Before I met my husband Brad, I had just gotten out of a long-term relationship. It was a mutual break up, but quite honestly, I felt relieved. Even though I had thought I would marry this guy, something never quite felt right. In fact, out of all the relationships I had been in, nothing ever felt like it was true love. I had really liked people before, and had even loved the last person I was with, but I never felt in love. I just thought it wasn’t in the cards for me or maybe something was wrong with me.

Brad and I have one of those stories that I think a lot of people can’t believe! At the time, I was working at a pub restaurant as a server and bartender. I had the day shifts there and enjoyed it at the time. This incredible good-looking guy came into the pub with a friend, and sat down at a table. There were only a few people this day in the restaurant and at the time it was just me serving and the kitchen staff. As I came over to take their order this guy just beamed a huge smile at me. He had baby blue eyes, the biggest smile I’d ever seen, and I was immediately drawn to him. I take their orders, we chit chat a bit, I find out it’s his birthday this week, and he and his friend are out celebrating. As he leaves, he hands me his number and asks me to call him. After that day, he came back to the restaurant the following 2 days. We chat, laugh, at the restaurant and talk nightly on the phone. I find out that in a week’s time he is moving to Australia to pursue his University degree. And as quick as we meet, he is gone for school.

We continue to talk while he’s away (which was hard to do! It’s a huge time difference), and get to know each other. It was really nice being able to get to know someone on a friend level first which is something I rarely did; I usually dove head first into relationships.

Near the end of his school year, we make plans to meet up when he comes back home. He came home, took a few days to adjust to the time difference, and 2 days later we go on our first date. From that time on we were inseparable. We clicked right away and it was unlike anything I had ever felt for someone before. 7 weeks later we went on our first trip together (Cuba), and immediately after that we moved in together (FAR from anything I’d EVER done before!). We both felt like we had found our soul mates. After a few months of being together, we get together with the other guy who he came into the bar with that day, Dave. When Dave sees me, he immediately bursts into laughter and says to me, “when Brad saw you that day at the restaurant, he turned to me and said I’m going to marry that girl”. And a year and a half later, we go to Costa Rica, and at the base of a volcano, he proposed to me.

Brad and I have lived together in Costa Rica and Aruba, and have travelled as much as we can together. We’ve owned a house together, sold the house, and lived with parents as we build our own businesses up as entrepreneurs. We’ve been through highs and lows; when we came home from our first vacation together, my grandfather who was everything to me was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Throughout all of that Brad was by my side. He was with me when I transitioned off of my anti-anxiety and depression medicine (which I had been on since I was 12), which was a very difficult time for us. The year we were engaged, Brad blew out 2 discs in his back and was put on OxyContin. He was on it for 2 months and it was probably the most strain we’d ever had our relationship; it had completely changed him. He came off the medication, and together we found alternative healing modalities to treat his back. We moved to Barbados with the intention of opening a wellness center and café which fell through. We started our journey of entrepreneurship at the same time which is an emotional rollercoaster in itself.

“I fall more and more in love with him every day.”

We got married 4 years ago in the Dominican Republic in an intimate ceremony surrounded by family. We’ve been together for 8 years, and I fall more and more in love with him every day. People are always shocked to hear how long we’ve been together, as we still can’t keep our hands off each other. I am grateful every single day that this man came into my life.

The advice I would give my younger self:

I would say to stop looking for love. When I stopped looking after my last 2-year relationship, I was really determined to find myself, and discover what it was that I wanted. And that is when Brad came into my life. Sometimes I think we get so focused on a certain person or what we think we want and sometimes it means we miss out on our true love. When I met Brad, he was the type of guy (based on first impressions) that I wouldn’t have gone out with. Bad boy, with tattoos, he was the least likely person I would have pictured myself with. I am so glad I gave us a chance, and I am so grateful we had that time to get to know each other without the pressure of dating.

Meghan, 29 | Toronto, CA