Here’s the story of how Sandy and I met. As you read this, you’ll realize we have anything but an average love story that began on 2/2/2002.
At the start of 2001, I (Chris) was navigating a tough chapter in life. Everything felt off—money was tight, love was elusive, and friendships seemed distant. I’ve always had a passion for motivational quotes, so I started searching for some inspirational sites. Honestly, I didn’t find much that resonated with me. That’s when I thought, “I could probably build a better site than 95% of what I’ve seen.”
On April 15, 2001, I launched Inspiration 4 Everyone. Initially, I planned it to be a simple 10-page site filled with quotes. But as visitors began to trickle in, I started receiving requests to add more content. The site grew faster than I could have imagined.
By September 2001, I stumbled upon a Christian singles site offering a free 14-day trial. Since I was feeling a bit frugal, I thought, “Why not?” After the trial, I realized I genuinely liked the platform but didn’t want to pay for it. So, I started brainstorming ways to keep the membership free. I noticed they had an affiliate program and decided to email them. I asked if they’d consider granting me a free membership in exchange for joining their affiliate program. The worst they could say was no, right?
They got back to me, saying they’d never done that before but would consider it based on my site’s traffic. I proudly informed them that my site, just under six months old, had attracted over 35,000 visitors. They agreed, and I set up my account.
Fast forward to February 2, 2002—I was on the lookout for someone to chat with. That’s when I found Sandy. Here are two funny quirks about our meeting: first, I only chatted with profiles that had pictures, and guess what? She didn’t have one. Second, she was only on that site because she received an email saying she had a message. She was about to log off and delete the message when I messaged her. Thank God I caught her just in time!
We talked on the phone two days later, on February 4th, and set a wedding date on February 18th (a few people thought we were a bit crazy). We finally met in person on March 4, 2002. Yes, it sounds a little wild—we set the wedding date before even meeting face-to-face! But you know what? We actually tied the knot on the day we planned: October 5, 2002. And here we are, still together today!
So, throughout our entire journey together, the internet has played a significant role in our love story!