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The way we met: real-life love stories on Instagram

Brooklyn Sherman is a hopeless romantic and she isn’t afraid to admit it.

“I had my heart broken at an early age and a couple of times since. I also broke a few hearts myself along the way,” Ms Sherman tells The New Daily.

“What I have realized personally though is that, through all of it, I have never given up on love.”

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Screen Shot 2015-06-25 at 4.43.32 pmIt was this passion for passion that prompted the 27-year-old from Los Angeles to start the Instagram page The Way We Met.

After launching just three weeks ago, the page now has nearly 90,000 followers and thousands of comments thanks to its heartwarming portrayal of real-life love stories.

“I noticed that marriage rates have dropped significantly since the 1960s. People, and especially young people, are getting married a third as much as they used to. I was curious as to why this is, and what effect social media has on all of it,” Ms Sherman explains.

“I decided, if this is our society and this is the reality, I’m going to at least put something positive on social media. One of my missions is to motivate people to get back into the world and start experiencing again; not just going out for their next best social media post.

“Maybe if they see all these wonderful stories of how people found true love in the most random of places at the most random times, they will feel encouraged to stop hiding behind their computer screens and go out into the world again.”

Couples can submit a photo and a story of how they met to Ms Sherman, who spends her time sifting through the emails and putting them on her page.

But Ms Sherman, who also works at a Los Angeles talent agency, aims to steer clear of airbrushed, sugar-coated representations of relationships.

“People keep saying to me, ‘Oh you need to get a celebrity’s story on your account’. My response is always, ‘No, thats not what I’m trying to do. This account is about average people finding love, and I plan to stick with that’.

“At the end of the day, life isn’t measured by how famous you are, or how much money you have, it’s about the people you love and the memories you create with them. If The Way We Met is giving people hope, well then, I’ve done my job and I’m happy.”

Here are five of our favourite love stories from the page:

 Pay it forward

Screen Shot 2015-06-25 at 9.58.21 am “We worked at the same company. She was in the key punch department (they don’t have those anymore) and I was in the blueprint department, so our paths would cross.

“I took her out to lunch at the cafeteria, and wouldn’t you know it, I didn’t have any money on me so she had to pay! The rest is history.

“I’ve been paying ever since, gladly. We’ve been married for over 58 years.”

Dad knows best

Screen Shot 2015-06-25 at 9.57.47 am“I met my boyfriend Jake because he somehow showed up on my dad’s ‘people you may know’ list on Facebook. My dad claims he accidentally clicked the add friend button (and blames his ‘fat fingers’).

“Two days later I get a message from a super hunky Jake that says, ‘Hey so I don’t think we’ve ever met, but your dad added me on Facebook?’ I was just a little embarrassed, but it ended up being a blessing in disguise!

“Jake asked me on a date shortly after that and now we’re in love and have a cute little red-headed son! Happily ever after the end.”

Tinder triumph

Screen Shot 2015-06-25 at 9.57.14 am “My boyfriend and I met on Tinder while living in LA. Turns out we grew up 20 minutes away from each other in Ohio. Today is our 2 year anniversary.”

Childhood sweethearts

Screen Shot 2015-06-25 at 9.59.38 am “I met Jon when I was in 4th grade. I was instantly attracted to his long locks and good looks, but during our short time dating I caught a Hussie [sic] sitting on his lap. I broke up with him and he wrote me a letter trying to win me back, which I actually still have, but I wasn’t convinced.

“We went on to different high schools and only had an occasional run in at 7-11 and a coffee shop. After high school, I went to Parsons in New York to study fashion.

“It wasn’t until 2012 when I was visiting Michigan for a little R&R, that I went to a house party and heard someone yell ‘Jamie!?’ I turned around and sure enough it was Jon. We ended up talking on the porch all night, but it wasn’t enough.

“We found ourselves flying back and forth from New York to Michigan to visit each other and had many Skype dates. I would make him “sit with me” while I had dinner and would bring him into the bathroom while I was brushing my teeth.

“Jon passed the bar to become a lawyer and finally moved to New York to be with me. Tonight we were married.”

Just say yes

Screen Shot 2015-06-25 at 10.00.28 am“I was 27 and and fed up with the dating scene. I declared to my girlfriends that ‘if a guy can’t just come up to me and ask me out, then he doesn’t get to go out with me’.

“Then on a summer evening soon after, I was playing Ultimate frisbee in a recreational league when this confident beautiful man walked up to me and said, ‘Are you dating anyone?’ When I replied no he said, ‘Well then you should date me’. We’ve been together for 15 years now and have two kids.

“Sometimes people just need to ask, because the answer might be yes.”

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