The Moments When People Knew They'd Found Someone Worth the Risk

"She always made me smile. Like I couldn't not be happy when around her and I didn't want that happiness to end. She told me she didn't necessarily want to stay living in Atlanta and saw herself moving home, and being in Atlanta for work and my family was really important to me. So it was a risk. But I knew I wanted to see that smile as much as possible and couldn't let it go." — Jess

"I was seeing this guy for a few dates and really liked him. A LOT. He told me before we were going to have sex that he had herpes. It would be a risk but I couldn't see why I should break up with him for having something a lot of people probably have (and might not know about, which is how he got it in the first place) and that didn't take away from who he is and how amazing of a boyfriend he'd be. When he was honest with a secret that's so stigmatized, I knew I found a good, kind, honest person who'd put me first always. It made the choice easy, and we've been together and I still haven't gotten it too." — Rebecca

"I'm Jewish and this guy I was seeing was Christian, and my parents really wanted me to be with a Jewish man. I was worried he wouldn't be welcomed into the family in the future. It was enough to not date anymore and risk getting too attached or pissing off my family. When I mentioned it, he said, 'They'll love me, I promise,' and that confidence and attitude just made me realize how awesome, cool, and just determined he was. I knew he was right." — Jenna

"Honestly, this guy said to me, 'What do you want, babe?,' in the most sexy but also romantic way. I was worried about the risk of him being a player because of that chill sort of vibe he had and I didn't want to get hurt. But I trusted my gut that he really did want to make me happy and would put me first. [He's] the perfect combination of dominant, alpha male with a soft side who puts his lady first." — Becca

"She woke me up by kissing my chest and brushing my hair and then smiled up at me and said, 'Baby, it's time to wake up.' She knew I had a buddy's event to go to that morning, and so she set the alarm for me since I clearly forgot and made sure I was there on time for him. The combination of her waking up that way and being so thoughtful made me realize she was worth going all in and risk getting hurt." — Dan

"I was falling for this guy hard, and he told me he was moving to a different city in a few months and I knew we'd probably fail because long distance is tough. But when he told me, and we were thinking of ending things, he looked at me and and brushed my hair back, kissed my head, and gave me a look saying that it'd all work out without saying anything at all. That's when I knew I trusted him and couldn't say goodbye. We've been together since and I plan on moving there next year." — Katie

"I was out with this guy I really hit it off with and we'd been on a few dates, and we went to a restaurant he suggested and he ordered the fries for his side. They were truffled and had garlic and rosemary and all this stuff on it and were amazing. He gave me half of his fry side and I didn't think anything of it until we went out with his friends the next day and told them where we went and they told me how they were his favorite fries in the city and he never shares with them. That's when I knew he was a keeper." — Jamie