12 Real-Life Stories That Prove First Love Leaves a Mark

They say that first love is never forgotten... and thousands of people on the Internet confirm it. Even if time passes, even if life goes on, there are memories that remain to live in some corner of the soul. In this article, we compile real, sincere, and touching stories, told by people who could never erase from their memory their first great love. Some are sweet, others bittersweet, and a few will bring a tear to your eye or a nostalgic smile. Are you ready to feel that tingle again?

• I was 17 when I met Elena. She worked at the public library after school, and I kept finding excuses to hang around, pretending to browse shelves I'd already memorized just to talk to her. We became inseparable that year. We were each other's first everything. We'd spend hours reading side by side in the back room, walking to nowhere just to keep talking, and some afternoons, I'd help her cook at her grandma's house. That's when she introduced me to buttermilk chess pie. Her grandmother called it "big day pie" — only made it for birthdays, graduations, and days when someone needed to feel loved. Elena tried to teach me how to make it once. We made a mess of the kitchen, and even though I followed her instructions exactly, mine never tasted like hers. She just laughed.
  
  When her family had to move to North Carolina to care for her grandfather, she brought me one last slice, wrapped in wax paper. "So it doesn't taste like goodbye," she whispered. We cried, promised to write, but life — as it does — pulled us apart.
  
  Years later, I'm 72, retired, and taking a memoir writing class at the community center. The assignment was: Write about someone who changed your life. So I wrote about her. About our walks, the smell of old books, the pie, and the girl who taught me what love felt like before I even had a name for it. The next week, the instructor — a kind, thoughtful guy in his 30s — pulls me aside after class. He's holding my printed story and looks hesitant. "I think… I think my grandma might be the Elena you wrote about," he says. "She still makes that pie. Still calls it 'big day pie.'" I couldn't speak. That Sunday, I drove to her house. When she opened the door, we just stood there. No words. It was her, it was really her. She hadn't changed — or maybe I just saw her exactly as I remembered. Her eyes filled with tears before mine did. We both laughed. Then we cried. For all that we lost, and for the miracle of still being here.
  
  Some things — some people — wait a lifetime to return. And when they do, it's not about picking up where you left off. It's about realizing that not everything you lose is really gone.
• We met in college and became best friends, though we weren't romantically involved. He ended up working in another country. I had a lot of personal issues to work through that weren't related to him. We kept in sporadic touch over the years. When he came back to visit, we saw each other and ended up getting married. I was 47 years old. He's sipping coffee next to me in Italy right now. I turn 50 tomorrow. © northernflickr / Reddit

• We were both 13. We both came from really bad homes. Our parents disapproved of our relationship and tried to keep us apart. We hated everyone and everything except each other. She was the first person I ever told I loved. I hadn’t even said it to my mother at that point—that’s how messed up things were. We spent every second we could together for about six months. Then, one day, her parents decided that she was going to live with her aunt in New Hampshire. I found out about an hour before she left. The school guidance counselor let us say our goodbyes in her office with a little privacy. She left me a phone number, but her aunt eventually changed it. I lost the only person I had ever loved in my thirteen years. I spent years on the internet trying to find her. Eventually, I started searching MySpace for anyone her age in New Hampshire. I’d message them one by one, asking if they knew her. For a long time, I received no responses, or they said they had never heard of her. Then, one day, I received a response from her new boyfriend, oddly enough, and he put me in touch with her. We rekindled our relationship, and we were in a long-distance relationship for about three months. Then, we lost touch, and didn’t reconnect for about five years. We found each other again and made plans to be together. However, she told me that I was inadvertently triggering her childhood trauma, so she couldn’t be around me anymore. She said we shouldn’t talk. I was 28 when I lost her again. © Zonerdrone / Reddit
• I broke up with him because I thought I would be depriving him of a full college experience and life. I hated myself for ending it, but I wanted him to live his life. A few years later, he met someone, and they’re happy and living their best lives. It’s been hard for me, but I’m happy for him. We were heading in different directions in life; we were young. I did us both a favor, but I still love him and would get back together with him in a heartbeat. © Soft_Fisherman_3087 / Reddit

• I met my first love in college. She was the only girl I ever loved, but I wasn’t ready to settle down. I wanted to party with my friends. Although we never put a label on it, we were “together” for almost my entire sophomore year, and we were definitely a perfect match. Anyway, I dropped out of college, while she stayed, made friends, dated, and continued her life. I went on to meet a girl in another city, got engaged, and moved on with my life. Over the course of our four years together, this girl changed drastically. She was completely selfish and never cared about me or asked how I was doing. She always drained our bank account, and I was very miserable. Around that time—seven years after college—my old sweetheart happened to move to the city where I was living. We hung out three times in three days, catching up, laughing, and having a great time. She hadn’t changed a bit. I broke up with my fiancé a week later and never looked back. We started dating, got engaged, and set a wedding date. We never fight, and our relationship is beautiful in my opinion. Luckily, I got my first love back. © Unknown author / Reddit
• She married someone else, had two kids, and then we went our separate ways. A few years later, my ex-wife had an affair and left me. We reconnected a while later when she was leaving her second husband. We dated long distance for a while, and I met her kids and fell in love with them. I helped her through the messy divorce, and we’ve now been together for almost eight years. I adore the kids and have raised them as my own. She’s still my best friend, and we’re very happy together. © importvita / Reddit

• We were both 18, and he had been abroad in the USA for a year. We promised each other that we wouldn’t intentionally try to get with other people, but if it happened, it happened. As soon as he landed, he started dating random girls and started another relationship while he was there. I later learned that my love for him was one-sided, and he only started “dating” me because he didn’t want to hurt my feelings. © whoeveniscat / Reddit
• My first love broke up with me on Valentine’s Day after we had been together for almost two years. She said she had lost her feelings for me, but that I was still very important to her and that she wanted to keep our friendship. But, as anyone who has experienced first love knows, this breakup was a very big deal for me. We fought a lot, getting upset with each other over stupid things, which eventually resulted in us cutting off all contact. After that, we had a phase where we made indirect, snarky comments about each other on Twitter and Facebook. After a while, I started a second relationship and time passed. One night, I started looking through our old conversations, feeling nostalgic. I realized how stupid we were, and I missed my best friend. I messaged her on Discord. We talked and slowly built our friendship back up. Now, she’s one of my closest friends again. She’s helping me through another breakup, and we sometimes jokingly flirt with each other. I’m helping her with her new crush and stuff! She drove twelve hours just to meet me on my birthday! This week, I found old things that I had wanted to give her for her birthday or Christmas three or four years ago, so I sent them to her. We both cried a little while she looked through them. They were all packed in a box, so I couldn’t look through them, and I didn’t remember what I put there. They were both really cringy and sweet. I love her so much, and I’m happy we’re best friends again. © simply_misty / Reddit

• I’m 50 years old. I had my first love 30 years ago. That’s a long time. In short, yes, I got over her. I moved out west and fell in love with other women. She stayed in my mind for quite a few years, but as we both moved on with our lives, she faded from my thoughts. But I remember one day about ten years ago when I was shopping at the mall. I walked past the fragrance section, and—BAM! It was her scent. All these memories flooded back into my head. Lying beside her on a winter night. Watching hockey with her wacky mom. Laughing when her closet bar broke—again. Spending the weekend in the Poconos in the rain. It was a blast of fond nostalgia, and I nearly stumbled from its impact. We’re not in contact, so that was the last time I saw her. I can tell young people this: a broken heart hurts, but the pain doesn’t last. You’ll be amazed at how your life and loves will replace that hurt. It’s like pouring a pitcher of water into a small paper cup. Yet, that first love sets a standard of affection that will always remain. It can’t be replaced. Don’t forget it; use it as a standard and a starting place. You will build on it. What you build won’t seem as “pure” or “perfect,” but it will be stronger, more adaptable, and more satisfying. Now, get out there and start dating! © CitizenTed / Reddit
• I was 18 when I fell in love with Sarah. She was my lab partner in freshman biology, and everything about her felt like home. We dated for almost two years, but her dad got transferred overseas and she had to move to Germany. I always thought of her — especially on quiet nights. Fast forward almost 50 years. I’m retired, divorced, and dealing with some back pain, so my doctor sends me to physical therapy. Second session in, I’m lying face down on the table, and the therapist walks in and says, “You still slouch when you sit, you know.” I froze. I recognized the voice instantly. It was Sarah. She’d just moved back to the U.S. a few months earlier to be closer to her grandkids. Neither of us could stop smiling. We’ve had coffee every Thursday since. Sometimes life brings people back when you least expect it — even if it takes half a century and a bad back.

• I had a huge crush on a boy from school. I gave him a paper star with our initials before I moved away. Years later, I visited my old town and saw his wife at a café. I recognized her from photos online. Suddenly, she looked at me sharply and said, “You’re Lily, aren’t you? My husband still keeps that star you gave him. In his wallet.” Her smile was tight. I smiled back and stepped outside, my heart oddly unsteady.
• We were high school sweethearts and pretty much each other’s first everything. Things didn’t end well the first time around, and it was totally my fault. We had a child together when we were 16. We couldn’t make things work, but she was always around for our daughter. She was always in contact with my mom, though. My mom adores her grandchildren. Anyway, time passes. We both only had two serious, long-term relationships in between. She had two more kids, one from each relationship. She was engaged both times but only married once (the other relationship didn’t make it to marriage). I also had two serious relationships in between. I didn’t have any more kids, nor did I get engaged or married.
  
  About two years ago, her marriage ended and she had nowhere to live, so my mom offered her a place with us. She moved in, and we quickly became friends again. A few months later, our friendship became much more serious. That old spark returned. Now, we’re engaged, and we’ve been together longer this time around. Neither one of us saw it coming, but apparently, everyone else did after we started talking again. © zman2134 / Reddit

First love has a strange way of staying with us — not always in grand gestures or dramatic reunions, but in quiet memories, unexpected encounters, or the taste of a pie you haven’t had in fifty years. These stories remind us that some connections don’t fade with time — they wait. And while these tales warm the heart, not every love story is what it seems. For a different kind of twist, check out our article on real-life couples who turned out to be very different from who they claimed to be.