8. “I loved him since we were five. I moved out of state at age seven, and naturally, we lost touch. About 12 years later, something unrelated brought me back to the state, and we reconnected. I remember so vividly the thought I had when I first saw him again: ‘Oh my God, I’m going to love him forever.’ This reconnection threw us into 10 years of visits and communication, regardless of other relationships we may have been in at the time. I pined for him for so long, hoping he would finally realize we were meant to be. Eventually, I came to my own senses and, in a sense, let him go. I would send a text here and there, but they often went unanswered.”
“I always wished him well, though, and wondered how he was. A couple of years ago, I Googled his name, and his obituary popped up. I couldn’t believe it. I panicked, and I sobbed. I’m not sure he ever knew the depths of my love for him, and not telling him is what I regret the most. I think about him every day, and in fact, Katy Perry’s ‘The One That Got Away’ is my song for him. Maybe in another life because, as I predicted, I will love him forever.”
—Anonymous, Age: 37
12. “During my freshman and sophomore years in high school, I had a crush on Zach and thought he might feel the same way about me. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the confidence or experience to make a move, and neither did he. Instead, one of his friends asked me out, and when I started dating him, Zach stopped talking to me. That relationship set a bad precedent for my future ones, and I often found myself fantasizing about Zach during it. Now, I occasionally check up on him online, and between the two of us, I’ve been more successful and fortunate in life, though I’m sure he’s where he wants to be. I’m married to a wonderful guy whom I’m grateful for every day, but there’s always been a lingering ‘what if’ in my mind. I don’t think he was ‘the one,’ but it would have been nice to have memories instead of fantasies.”
16. “I fell so hard for my one that got away in seventh grade and soon realized he felt the same way for me too, but we didn’t find each other until we were in our early twenties and met up after getting in touch on social media. We were together more on than off for the next fifteen years, discovering different things about each other and ourselves. Then I realized he was a completely different person than what he had made me believe in the beginning, but after being together for so long, there was always a glimmer of hope that we would be able to work things out. I then lost my job, found out I was pregnant, made a completely bonkers decision to move in with him while his brother was still living there, and slowly but surely discovered what kind of person he actually was. After that, I lost the baby due to way too much stress and fake support from yours truly.”
“I know it sounds insane that I still love him, but because I did my research and read more than I would ever want to, I moved out, found a new job, and then another one since I had to take a severe pay cut to get some kind of income to help take care of my parents since he convinced all my friends and probably the entire internet, including my therapist who abandoned me, that I am the bad guy here so it has been hell to get back up on my feet emotionally and financially. I know it’s my fault that I didn’t leave and just stayed away earlier. Still, when you fall so hard that you refuse to see anything or anyone else, plus you are dealing with undiagnosed mental illness along with ten thousand other stresses that you were not aware of until it was too late, I hope you would be smarter than me to let love be your guide and let your brain take over sooner.”
—Anonymous, Age: 39
