8 Stories of First Loves That Will Touch Your Heart This Valentine’s Day

From stories of playground crushes to smooth-talking bad boys, members of the Reader’s Digest contributor network tell us all about their first loves.

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The memories that kept them afloat

When Sylvia Johnson’s first daughter died of cancer at 3 years old, her marriage suffered. “During the pain of it all, I threatened divorce more than once,” she writes. “At times I believed that the magical sense I had of love as destiny had betrayed me.” This is Sylvia’s stunning story about the give and takes of marriage—especially in the face of unimaginable grief.

Love lost at Central Park

At 16 years old, Nicole Burrell had her first taste of heartbreak: watching a former love interest ice skate with his ex at Central Park. Little did her teenage-self know, the best was yet to come. Don’t miss her lovely tale comparing first loves and last loves.

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The “How to Be a People Magnet” class

At 34 years old, Suzanne Derham Cifarelli was contentedly single. The rest of the world, however, was not so content. “It was amazing how peoples’ perceptions of my single life changed when I turned 30. It went from ‘I envy your freedom and independence’ to ‘oh, you poor thing, you must be so sad and lonely.’” But when she enrolls in a class called “How to Be a People Magnet,” everything changes—including her relationship status. Don’t miss her fateful story of falling in love when you least expect it.

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Ted vs. Tom

Ted gave expert kisses, said all the right things, and looked like he’d been ripped from the pages of a romance novel. And Tom—well, the only thing ripped about him was his underwear. That’s just the beginning of Sylvia Johnson’s story about how she met her husband, and the tragedies and trauma they’ve worked through since.

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Falling in love again, 60-years later

Patricia Hollinger met the love of her life when she was 14 and he was 18. Unfortunately, life took them down separate paths after that: they each married different people and moved to different states. That’s until a series of random events brought them together again. Find out how in Patricia’s touching tale of being reunited with her first love.

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An elementary school admirer

When they were 10 years old in 1964, Laurie Samsel Olson and her crush, Thomas, passed notes, exchanged baubles, and had some fairly impressive romantic drama for grade-school students. Laurie, now a grandmother, still thinks about it from time to time. Here’s her story about the playground crush she considers her first love.

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The early days of online dating

Before there was Match.com, eHarmony, or Tinder, there was Telepersonals, a website that recorded people’s voices so they could listen to each other’s ads for potential dates. That’s how Catherine Balkin found her husband. Learn more about Catherine’s so-’90s romance in her hilarious story about finding love, and all the dates she went on before meeting “the one.”

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Love at first sight? More like, ‘love at can’t type’

Sometimes, small events can change our lives. For example, if Aimee Ashby had been better at typing, she might’ve never met her husband. Don’t miss her story about how one bad job interview led her to the man of her dreams.