Luna & Dom — Tukwila, WA
Luna Reyna, Journalist
Dom Alexander, Area loss prevention investigator
Dom first saw Luna thanks to a random Instagram follow. She was following Luna’s sister, who posted one day that her sister (aka Luna) would be moving to Seattle soon, which was where Dom resided. Feeling a bit nosey, Dom decided to check out Luna’s page; that’s when, she says, something came over her and she knew she needed to get to know this woman. “You see a lot of beautiful people on social media, but I never thought I would DM anyone,” says Dom. “That changed when I saw her.”
Luna, however, wasn’t surprised by the DM. The minute she saw Dom follow her on Instagram, she says, she knew she’d be hearing from the woman. And indeed, weeks later, Dom sent her a message and Luna opened it, setting in motion a true love story. “I saw the message and that was a wrap,” says Luna. “I have never answered a DM from anyone ever, but I know now that we were meant to meet.”
From that first moment, Dom knew they were destined to be together. Joking with her boss, she said that Luna was going to be her future wife. And while it was just a joke, Dom says it was also probably the truth. “You know what they say: There is a little bit of truth to every ‘just kidding,’” says Dom. For Luna, though, it took a bit more time. Worries about starting a new relationship right after moving to a new city, as well as how a relationship would affect her child, got in her way a bit. But as she spent more time with Dom, Luna realized that she was everything she ever wanted in a partner. “I can’t pinpoint any one moment that I knew she was the one for me,” says Luna. “I feel like we have known each other before, and we will be together again — [in] this life and the next.”
The couple has been reveling in the extra time with each other over the past year, working on communication and understanding each other’s different love languages. “Over the last year, that really evolved into better communication and the breaking down of some walls that I hadn’t realized were even there,” says Luna. The pair have been working on their own interests as well, with Dom getting in touch with her artistic side and Luna working on mixing music again.
Lauren & Michelle — Bellingham, WA
Lauren Taylor, Graphic designer
Michelle Swedelius, Artist/painter
Lauren and Michelle first saw each other on OkCupid, but after Michelle didn’t respond for a few days, Michelle’s message disappeared. It was meant to be, though, because two months later, Michelle needed a photographer and reached out to Lauren. “I messaged her about maybe shooting some of my artwork and asked if I might have seen her on OKC, so what was going to be a business meeting turned into a date very quickly,” says Michelle.
The pair met up at a coffee shop for their first date, though Lauren told Michelle that she was sick and couldn’t stay long — except, they ended up talking for over two hours. In fact, Lauren says that’s when she knew Michelle was going to be someone special. “The fact that I was ridiculously sick and I couldn’t pull myself away,” says Lauren. “I just wanted to know more and more about her, and when I got home, I couldn’t think of anything else except wanting to see her again.”
For Michelle, the moment she knew started out as a normal evening. The pair were sitting on Lauren’s back deck watching the sunset when she looked over at the woman. At that moment, it struck her. “Have you ever just looked over at the person across from you thought, ‘Holy shit? How did I get so lucky?’”
With all the challenges that the last year has brought, Lauren and Michelle have leaned into each other. The pair has faced work changes, a move, and health problems, but they’ve been dealing with it all together. “Our connection has really brought us closer together, and we are making the best out of what life has thrown at us,” says Lauren. “Love has really been at the forefront, and we make each other laugh a lot every day.”
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