I’ll be straight with you. I had absolutely no idea that online dating was so popular. 

Let’s get the dull statistics out of the way. According to Pew Research, three out of 10 adults in the U.S. have used an online dating service. A full 48% of Americans between the ages 18 and 29 have gone that route. 

The number drops for older folks, but still. According to Pew, 38% of people between 30 and 49 years old are dropping their hooks in the online dating pool and 16% of folks over 50 are doing the same. 

But those hard numbers are not what dropped my jaw. For me, it was the overwhelming response we got to a query asking our readers for their online dating stories. 

I mean, I was swamped. Stampeded. Overrun, and that was just in the first 15 minutes after the query first appeared. 

Most of those who responded met their matches through various online services, including Tinder, Match.com and Plenty of Fish Dating, which I’d never heard of but which seems to have a fair number of success stories. 

A few, though, found their mates in less specific ways. These men and women weren’t actively seeking online hook-ups, but timing and coincidence got them there all the same, all thanks to the Worldwide Web, which apparently Cupid has embraced wholeheartedly.

BETH AND CHRIS COMEAU OF RICHMOND 

“So, our story begins in August 2011,” Beth Comeau says. “I had tried many online dating apps over many years with very minimal success: eHarmony, Match.com, and finally, since it was free, plentyoffish.com. I had met a couple of nice people, but no one that I dated long-term. I had just gotten back from a vacation driving down the East Coast visiting friends and thought, I will give this one more try. I had just turned 40 and sort of thought I had missed my chance at finding love, but being ever-optimistic, I took one last scroll through.

“What struck me with Chris’ profile were his ice-blue eyes. His profile pic was not the best . . . it was a selfie taken much too close to his face. But those eyes . . . and he had a nice smile. So, I reached out. Nothing . . .

“So I went on and didn’t think about it. Until I decided a couple of weeks later to reach out (I think this was when you ‘winked’ at someone to show that you were interested). And this time, he responded. We started texting, but I type for a living so I would text faster than he could respond, so he got frustrated and gave me his number . . . and we started talking by phone.

“We set our first date, at Yankee Lanes in Brunswick, for August 18. Chris will tell you that the minute I walked in he knew I was ‘the one.’ I didn’t feel the same way, though I liked him immediately. I liked him even more when I beat him at the first two games. I said, ‘I will pay for the third game, and if you beat me, I will go out on a second date with you.’

“So, we bowled. I cleaned the floor with him (we still have a printout of the scores of those games). But, we did go out on a second date . . . and then a third . . . 

“About two weeks into our dating, Chris told me he loved me. At that point I was worried, because I thought there was no way someone could fall in love with ME (I had been single basically my entire adult life) that quickly. But, he did. And then I did. 

“He met my family, which was terrifying for me – someone who had never brought anyone to meet my family. And, they loved him immediately. My sister and I now refer to him as ‘Mom’s favorite child’ and that is no exaggeration. If Chris and I ever broke up, I would need to find a new family.

“Fast forward to May 4, 2013. We were married at Camp Mechuwana in Winthrop, where I had gone as a camper and worked on staff, and still work as a member of their board, since 1980. We have been happily married ever since. We still laugh about our meeting online and how Chris did all he could to make me do the work of chatting and calling as he didn’t have a lot of faith in meeting someone online. Little did he know that I am nothing if not persistent.” 

MALLORY HART AND KYLE STRATTON OF LEWISTON 

Mallory and Kyle haven’t gotten married yet. Maybe in 10 years, they figure. They see no need to rush. 

“But the love is there,” Mallory says. “And everyone around us sees it.” 

Mallory had just gotten out of a five-year relationship, a time she describes as “sad and miserable.” Still reeling from the tumult of that relationship, she wanted to find love, but the process of dating in this new age was completely foreign to her. 

Mallory needed to get out of her comfort zone. And she began that process the way so many others have. 

“I made a Tinder account. I was being very picky, and I had ‘rules’ for who I swiped right and left for. Some rules were such as: If they had pictures of themselves with multiple others they must be the ugly insecure one, so instant swipe left. Or if they golfed, swiped left. One date happened, and while a friendship was formed, nothing further was created. One day while driving, my friend was going through my Tinder for me, saying I was being too picky, and we stumbled across Mr. Blue Eyes! 

“Before I even really got to see his profile (due to driving), my friend swiped and I was left to creep his profile later that evening.

“June 18th, 2018, we had our first conversation on Tinder. What got us was music! When I say I listen to everything, I mean it: heavy metal to ’90s country, to classical (band geek), all the way to reggae and EDM, folk or doo-wop even. To find someone who reflected not only the discography but the passion for music, especially live, was hard to come by. But we spent most of the night comparing and sharing music.

“After talking for a day off and on we decided to meet at the bar I worked at. It was my safe place to meet, where not only was it public but everyone knew me, and the situation. My friend, the bartender that night, said, ‘If he’s weird, I’m messaging you and not letting you leave.’

“June 20th, 2018, I took the farthest seat from the door at the bar, and watched him strut to the seat. . . . We talked, and talked and talked as though we were old friends, yet all still new. We covered everything, from the turmoil we had been through, to our goals in our future relationship, mainly being to not waste any more of our time arguing. Now, don’t get me wrong, we do argue, or I guess, I would call it more of a bicker, from time to time, but we never waste time, and resolve or let go of everything.

“We decided it was time to go somewhere else, somewhere that we weren’t the scene of the show. We ended up at Mac’s Grill that night, and continued talking so much we hadn’t realized the restaurant had emptied and we were the only ones left. We apologized to the bartender, but she did not mind. She said we were cute and more then welcomed to stay till she cleaned up. . . .

“After knowing we hit it off, the next task was the biggest one. We were both single parents of two each, and not only did we want our children to like the other, but we hoped the kids would also bond. We planned a family-filled weekend the next weekend. The only word I could use to describe the weekend is magic. My son clung to his back as we swam at Range Pond, and our four kids instantly became best of friends, at the time ages 3 and 5 (mine) and 6 and 9 (his).

“On Dec. 20, Kyle and I hit our 3 1/2 year mark together, and celebrated that and the new year with all six of us at a hotel for the night. We have been to countless shows (at least 10), and more to come, all types of music and venues both big and small. Our kids, now 6 to 13, have grown so close they don’t call each other ‘step,’ just brother, and sisters.

“It hasn’t been easy. We have . . . life’s ups and downs, health scares and battles, but I couldn’t imagine life without my Mr. Blue Eyes, my best friend, my soul mate, and our silly, wild tribe.” 

KRISTINE AND DANIEL ADAMS OF LEWISTON 

“My husband and I met on plentyoffish.com,” Kristine Adams begins. “We met in August of 2007, met in person in October 2007, asked me to be his girlfriend on Dec. 24, 2007. We got engaged in March 2009 and married October 2010. . . . (He) was living in New Hampshire, he moved to Maine in January 2008 and traveled to New Hampshire every day for work until he found a job here.

“Granted it’s a singles website, and of course you need to be careful of who you meet. I made sure when we met, we met at my parents’ house (Dad’s rule), and I had a chaperone go with us out to eat and to the former Sparetime (bowling center in Lewiston). It worked for us, we took our time, we didn’t jump on anything. Granted I was only 25-ish years old and he was 26-ish then. Granted there is only so much information that can be provided online. I will be transparent as I am disabled, as is my husband. It took us a while to open up about our disabilities, but we have accepted each other. We base our relationship on the internal, such as love, honesty, communication, trust, and our religious views are the same.” 

KATE CURIT OF PARIS

“My husband and I met after talking for a month on POF.com (Plenty of Fish). We met August of 2014, were married in February 2015 and our first daughter was born the same year that December. We have been together almost 8 years, now with two beautiful kids.”

MEAGAN COSSEY OF LISBON 

“My fiancé, Kurt, and I started dating six years ago this month! We met on MeetMe, which at the time was an app where you could find people by setting your status to different things like ‘wanting relationship,’ ‘wanting a friendship,’ ‘not looking for anything . . .’ We started talking after Christmas of 2015, and he actually ghosted me for like two weeks because he was working retail, and the holidays were crazy leading up to the New Year. Toward the end of the two-week stretch, I was like ‘I guess this isn’t going anywhere’ and was going to delete the app — until I saw he had sent me a message apologizing, and saying we should meet up at some point! 

“Our first date was on Bailey Island, which is where he ended up proposing this past June! This October we will be getting married, which is still crazy to me. Six years, thousands of laughs and memories, all because we both decided to get with the times, and try to find someone online.” 

ELAINE SKELTON OF LITCHFIELD 

“Met my spouse on Plenty of Fish. He messaged me first. I wasn’t even really looking; just signed up because some friends talked me into it. People weren’t too keen on us dating because of his past, but I chose to look past it and gave him a chance. We may have had our ups and downs, but we have been together since Aug. 31, 2013. 8+ years and still going.” 

ERICA SPRINGER OF PARIS 

“Met my husband on eHarmony; been together 13 years; married 10 years this June.” 

TIMOTHY AND MEGAN SKILLING SPILLER OF AUBURN 

The lady formerly known as Megan Skilling is another one of those who wasn’t specifically looking for love online. But Facebook is a strange place and it has a way of bringing people together who might never otherwise have met at all. When Megan first bumped into Timothy Spiller, the man who would become her husband, it was largely by chance. 

“My husband and I met because we had 13 mutual friends on Facebook,” Megan says. “I remember seeing him comment on friend’ posts on Facebook that we had in common, and then one day he sent me a friend request. I let it sit there for a little bit, as I don’t accept people I don’t know, and then I was sitting at my camp one day and he commented on my post. I was confused because I didn’t remember accepting it, and I joked that I accidentally accepted it. Best accident ever as it turns out. 

“About two months after the friend request accidental acceptance, I had made a post on Facebook about how I hadn’t planned to start the day the way I had. I had recently purchased my first house and (was) still getting used to living more in the city vs. the country setting I grew up with, and had been awake very early. He messaged me and said ‘I hope your day gets better.’ We chatted all day and that whole weekend. We had our first date the following week at Taber’s (golf in Auburn). Then from there we saw each other the following week for dinner and made it official at the end of the month after going bowling. . . . With his work schedule and mine we pretty much could only see each other on the weekends. 

“Sometimes we’d meet after work during the week to do groceries. It turns out our mutual friend Jenn had wanted to set us up the year before but he was coming out of a rough breakup and the timing wasn’t right. We found other connections after we started dating. Such as his uncle had dated my dad’s cousin when they were teens, and a close family friend was good friends with his mom in high school. I am also very close to my cousin Joe, and went to their house for game nights almost weekly. The first time I brought Tim with me he walked into the kitchen and he looked at my cousin and said ‘Joe!’ and Joe said ‘Tim!’ They had gone to high school together and graduated together!” 

The couple’s first conversation on Facebook occurred in September 2016. They got engaged a year later and then married in September 2018. The couple had a son in 2019, again in the month of September. 

Chance meeting or fate doing its thing, it doesn’t matter to Megan. As far as she’s concerned, in the great love lottery, she hit the jackpot when she met Timothy Spiller. 

“He’s been with me through losing both of my grandparents in the course of two days . . . in 2017,” she says, “and the passing of my mom in 2019 shortly after the birth of our son. We’ve had a crazy 5 1/2 years and a lifetime to go!” 

GINA DAWES JOHNSON IN WESTERN MAINE 

Some people mastered the online dating game well before dating apps were actually a thing. 

“We met on Match.com 10 years ago,” says Dawes, who lives in western Maine. “We met before phone apps, so (we) did it through laptop back in 2012. We met halfway between our homes, which was in Bethel at the Bethel Inn. We had a wonderful dinner and got married there four years later. My sister met her husband on Match as well and they’ve been happily married for five years. And my 20-year-old son met his girlfriend last summer on Tinder.” 

KATHERINE AND MATTHEW LOUDERMILK OF BRIDGTON 

“My husband and I met on Match. We matched months before we started talking, and I can take the blame for that because I was incredibly nervous to talk to him and start something new,” says Katherine.

“We have been together five years this year and married three years in September. We share a beautiful 6-year-old, from his previous relationship, and we just had beautiful twins (girl and boy) this past July 2021. If I hadn’t gotten over my own fears and talked to him, I wouldn’t have the beautiful life we share now.” 

RHONDA MURPHY OF AUBURN 

“My hubby and I met on AOL and then in person at Mixers (nightclub in Sabattus). I kissed him and we’ve been together almost 20 years, and married for 18 in March. Doesn’t matter where you met, it’s how you make it work.” 

NICKLAS AND LAURA SANDBERG IN AUBURN 

Both Nicklas and Laura were living in Portland 18 years ago. 

“I had just moved to Maine from Chicago a few years before,” Nicklas says. “. . . I decided to give online dating a chance and if it didn’t work out, I was going to go back to Sweden. 

“My wife and I met on Yahoo personals back when online dating was still a fairly new concept. We went on a blind date, she didn’t feel the sparks I felt, but we stayed friends for well over seven months where I would email her every day at work. We would hang out more that year we met, and right before Christmas season she told me to either break up with my then-girlfriend or we could not stay friends nor date. I did, and 17 almost 18 years later we are on year 16 of marriage with three kids and I am so happy she took the chance on me on my personal ad back in 2004.” 

HANNAH AND PATRICK WALLACE OF FARMINGTON 

“My name is Hannah Wallace,” Hannah begins. “It was Hannah Guptill before I met the man of my dreams on Plenty of Fish in 2015. I had tried every website, met a few people and nothing became of nothing. I was about to give up when Patrick Wallace sent me a message and we talked every day and then met one weekend in Lewiston at the Sparetime bowling alley. We took along our kids — I have two boys and he has two girls — we had a great time and so did the kids. He asked me to marry him in 2017 on Christmas Day. We got married in Dixfield on June 8, 2019. We are happily married living in Farmington. I believe he is my soulmate I just met him late in life.” 

SARA AND BRIAN WILSON OF LEWISTON 

Few people would say that Craigslist is a place on the web that inspires love, but you know what? It had a hand in at least one local romance and you’ve got to give credit where credit is due. 

“Back in the day, Craigslist had several personal pages,” Sara explains. “Some were kinda gross, but there was a section called ‘friends looking for friends.’ I had just gotten out of a relationship and had the realization I had not made a single male friend during that whole time. I looked casually and I came across a guy from Lewiston looking for a geeky girl. I wasn’t a super geek but I was into Batman and video games, so I figured why not. We started chatting and I kept waiting for him to get forward and gross but he never did. The first time we met in person one day in the Gifford’s (ice cream) parking lot, sat in my car for five hours just talking about everything and anything. Quickly after, we realized we were meant to be together and we are still to this day.” 

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