Loving with Pride: 5 LGBTQ+ couples share how they met

Here, five LGBTQ+ couples share their kilig-worthy love stories — from high school crushes to accidental reunions — to prove that, indeed, love is love this Valentine's season!

Wally & Gie

Wally: We met when we were in our fourth year of high school. We were just 16-year-old teenagers but we already felt attracted to each other. But since we were too young at the time, we couldn’t explain the feelings that we were having. Also, both of our families weren’t open and this kind of relationship wasn’t accepted in their beliefs.

After high school, we studied in the same university. However, we seldom saw each other as we had different class schedules and academic priorities. After that, years and decades passed and our paths suddenly crossed again at the age of 49. Since then, we decided to finally be together and live together.

Kathy & Maecy

Maecy: We were SHS students when we first met. Classmates kami, then one time nung third sem, I was late for a chemistry class, and ‘yong vacant seat sa tabi niya ‘yong pinakamalapit na upuan so I sat there. I learned na journalist siya nung JHS so I was impressed. Other than that, she’s very intelligent and neat. I also loved reading her essays kasi I felt like I got a glimpse into her mind, and her thoughts fascinated me. After confirming sa sarili ko na crush ko siya, I always tried to make ways to get close to her, like doon ako umuupo sa likod ng seat niya pero ‘di niya pala pansin. I thought talaga happy crush lang since straight siya and hindi rin ako “out” so wala talagang chance.

One time nasa coffee shop kami kasama ng friends niya, she confessed na nagkaka-crush siya sa isang girl but confused pa siya sa feelings niya, then that’s when I assumed na baka may chance.

Then one night, nagpa-Twitter game siya where likers will say their "bakit ba…" doon sa ibibigay niyang name through DM. She gave me her name, and that’s when I quoted her tweet saying, "Bakit ba wala akong lakas ng loob para sabihin na gusto kita, ha?" Ayon, naging MU kami and currently, three years na kami as a couple.

Yeoj & Marc

Yeoj: We first met nung online class. 'Yung classmate ko pa ang nakakita sa kanya while scrolling through our class list and said na magkamukha kami. I looked him up and thought he was cute. I then added him on Facebook casually, kaso wala pa akong confidence to message him directly. Luckily, may friend din ako sa block niya, so pinamessage ko sa kanya and asked if he's single to which he answered yes and added "ready to harot." After that, he messaged me directly and we hit it off ever since and we never stopped talking after that.

Ten & Sai

Ten: We were both studying AB-Animation in CSB but I was a batch older than her. One day, a friend of mine asked me if I knew this girl from AB-ANI 115 named Sai and if I knew if she liked women. I asked around my 115 friends and checked her Twitter account. I found a tweet about Tamen de Gushi and that raised a flag in my mind that maybe she might like women. So I told my friend my conclusion and left it at that.

When January 2018 came around, I somehow worked up the courage to DM her but only because she was having some problems and I just gave her advice about it. Halfway through January, I decided to plan for a Valentine's Day gift.

February rolled in. I thank God there's a flower shop just right next to CSB so I was able to reserve the flowers in advance. I went with sunflowers and pink roses because she liked sunflowers and the pink roses were just... her vibe.

The next day, Feb. 14, Valentine's Day. I avoided her the entire day because I was so nervous and shy to face her in person. Towards the end of the night, while I was packing up my stuff in our complab, I could feel her friends staring at me. I turned around and Sai was there. She thanked me for the flowers and bowed. I stuttered saying, “It’s no prob.” and immediately ran towards my friends because I gay-panicked.

We didn’t become girlfriend and girlfriend until maybe three weeks after our first date. We went to Barkin Blends and when we got back home that night, she asked me if I wanted to be her girlfriend and I laughed and said, “Ano ba yan inunahan mo ko. Tatanungin na sana kita bukas.”

Jolo & Ralph

Jolo: “First time ko siyang nakita around first-year college sa campus. Then he made the move to chat me up and take his shot. Since I still didn’t know him much yet and his message came out of nowhere, I inboxed-zoned him after a few exchanges ng chats. Then, three years after, nireto sya ng common friend namin, then he actually made an effort to get to know me by reading this webtoon I’m a fan of. Then that's when our connection started to get interesting and deeper. Then after a few months of talking, he confessed his feelings for me, syempre di na’ko nag-act dumb because alam ko naman all along.

Ralph: Our first date was a sudden gala with me going to my friend's restaurant near his place and I had a random thought of asking him out since it’d been about two months since we talked online. He was game for it, so I went to pick him up at his place where I saw him in the cutest light blue angelic polo. Before the date, I told him that my type was a guy with glasses. He normally doesn't wear them, but then when we met I saw him wearing frames. So that was cute and adorable.

When we were going home, siya naman naghatid sa akin and I was so kilig when we held hands while walking to my Angkas since he just lives near. He said, “Thank you, Ralph” and “See you again next time!”