The Notebook, Titanic, and When Harry Met Sally

18 True Romantic Stories That Are More Heartwarming Than Any Rom-Com

Of course The Notebook, Titanic, and When Harry Met Sally all have a special place in our heart (and film queue). But you know what we adore even more than these classic rom-coms? Tales of love that are actually real. In anticipation of Cupid's favorite holiday, we’ve rounded up the most touching and tear-jerking true romantic stories that are sweeter than anything you'll find in a Valentine's Day movie. So, while you're stressing about scoring the perfect gift for him, her, and everyone in between, let these tender accounts, stripped from actual headlines, remind you what February 14 is actually about...besides chocolate. 

Bob Harvey and Annette Adkins

Bob Harvey first met Annette Adkins during study hall in 1955—and was immediately smitten. "I couldn’t take my eyes off her," Harvey told the New York Times. "She had auburn hair and a stunningly beautiful face and her eyes were just, wow." The two teens ended up going to prom together, but as many young relationships go, they lost touch after high school and married other people. Harvey never forgot about Adkins, though. In 2017, after his wife died, he searched for Adkins on Google and discovered she had also become widowed. He sent her a card with his phone number and after chatting for a bit, Harvey drove 500 miles to visit her, stopping only for gas and a bouquet of carnations. "I handed her the flowers, and then I cupped her face in my hand and said, 'Whether you like it or not, I’m going to kiss you,'" he recalled. In October, the high school sweethearts married at a '50s-style diner and danced to Johnny Mathis—just like they did at prom 63 years earlier. Talk about an encore! On December 27, Matthew Pomeroy, who plays the title character in a British production of Aladdin, proposed to his girlfriend, Natasha Lamb, who plays Jasmine, just after taking their final bows. "For the last four years, you have changed my life," he told Lamb before pulling out a shining, shimmering, splendid ring. "I love you with all my heart. You're my best friend, and if you'd let me, I want to be your husband." What do you get when you cross an American actress with a former producer of ABC’s The Bachelor? A made-for-TV marriage proposal. During a weekend getaway to Seattle, Elan Gale and his then-girlfriend of eight months, Molly C. Quinn, stopped by a jewelry store where she fell in love with a vintage emerald ring. "If you ever do propose to me, try to find something to kind of look like this," said Quinn. The next day, Gale returned to the store, bought the ring, and placed it in a box under their bed—for the next three years. "That’s where the ring has been hiding for the last 40 months," he recalled in an i********: post. "Three feet away from where Molly sleeps every night." In December 2019, while on a ski trip in Japan, Gale finally popped the question.

Liz and Scott Shoesmith Most wedding-planning checklists include picking a dress, finding a venue, and booking a photographer. Liz Shoesmith's also included learning how to sign the lyrics to one of her favorite songs. Instead of the traditional walk down the aisle, the Australian bride surprised her husband, who is deaf, by signing the words to Christina Perri's hit song, "A Thousand Years" as she walked towards him. "Every time I had practiced it leading up to the day I would make mistakes or go blank," she told Inside Edition. "But when I was left at the top of the aisle and locked eyes with Scott, I didn’t look away. It honestly felt like we were the only ones in the room."

Jessica Share and Aaron Long. More than a decade after using an anonymous sperm donor to start a family, Jessica Share met her daughter's biological father—and fell in love with him. In 2016, Share's daughter, Alice Mikell, asked her grandmother for a 23andMe kit to look into her genealogy. When the results came back eight weeks later, Aaron Long was listed as a 50 percent parental match. Mikell and Share connected with Long, and eventually, the two parents decided to meet. "When we met in person, the attraction seemed harder for either of us to deny," Long told Good Morning America. Share, though, had reservations: "This was not my relationship or my journey to jump into and mess up forever," she said in the same interview. Now, two and a half years later, Share, Long, and Mikell live together in Seattle, along with Long's 22-year-old daughter Madi, who he also had through sperm donation. "A few people have called us some sort of new Brady Bunch," Share told People. "I think [Mikell] thinks it’s kind of funny that everybody thinks it’s a big deal."

Sunette Thompson and Lisa Wyatt

In July 2018, Sunette Thompson and her then fiancée, Lisa Wyatt, traveled to New Orleans for a few fun-filled days at Essence Festival. But unbeknownst to Wyatt, there was a much bigger event on that weekend's agenda: their wedding. On the morning of July 8, 2018—which was also the couple's 10th anniversary—Wyatt served Thompson breakfast in bed and told her to change into the tux hanging in the closet. Once Wyatt was dressed, she was blindfolded and taken down to the hotel's courtyard, where more than 100 of the couples' friends and families had gathered. "Nee dless to say, I was completely overwhelmed!" Wyatt told Essence Magazine. "As I surveyed the audience, I cried profusely…the ugly cry!" If there's a story that proves true love stands the test of time, it's this one. In 1944, 24-year-old K.T. Robbins met 18-year-old Jeanine Ganaye while he was stationed in Briely, France, and over the next three months, the two fell in love. But their courtship came to a crashing halt when Robbins was transferred to fight on the Eastern Front during World War II. After the war, Robbins went home to Memphis and got married to another woman. Back in France, Gayane, now Pierson, also moved on with her life. Fast forward to 2019 when Robbins returned to France for the 75th anniversary of D-Day and was interviewed by journalists from the television station France 2 about his World War II experience. The reporters helped Robbins track down Pierson, and the two long lost lovers, both 92, reunited in the French nursing home where Pierson lives. "I always loved you," Robbins told her as they embraced. "You never got out of my heart." After spending a couple of hours together, the two had to say goodbye—but they vowed to meet again soon.

Jillian Hanson and Max Allegretti

K.T. Robbins and Jeannine Pierson

Two and a half years ago, Jillian Hanson was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. Knowing she would face a tough battle ahead, she offered her boyfriend, Max Allegretti, an "out" before things got too intense. But Allegretti didn't flinch, and instead stayed by her side during two years of aggressive treatment. "They tell you how sick you get during treatment, but no one can really prepare you for any of this," Hanson wrote in a personal essay. "He took care of me everyday and reminded me how beautiful I was." On her last day of chemo, Allegretti knew exactly how he wanted to celebrate: By asking Hanson to marry him. "I wasn't expecting it," she told Good Morning America. "That was the ultimate high—getting engaged brought great light to me after a really dark spot."

Lee Loechler and Sthuthi David

After a magical proposal, Lee Loechler and Sthuthi David are destined to live happily ever after. When Loechler took David to a packed theater to see her favorite movie, Sleeping Beauty, she thought it was just a typical date night—but it was actually a cinematic event six months in the making. Loechler, a filmmaker, had spent half a year altering the animation of the film's iconic kissing scene, changing both the characters (so they more closely represented the real-life couple) and the storyline (so it set up the big question). She said yes, and now the fairytale continues.

When Camre Curto gave birth to her son, Gavin, she suffered a stroke and a seizure, which caused her to be placed in a medically induced coma. When she awoke, both her long-term and short-term memory were gone, and she did not know who she or her family was. A few months later, she still didn't remember her husband, Steve. "We were sitting on the couch and she told me, 'I don't who you are but I know I love you,'" he recalled to People. Those words inspired Steve to write a book—called But I Know I Love You—that would help Camre remember their 10-year love story, recounting everything from their very first date to their wedding to the birth of their son. It's working, and today, Camre knows and remembers Gavin and Steve.

Terry Farley and Steve Downey

More than three decades after they first dated, two high school sweethearts reconnected—thanks to LinkedIn. In the fall of 2012, Terry Farley—who had gotten divorced a couple years earlier—happened upon the profile of her first boyfriend, Steve Downey. She clicked on it, but was hesitant to message him. She told NPR, "I was not going to be the old girlfriend that popped out of nowhere and said 'Remember me?'" But a month later, when Downey was looking at his LinkedIn page, he noticed Farley's name in the section that tells you who has been looking at your profile. Downey wrote her a quick message, which turned into phone calls, which turned into an invitation to visit Farley at her home in Tallahassee, Florida. "I didn't see anything except my first love, my first crush," she told Today. "It felt like we were picking up where we left off." Eventually, Downey moved to Tallahassee, and in 2015, they tied the knot.

Tori Monaco and Berkley Cade What are the chances of two people planning a proposal on the same day, at the same time, and without the other knowing? Probably pretty small—but that's precisely what happened for Tori Monaco and Berkley Cade. 

In February 2018, the pair was playing a game of Pictionary at Cade's parents' house in Seattle, and as Cade tried to draw the phrase "Will you marry me?" on the board, Monaco got down on one knee and asked her that exact question. Stunned, Cade reached behind the couch and pulled out a ring box herself. The mastermind behind the simultaneous proposal? Cade's mom, Kristy, who separately suggested to both women that they propose during a game of Pictionary when they visited Washington. Barbara and Robert Shackleford 

Tweet by @ForeverLAS_

This Christmas was Barbara Shackleford's first one without her high school sweetheart, Robert, who passed away in May after 59 years of marriage. But she still felt his warmth, thanks to a special surprise from her family: the love letters she and Robert exchanged in 1962 while in college. "She had no idea he kept the letters and it really brought back a lot of memories of her early years loving him," Shackleford's granddaughter told Today. "She said it was the best gift she could have asked for." 

Anne and Bill Duncan Anne and Bill Duncan are in the honeymoon phase of their relationship. But unlike most couples going through this new and exciting stage, the Duncans are married—and have been for 12 years. After living with dementia for nearly a decade, Bill started having trouble recognizing and remembering Anne. When he asked her to marry him (again), Anne said yes. Two days later, the happy couple celebrated their second wedding surrounded by friends and family. "It was wonderful," Anne posted on f*******:. "And what's even more amazing is two weeks later, Bill still thinks he's just married his new girlfriend and it makes him very happy." 

Dominic Spence and Nick

Need proof that true love is worth the wait? Dominic Spence and Nick Gilyard met while they were teenagers in high school, but lost touch when they headed in different directions for college: Spence attended the University of Central Florida in Orlando, while Gilyard went to college in Kentucky. They reconnected, though, when Gilyard helped a friend move into her dorm in Orlando and asked Dominic to dinner. "That night we talked for 4 hours and shut down the restaurant," Gilyard said in an i********: post. They started dating long-distance—for the next seven years. In 2015, Spence and Gilyard got engaged during a trip to London and nearly two years later, they were married. "Dominic and I feel lucky to have found love at such a young age. However, falling in love with another black man was scary in ways neither of us could have ever imagined. It forced us to face the very real resistance from society for being not only homosexuals but black men as well," Gilyard said in the same i********: post. "We hope to encourage other black and brown men and boys everywhere to be true to who they are. And when they find love in each other's eyes, to know that their love is just as strong and beautiful as anyone else's." 

Brad Davis and Jodi Stanowick

As a young girl, Ana Stanowick's mom, Jodi, would often bring home a new coffee mug to add to her collection—despite her then-husband's angry protests. When the couple divorced five years ago, Jodi and her massive collection were ready to find a new man. Enter Brad Davis, who pulled off the ultimate public display of affection when he built Jodi a custom, ceiling-high shelf for her beloved coffee cups, just before moving in together. "I wanted to do this for Jodi so that she could enjoy all of the mugs every day instead of just drinking out of one each day," Davis told Today. We'll raise a glass mug to that!

Tweet by @AnaStanowick_Wedding proposal in aisle three! Last year, Sidd Sinha proposed to his girlfriend, Melanie Diaz at the Trader Joe's in New York City's Upper West Side. Sinha concocted the elaborate plan, which included a made-up "millennial grocery tour" featuring special signs that were symbolic of their relationship. "She's made it perfectly clear that Trader Joe's is her favorite grocery store, so I knew if I went that route I had to do it there," Sinha told Good Morning America. The final stop on the tour? The sample station, where an employee was passing out chocolate-covered almonds. Inside Diaz's cup, though, was an engagement ring. A dream come true, indeed!

Judy and Will Webb

Judy and Will Webb were together until the very end—really. The couple, who spent almost every day together during their 56 years of marriage, died just hours apart on March 6, while—wait for it—holding hands.

Sidd Sinha and Melanie Diaz the end ?❤️

case !!

But just as there is no hard-and-fast rule for how long it takes to fall in love, there's no set checklist for how to know if what you're feeling is the real deal. Some people know after a single moment; others develop the feelings after months or even years of small gestures.

That said, though, there are some common (and scientifically backed) signals that you're likely falling in love...and we're not talking about those all-encompassing "can't eat, can't sleep" feelings that let you know you're living a real-life version of your own rom-com. For instance, you feel the need to share even the smallest moments of your day with your person, and maybe you discover that their interests are suddenly becoming your interests, too. Or, perhaps you seamlessly start rearranging your schedule to make more time for your partner. And, of course, you might start wondering—perhaps even daydreaming—about the moment when your special someone will admit they love you, too.

Ahead, we ask therapists, researchers, and other relationship experts to share the classic indications that you are, indeed, falling in love. So now all you have to do is prepare to say those three big words. 

You want to share your world with them.

Dawoon Kang, cofounder and co-CEO of online dating platformCoffee Meets Bagel, tells Oprah Daily, “Falling in love is different for everyone,” adding she believes in Robert J. Sternberg’s triangular theory of love, which identifies three main aspects: intimacy (the desire to feel closely connected), passion (physical and emotional stimulation), and decision/commitment (the resolve to stick together). 

“You don’t need all three components to know that you’re falling in love, but they are strong indicators that you’re on the way,” she explains. “But don't conclude that someone isn't falling in love with you because they aren't showing the same exact signals as you do.” That said, the most telling sign, according to Kang, is if you find yourself wanting to divulge as much as you can to your love interest, from a small win at work to your relationship history. 

“I knew I was falling in love with my now-husband Jack when I found myself calling him every night, wanting to share every little detail about my day and wanting to know about his,” she says.

They’re always in your thoughts.

Sure, it might be trite—but it’s true. You know you’re falling in love when your someone begins to take up major real estate in your thoughts. You might find yourself rehashing your conversations in the middle of work, thinking about your next date days in advance, or even envisioning your future together. For Kang, she remembers rereading her husband's text messages and viewing his photos over and over again when they first began dating because she thought about him so often.

And you’re dying to know if they love you, too.

If you find yourself considering whether this person feels similarly and you look for for signs that they're missing you, too, that's another signifier, Jacqueline Olds, MD, an associate professor of clinical psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, tells Oprah Daily. 

“Your stomach and heart may take a leap every time they contact you or suggest spending time together,” adds Olds, who has completed extensive research on long-term marriage, alongside her husband of 41 years, Richard Schwartz, MD. (The couples therapists cowrote Marriage in Motion: The Natural Ebb and Flow of Lasting Relationships.)

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Along this same vein, if you’re falling in love, you tend to experience a warm feeling when you think about your significant other, according to Kang. That may mean you can't stop smiling, or you might notice that you generally feel more positive and hopeful. 

You feel like a teenager again.

Falling in love has a way of making you feel like a wide-eyed, wild-hearted teenager again, and that's no coincidence, says Kelifern Pomeranz, PsyD, a California-based clinical psychologist and certified s*x therapist. "When you fall in love, your body produces a cocktail of chemicals, including dopamine (for wanting more), noradrenaline (for excitement, focus, and attention), testosterone (for s****l interest and drive), and a drop in serotonin (which can cause that low-key obsessive feeling). These chemicals make us feel happy, giddy, energetic, euphoric, and youthful."

They become a priority. 

“We make time for what–or who–we love,” says Rachel DeAlto, the chief dating expert for Match (formerly known as Match.com). “If you’re rearranging, reprioritizing, and reimagining your life, you may be falling in love,” she explains.

Equally important: It doesn't feel like a sacrifice when you have to make changes to your calendar (say, brunch with your girlfriends) in order to ensure you're available to attend something important to them (like a family party or dinner with a sibling who's visiting from out of town).

You crave them. 

Yes, you read that right. Similar to how you can crave a favorite food or even a seasonal cocktail (hello, frosé), you can crave a person, too. 

Match’s chief scientific advisor, Helen Fisher, PhD, has studied these feelings and found that an area of our brain associated with focus and craving called the ventral tegmental area (VTA) causes increased levels of dopamine to be released when you’re falling in love. 

As DeAlto notes, this yearning is usually coupled with feeling a rush when you think of them. 

You even find their quirks attractive. 

Perpetual apologizer? Neat freak? All (innocuous) traits of your beloved are fair game and welcomed when you’re falling in love. “You start to find everything about them irresistible," explains DeAlto. "That even includes their little quirks, their odd sense of style, and their particular way of doing things, which all become endearing.” 

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There is one thing, though, that's more important than how they act or what they do: You’re mindful of the emotional climate within the other person, including what troubles them, what brings them joy, or what triggers anxiety. “You care about their happiness, as much as your own,” says DeAlto. “Empathy and compassion for your partner rises as you fall in love.” 

They make you feel better about yourself. 

People in the throes of falling in love often report feeling like they know more, or can do more, according to Theresa E. DiDonato, PhD, an associate professor of psychology at Loyola University Maryland. She describes how an experience of “self-expansion” often occurs as people fall in love, meaning their own sense of self grows through their relationship with this new person. For example, someone whose partner loves hiking might start to see themselves as a hiker too.

You’re ignoring other attractive people.

Gone are the days of swiping right on dating apps or DM'ing other potential partners. If you realize you’re not as inclined to investigate those other fish in the sea, that can be telling, DiDonato tells Oprah Daily.

“Falling in love may correspond with changes in attention–specifically people in loving, committed relationships show less attention to other viable partners,” she says. 

You feel the love everywhere.

Finding yourself suddenly enjoying small chat with your less-than-pleasant coworker, or striking up conversations with your crabby neighbor? Your loved-up vibes could certainly be radiating beyond your partnership, notes Pomeranz. "Falling in love can knock us out of autopilot and allow us to see everything and everyone in a new light. Love can contribute to an increased sense of well-being and lead to a positive outlook, which can extend far beyond the person directly in front of us."

You’re kind of freaking out.