L.A. Affairs: 14 perfect stories for Valentine’s Day
It’s that time of the year — like it or not — when we celebrate love: Valentine’s Day. So we’ve curated 14 of our favorite stories about love, all in one place. They’ve been culled from the archives of L.A. Affairs, the reader-generated column dedicated to the ups and downs of the search for love.
Even if you feel that Valentine’s Day is a made-up holiday intended to sell candy and flowers and trip up clueless partners, you’re sure to find a story here that will make you fall in love with the idea of love — or at least put a smile on your face.
And if you are one of those clueless partners — hey, we’ve all been there — still looking for the perfect gift, how about giving a copy of our first ever L.A. Affairs book: ‘L.A. Affairs: 65 True Stories of Nightmare Dates, Love at First Sight, Heartbreak & Happily Ever Afters in Southern California.”
And if you have a true story to tell about the search for love in and around Los Angeles, we want to hear your story. You can find submission guidelines here. And you can find past L.A. Affairs columns here.
- 1
For a widow, Valentine’s Day can be miserable. There are all the reminders, everywhere, that you are alone. Then, something across the bedroom caught my eye.
- 2
I happily admitted that I was in it for the fun, not the long-term. If they didn’t like it, no problem. There was always another woman to ask out.
- 3
Becoming a single mom by choice seemed insane: I was a public schoolteacher, not a lawyer. I didn’t even have paid maternity leave. How could I afford daycare, diapers and doctor’s appointments?
- 4
I can’t help but think that cancer — this horrible disease — is what brought us together.
- 5
Truth was, I was shy and inhibited. I had no idea what to say to this 19-year-old, who had just completed her first year in college and was already out in the working world. Lucky for me, she liked what she saw.
- 6
A therapist explained that violent traumas can make all your inner emotions flare. All your conflicts, even those years old and long buried. And so I confessed it all. All my struggles. And this time, with the therapist’s help, I recognized that I was a woman.
- 7
I had tried every dating site and app out there with varying degrees of success, and I was totally over them. I was tired of the “first date” and even more tired of never going on a second date.
- 8
We had so much in common. Our political and religious views were complementary too. That was some kind of miracle right there.
- 9
I had been traveling the world and was about to head out for a new adventure — Australia. Then, someone mentioned a name I’d almost forgotten: Laura.
- 10
Clinging to dim sum and homemade dumplings kept me close to who I was, to the memory of my mom and to family. But I needed to take a bold new step and find someone special to share them with.
- 11
I was sitting in a bar with two friends and looking at my Tinder app. Edan’s nickname popped up. Wait. It couldn’t be my sixth-grade crush, could it?
- 12
I was only 5 years old when a caretaker’s nephew began to sexually abuse me. He made me pinkie-promise not to tell. ‘I do this because I love you,’ he’d say. For years, I would carry this lie — that abuse was a form of love — into my other relationships.
- 13
I was divorced twice by the time I was 26. That was before I learned how to pick a mate for life. So I’m sharing my secrets with you now.
- 14
Over the years, I wondered if we’d ever end up back in each other’s lives — romantically. Our biggest roadblock was always timing.
