Where the hell are college students finding their romantic partners? It’s the question on all of our minds: during sorority lunch, post a bad Hinge date, and always after another disappointing night out where nobody is down to get their flirt on. There are always bars and dating apps, but sometimes the classics aren’t as effective as you’d expect. In the digital age, romance takes Olympic-level courage and often ends in chaos. Half the time, people are too scared to make a first move; the other half are immediately asking for a picture of your genitalia. The whole landscape feels like a fever dream. Yet somehow, in the middle of the ghosting, cringe pickup lines, and unsolicited Snapchats, people are managing to stumble into actual relationships. And I just so happen to be one of those people.
I met my man when my health-obsessed mother joined me for sorority lunch one day and decided to ask a busboy to manage my eating habits. As we put our plates away, she grabbed the cutest, tallest one and asked him to “make sure Ginger eats at least a plate of fruits and veggies every day.” He laughed and jokingly agreed. (I’m used to her antics, so I rolled my eyes and moved on.) When I walked her to her car, she said, “He’s so cute, you should date him.”
I didn’t really consider it because I had just gone on the best first date, and was planning on taking him to my sorority date function. The next day, I’m at lunch, and the guy I was supposed to go out with texted me a polite rejection note. (Mind you, I had been rejected approximately one million times that year.) So, I’m sitting there dejected when I look up and see the cute busboy. At this point, I had nothing to lose. “My mom said I should date you,” I called out.
“Oh, that’s funny,” he replied, thinking I was joking.
“Well… do you want to go on a date with me?” I asked him, literally in front of my entire sorority. He shot to attention, yelled “yes,” and the rest is history! Turns out he had a crush on me all semester. We just hit our two-year anniversary.
But I know I’m not the only one with a chaotic love story. So I asked seven college students to share the most unhinged ways they met their partners, and these are the best of the best.
Katie, 22: “I was basically blowing up his phone to let him know I found his wallet.”
“A girl came into the dorm common room saying she found a wallet in the elevator. I recognized the face of a mutual friend of a friend (who I had never talked to before) on the ID and said, ‘Oh, I recognize him. He’s my friend’s friend, I think!’ The girl literally said OK then,’ handed me the wallet, and walked away. I had to follow this man on Insta, add him on Snapchat, DM his friend, etc. I was basically blowing up his phone to let him know I found his wallet. To show his kindness, he gave me a gift card to our university’s restaurant. Bada bing bada boom the rest is history, and we’ve been together three years.”
Emma, 22: “I met him on Yik Yak.”
“I first joined Yik Yak (an anonymous social media app) my freshman year. It was my most-used app. I was on it for hours upon hours every day, and I was genuinely Yik Yak famous within my school. My icon was the yellow lemon, and I posted and commented all the time. Someone posted, ‘IK lemon fine af.’ This was before Yik Yak had DMs, so I commented on the post, and he replied with his Snapchat. Obviously, I added him on Snap, and to my surprise, he was actually really cute and 100% my type. I remember telling the girls in my hall about meeting this mystery man on Yik Yak, but I immediately felt embarrassed about it. Eventually, we went on a first date, and it honestly went really well, so we started going out. After about two months, we ended things because we just argued too much, but I still feel so silly every time I’m reminded that I met him on Yik Yak.”
Bailey, 21: “We went home together.”
“My girlfriend and I met at the gay club. We went home together, talked the whole night ’til sunrise, and decided to go to a protest the same day.”
MJ, 23: “I was practicing rejection therapy.”
“I met my boyfriend (of one and a half years now) because I was practicing rejection therapy. My best friend invited me to go out with her. We were supposed to meet two guys from Tinder there for a double date, but they didn’t show. I didn’t want to go dancing, and she did, so as a distraction, I decided to put my number on a napkin and go give it to the hottest guy in the bar (also the hottest guy I’d ever seen). He looked miserable and perfect for me, who was trying to get rejected. Anyway, he texted me the next day, invited me for tea, and the rest is history. I’m literally his first girlfriend, first kiss, first date, first everything ever, and we’re definitely going to get married.”
Emma, 22: “My friend got one man’s Snap in exchange for a cigarette.”
“I left the guy I was out with at the bar because he wouldn’t get up and dance. I headed to a frat party way down the block and ran into a group of guys. My friend got one man’s Snap in exchange for a cigarette, and the other tried to hit on me, but I was in a bad mood, so we left. I ended up getting ‘cigarette boy’s’ Snapchat, because I thought he was so cute. One night, he drove to me from two hours away, and we just instantly clicked. We haven’t gone a weekend without seeing each other, have been dating for a year, and always make time to travel the small two-hour distance to see each other. I’d say we’re madly in love.”
Ella, 22: “She always gave me my drinks for free.”
“I matched with this girl on either Tinder or Hinge. Turns out she works at the Starbucks near my apartment. I would pull up to the counter, and she always gave me my drinks for free. I started going more often, and eventually she asked me out and we started dating for a bit.”
Jess, 23: “I could only see the top of his face.”
“On my first day of work, I thought a cute takeout boy was flirting with me, but we were still wearing masks, so I could only see the top of his face. The next day, I came in and met a server who looked just like the cute boy from the day before, at least from the nose bridge up, but I realized he was very obviously gay. I thought I had, once again, been crushing on a gay man, and got so sad. It turns out it was two different people, and the boy who complimented my glasses on day one has been my boyfriend for almost four years now!”
College students are finding partners in the most wild, rom-com meets reality ways. If you’re looking for the one in the same old places with no luck, these stories prove that sometimes Cupid shows up where you least expect him. Get creative, take the shot, and you might just end up with your future spouse… or at least a story you’ll be telling over wine nights for the rest of your life.
Interviews have been edited for clarity and length.