10 Fashion Journal readers tell us about their real-life romantic meet-cutes

“I was naked on the stage, he was in the audience and we locked eyes. The feeling was immediate.”

In the era of dating apps, it feels like romcoms and their meet-cute stories – entailing everything from in-flight romances to the house-swap love affairs of The Holiday – have set unrealistic expectations. Currently, it seems most single people are looking for potential partners (or hookups) online.

Looking for more thought-provoking reads? Try our Life section.

So does the IRL meet-cute still exist outside of our TV screens? To find out, we asked anonymous Fashion Journal readers to share their stories. Scroll on to read what they had to say.

Rose*, 34, she/her

This might not technically count, as my husband and I met on Bumble, but we chatted for a few days and then met and realised we both grew up in the same suburb. This then progressed to discovering we lived down the road from each other for 10 years and had never met until that first date.

Seraphine*, 25, she/her

We met when my housemate and I saw two men bringing in a slab to the house across the road from us. We were pretty drunk and we were very excited, so decided to write an acrostic poem to drop in their mailbox about the fact that we saw “cool neighbours”… [and we left] a message at the end that said, “Do you want to be friends? [Tick] yes or no”.

I wrote the poem and my partner wrote the response and returned it with “a resounding yes”. Two months later, my housemate and I walked over to our across-the-road neighbours when they were out in their front yard and said hi. They invited us to the party they were hosting that night, I slept with him and we had a two-year relationship!

Was a very cute relationship but also very stressful sleeping with/dating someone who lived across the road from me, especially when it was early on and things were up in the air. He was all for me though, so it worked out for the time.

Margot*, 27, she/her

I had just arrived in Hong Kong – literally straight off a red-eye flight, so you could imagine how I was looking. A hot mess. I was in the fabric district when I glanced over to the other side of the street, stopped in my tracks and told my friends to stop and look at “the most stunning man I’ve ever seen”. We had a giggle and then went back on about our day.

Five minutes later, that same stunning man stopped me and opened with “Bonjour, ca va?” Thankfully, he knew English and we exchanged socials. We then spent the next three days chatting, laughing and enjoying each other’s company. We eventually shared a kiss and then continued with our respective trips. nothing eventuated but reminded me that you can meet anyone anywhere. Got home and found out he had a girlfriend.

Olivia*, 28, she/her

I’m English, but lived in Sydney for 12 years as my dad was transferred for work. Five years ago whilst at the Melbourne Cup after party, I met an English guy who was visiting Australia at the time. We spoke for a while and ended up following each other on Instagram, where we then basically watched each other’s lives unfold for the next five years.

I moved back to London last year and in July, went along to drinks a friend had organised at the pub… I then bumped into the guy I’d once met in Melbourne. It was the first time we’d seen each other since we first met and now we’ve been dating ever since then.

Aisha, 22, she/her

I first saw a photo of my now-partner on my best friend’s Instagram story. I was living interstate at the time and asked my friend who this beautiful person was and most importantly if they were single and queer. My friend responded yes to both and said we’d actually be great together. I excitedly stored this little piece of knowledge away, hoping I would meet them when I moved back to Melbourne.

Two months later, at the launch of this same friend’s fashion label in Coburg, I was told they were going to be there. I saw them in the middle of the crowd dancing to the band that was playing. With a bit of encouragement from a friend, I made my move. My partner recalls me “stroking their elbow”. We got talking and the rest is history. We’ve now been together for over a year and a half.

Evie*, 27, she/her

I met my partner of four years while I was working at a strip club. I was naked on the stage, he was in the audience and we locked eyes. The feeling was immediate. My whole stomach dropped.

When I finished my stage set he came straight up to me and asked for a private dance. I said no, I want to give you my number. We got coffee the next morning and that was it. Totally bizarre and totally perfect. We were drawn to each other like magnets.

Clementine*, 32, she/her

It’s a wild and weirdly kismet story. I met my partner 11 years ago when I was 21 and she was 19 – we both worked in fashion together. We were young and weren’t interested in dating, so became friends but eventually lost touch.

Five years later, I had moved to Sydney I was still in fashion and opening a new store. A team of visual merchandisers from Newcastle had come to support us and I was shocked to see her on the supporting – like, what are the odds? I became so nervous and realised I had feelings for her but thought she would never recognise me.

Turns out she did, and we laughed about this weird timing of seeing each other again. I started to get butterflies whenever I saw her at this store opening and tried to do all the things to be working on the same project – until I found out she was engaged. Total punch in the guts! After the project ended and we again went our separate ways, I decided it wasn’t meant to be and unfollowed her on Instagram.

A few years passed and when I was 28, I decided to move to London and truly thought I was over her [because] so much time had passed. She was still following me on Instagram so when I saw her view my stories, the butterflies came back – but of course, I couldn’t act because I was living overseas and the last time I saw her… she was engaged.

After COVID, I moved back to Australia. After being single at this point for six years and welcoming my 30th birthday with no romantic prospects, I was feeling a bit like ‘This can’t be it’. I had a few wines and put up a story about a cat trying to catch a fish in a frozen pond and something about ‘This is what they mean by plenty of fish in the sea’. And who commented on it? She did. I literally jumped off the couch, I was so excited. I had a bit of courage from the wine and decided to write back.

Turns out she had called off the engagement years ago and had been single for the last few years, watching my stories in London and wondering when I was coming back. We started chatting again and I guess like they say the rest is history. We are now living together in Melbourne after a long ten years chasing each other around the world. The way the universe kept bringing us back together at different stages of our lives was wild and a reminder that IRL connections are so important, you never know whose path you might cross.

Maya*, 21, she/her

I met my boyfriend, cutie pie and loverboy of two years on Tinder. I thought he was cute but what really got me was that in his bio, he said he was renting a room. Weird place to advertise, but I was looking for a place to stay as I’d gotten stuck in Melbourne over COVID.

He was 19 and worked days while I worked nights – the perfect housemate. I went over to his house after a few days of talking just to find out the room wasn’t for rent, but I was welcome to stay for a drink and watch the tennis… what the fuck?

Fatima*, 26, she/her

I moved back home from living overseas mid-pandemic (in 2021) and was opening my first solo art show. I had met this guy in passing the day before my art show opened while I was with mutual friends getting coffee at the bakery he was working at. The next night, he came to my art show opening and we chatted briefly.

I think two weeks later, we got coffee and slowly began to hang out more. Within two months of officially dating, I moved interstate for a job and he moved three months later. We now live together with another housemate and have been dating for two years.

I’d say our relationship was on fast-forward with me moving away and doing long-distance for a short period of time. But I strongly recommend people to take a chance and let yourself just fall. It’s super cringe, but I feel lucky and privileged that it worked out for me.

Zoe*, 32, she/her

We met briefly at a friend’s party, and then by chance I saw him at gigs a few weekends in a row. He invited me to a party of his at one of the shows and after his party, he asked if he could take me out for dinner. After catching up every few weeks or so for dates, I headed overseas for a holiday and was unsure where we’d be when I got back. Since then, we’ve been seeing each other pretty consistently/dating!

*Names have been changed

For more on meeting someone IRL, head here.