8 Stories of First Loves That Will Touch Your Heart This Valentine’s Day
Updated: Mar. 14, 2023
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.
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.
Sylvia Johnson
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.
Nicole Burrell
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.
Suzanne Derham Cifarelli
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.
Sylvia Johnson
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.
Patricia Hollinger
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.
Laurie Samsel Olson
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.
Catherine Balkin
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.
Aimee Ashby
