him, spend my life with him and have a family together.
I realized that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him when I understood his values and saw how important first impressions were to him when it came time to meet my parents. Nothing is more beautiful than seeing someone for who they are and how they act with those you love most.
Kat —— I work for a sports marketing consultancy in London and Simon runs his own business. We travel a lot and are both social souls who spend as much time as possible with friends and family. We met a decade ago on the dating website, Plenty of Fish. I was resistant to online dating but was convinced by my flatmate to give it a go.
“Every time I looked at her pictures, I couldn’t believe she was real. It was a nervous wait when she turned up 30 minutes late to our first date. But, when she walked in, I was gobsmacked, and it was love at first sight.”
