Whenever you start to lose faith in humanity, all you have to do is look at the statistics about how many people believe in "The One". According to a 2016 Marist Poll, 73 percent of Americans believe in soulmates. Not only that, but men, at 74 percent, believe in "The One" even more than women, at 71 percent. While it's younger people — those under 45 — who really believe in soulmates, at 79 percent, even those who have been around awhile (over 45) and might be jaded about love, still believe that there's just one person for them, at 69 percent.
"For most of us we have multiple soulmates in one lifetime that are brought into our lives for learning and healing," Natalie Miles, psychic medium and spiritual guide, tells Bustle. "So it doesn’t matter if you’re with someone for three weeks, three months, three years or 30 years, you were supposed to experience that special deep soul connection with them for that time frame."
But whether you believe in the theory of just one soulmate or multiple soulmates, you probably also believe you can meet "The One" anywhere, which is definitely true. Here are 15 women on how they met "The One."
1Brooks, 25
"I'm 25 and got married when I was just 19! The first time I laid eyes on my husband was when I was at the gas station with my current boyfriend. My boyfriend introduced us, and I honestly didn't think much of it. I mean, he was attractive, but I was taken. Then, we met again at Walmart of all places. My best friend (who actually dated him briefly before getting back with her ex) was hanging out with him and saw me. She introduced us and told me she thought I'd like him. Then I realized we'd met before!"
2Kaeli, 30
"Meeting the love of my life was 'rough', you could say. We literally met on the mats at our MMA gym. I swear when I first saw him on the mats I KNEW he was for me, and then he asked me to grapple with him. I was SO nervous I could barely say a word. I was also super embarrassed because I was fairly new to grappling, and he wasn't. One of the reasons I fell for him was because he was so supportive and helpful during our training together and never made me feel stupid for not being at his skill level (plus, he's super dreamy). We now live together and still train together as much as we can! It was love at first grappling match."
3Leigh, 51
"My husband and I were neighbors when we met. Neither of us was looking for love, in fact, I had bought an airplane ticket to move cross country. We started dating because we knew there was an end point. Anyway, we just had our 25th wedding anniversary."
4Tessa, 26
"I met 'The One' at a hostel in Thailand! He's from England, and I'm American. I was in the middle of a four-month backpacking tour of Southeast Asia and one of my stops was Phuket, Thailand. He was in Thailand on [vacation]. We spent two weeks together. I originally thought it'd just be a short-term fling, but then feelings happen. We kept the relationship going when he left, and I eventually decided to head to England when I was done backpacking. My friends in America thought I was insane for going halfway across the world for a guy, but sometimes you just have to follow your heart."
5Deanna, 29
"I met my now husband (Justin) at a ... cave-themed dance club/hookah lounge and essentially the least romantic place you could meet someone, let alone your future husband. To top it off, we met after I was standing at the bar ordering a drink and his roommate at the time intentionally blew hookah smoke in my face. Justin stepped in front of him and profusely apologized to me. I rolled my eyes and walked away. He proceeded to look after me, when my friend noticed and ushered him over to me. I had ZERO interest in speaking with him in the beginning but eventually gave in. It led to a long night of dancing, talking and, six years later, a happy marriage."
6Ilana, 23
"[My girlfriend of two years] had been going on a lot of first dates and I had just got out of a toxic relationship when we both swiped right on Tinder. We both weren’t looking for anything in particular, but we were both exhausted of dealing with the wrong people. Also, five days later I was going to London for six weeks for a study abroad/internship program and she was leaving for Tel Aviv a week after I left for 10 weeks for an internship program. So we started talking and despite being miles apart and dealing with insane time zones, we both knew pretty immediately. Instead of going crazy in London like I had planned after that rough breakup, I’d stay up until 5 a.m. FaceTiming in the bathroom with someone I had never officially met. The first time we met in person was the day she came home from Israel — the same day I met her whole family and stayed over her house too... a little over two years later we’re still dating and now live together."
7Jordan, 27
"At 23, I was the social chair for my neighborhood association (fulfilling my need to constantly be busy). I planned a three-course progressive dinner where I was the first house, a neighbor was the second, and the third was my (future) boyfriend. We were the only two young people of about 20 guests total, so we instantly connected. The rest of the crowd (all being 50+) ended up pushing us to go out. They were all putting little ideas in our heads throughout the night and made sure we had each other’s info afterwards. If we hadn’t gotten together, we would’ve disappointed an entire neighborhood!"
8Star, 33
"I stood in line waiting for my turn in using the unisex bathroom at the bus terminal when I met 'The One.' As soon as it was my turn, I rushed to the toilet and responded to mother nature, not knowing that there was no tissue paper in sight... So I opened the door just enough so I could pop my head out a little bit and asked the guy standing in line to get me some tissue paper. And of all the places that guy turned out to be my boyfriend. Things started from there. Fast forward the story, I've been together with my boyfriend now for eight years and we were engaged last February."
9Sunny, 42
"No one ever expects to meet the love of her life in Las Vegas at a nightclub... I was in Las Vegas at The Wynn to speak at a real estate conference. Our last night they threw a reception at XS — it was a private party for attendees and speakers at the conference. One of my friends walked up to me laughing, and said 'Whatever this guy asks you, just say no.' I recognized the guy he was talking about (also in the industry), but we hadn't met. We started talking and laughing, and ended up spending the rest of the night with a group of mutual friends. I had a 6:30 a.m. flight, so we said goodbye and figured we'd see each other at the next conference. The day after I got home, I got a text asking what I was doing for the weekend and if I wanted to come back down to Vegas because he was still there (he had attended another conference), before heading to California. I booked a ticket and was back for the weekend. We tried dating long-distance for a few months, but realized that wouldn't work, so I moved to Texas and we've never looked back! I'm 42, we've been married a year, and life is better than we could have imagined. You CAN find love in Vegas... and at work."
10Rebecca, 31
"I met 'The One' when I was volunteering as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mexico. I brought him home with me."
11Cassie, 29
"My partner Lindsay and I met each other at a Welcoming Committee event in Boston two years ago — a movement that organizes 'takeovers' of bars, cultural events, etc. for the LGBTQ community. Classic: I came in (late) after a work kickball game with a messy-hair-don't-care vibe, intending to just hang out with my friends since this particular takeover was happening right in my ... neighborhood. I saw someone who really caught my eye across the room, and I could tell that we were both interested. My friend and I made our way into a conversation with she and her friend, and we got to know each other from there... She (maybe sarcastically?) asked if I was a model, and I shot back, "no, I use my brain for my job." It was clear that she thought I was pretty, and clear that I'm, well, direct. The rest is history now — we have two dachshunds named Sam and Brady. We got engaged last month in our favorite town in Maine. Love is love!"
12Ashlyn, 23
"I met my husband, Jacob, at middle school youth group! We went to the same church and were on a drama team together. We became best friends at 14 and Jacob fell in love with me. I did not feel the same. We began dating our sophomore year of college and were married after college. We got married at 22 and have been married for a year."
13Samantha, 35
"I met my husband at the street car stop on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans. We lived in the same neighborhood and met on the way to work one morning. Neither one of us rode the street car regularly, but we happened to ride it that day. We talked a little bit on the ride and then went our separate ways. He went back almost every day for two weeks hoping I would be there again — I wasn't. Then one day, several weeks later, there I was. The rest is history."
14Mary, 52
"I met 'The One' on a hockey rink when both of us played on the same broomball team for a tournament. He was a friend of the brother of a girl I worked with and we hit it off. That was February 22, 1986 and we've been together ever since. We will celebrate our thirtieth wedding anniversary next year. While it hasn't been all rainbows and sunshine, we are still madly in love at 52 (me) and 56 (him)."
15Natalia, 36
"I saw an ad for a singing contest in Manhattan and went to it for the hoot (I'm not a singer and didn't want to be one). To my amazement, I won, and the prize was my own one-woman-cabaret show. I knew nothing about cabaret, but if NY producers want to give you a show, what, you're gonna say 'no?' So I started going to the Lincoln Center library for the Performing Arts every day to check out music. That is where I met Scott, who's job was to hand out sheet music at the library. When I first saw him I thought I saw an aura of light around him, and I felt a strange feeling as if I knew him really well — even though I knew I've never seen him before. Now we are married for more than a decade."
It's true: you never really know when and where you're going to meet "The One." As long as you get out there, you could run into them. Maybe even today.
