Nothing says, “I’m a millennial” like being married to someone I met on a dating app.
To anyone who did not know this piece of information, I am so sorry you had to find out like this and I’m sorry for whatever lie I told you to avoid telling the truth. You may have heard:
“We met at a coffee shop, he offered to buy me coffee.” Not a total lie…the first time we met in person was at a coffee shop, and he did offer to buy me coffee. I just left out the detail that it was planned.
“We met through mutual friends.” This is a total lie. I must have been feeling lazy the day I told you this.
“We met at a concert.” Another total lie, but I did meet him the day after I went to a concert so, idk sry.
People laugh when I say, “Yeah, I met my husband on Tinder.” They usually think I’m joking. Then, when they realize I’m not, they’re like, “Wow, that’s actually really crazy…when you know you know, right?”
Actually, that’s not entirely true either. I didn’t “know” right away or anything. It was a lot like a normal relationship, we just happened to meet on Tinder.
The only “romantic” part of the story, if there is one, is that my husband was the second person I swiped right to. Then, I deleted the app. Too many unsolicited sexual advances for my taste. We had exchanged numbers before I deleted Tinder, so we kept talking.
As I mentioned, dating someone you meet somewhere like Tinder can be totally normal, despite the stigma surrounding it. People generally assume it’s for people who are looking for a hookup, but aren’t people like that in real life, too? I guess what I’m trying to say is you can decide the kind of person you want to be around, and it doesn’t matter where you meet that person.
I have prevented telling people how I met my husband because sometimes I feel like it just epitomizes what is assumed of my generation. Lazy: as in we can’t even leave the house to meet potential suitors. Impatient: as in we want instant gratification and attention from said suitors. And of course, entitled: as in we prefer to pick and choose significant others based on appearance before we know anything more than their name.
The thing is, does it really matter?
There’s a lot to be said for meeting someone the old fashioned way. But technology has made it so much easier, and with the right intentions, there’s nothing wrong with that.
I mean just think, I would have never met this guy if it weren’t for Tinder. We come from completely different worlds. He is from the Bay Area in California. I am from a small town in North Carolina. We have almost nothing in common (except we both really love cinnamon rolls and Mexican food). Yet here we are, less than three years after meeting and we are married. We are literally spending our lives together because we both swiped right.
Fate may manifest itself in much more romantic ways, but I am happy with the way it has played out in my life. #ThanksTinder