One of my favorite comedies is Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion. There's just something about the undeniable chemistry between Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow that warms my cold, dead heart. True story: I've actually found myself tearing up during rewatches because there's something so wholesome and nice about a movie featuring two people who just genuinely care about each other that much.
Anyway, there's a scene shortly after the film's opening in which the titular Romy and Michelle head to a club for another pointless night of trying (and failing) to pick up men. These two women live together and are involved in every aspect of each other's lives. They're practically married (and it's practically implied their former high school classmates are rather shocked that they're not). So when Romy informs her friend that the two of them might as well have sex and see where things go provided they're not married by the time they both turn 30, you understand their logic completely.
After Redditor OverMyRedBody asked the online community, "People who made a marriage pact with someone like 'If we're both single by the time we're 40, let's get married' and went through with it, how did it go?" we herd from people who actually went ahead and took the leap.
"When we were 25..."
When we were 25 one of my best friends and I decided that at 35 we'd get married if we were still single. She moved back to the same town I lived in a year later and I realized I loved her too much to wait until 35. Been together two years now, we're getting married next week!
"Some years passed."
Best friend since we were really young. Always had crushes on each other off and on. In high school, our timing was awful and we never ended up dating but we did make a marriage pact - if we were both single at 30 years old, we'd be getting married.
Some years passed. We moved away from each other, grew distant, dated other people. Long story short, we're now back in each other's lives and I'm reasonably sure we're going to make good on the pact earlier than originally anticipated.
"I made this pact..."
I made this pact with my best friend in high school. Several years down the road we ended up being together but long before the time frame was up. We will be married next year.
"There's a pretty good chance..."
We did this too. We made it four years, and three years of marriage counseling before we got divorced. Apparently being an insecure nice guy who picks up the girl of his dreams after she realizes that being hot s*** in high school ends immediately after high school breeds resenting the f*** out of your spouse, and requires more than couples' counseling to unf***.
Fifteen years and tons of therapy later, I'm happily married to a woman I respect, and I'm also capable of understanding that I was the ass****.
So yeah, life protip for anyone who is actually reading this. That "sweet" guy that is always waiting for you to be single so it can be "his turn"? There's a really good chance that he's a f****** nightmare, and any attempt at a relationship with him is not going to make him love you. It's going to make him stop masking his resentment of you with love.
Don't f****** marry a nice guy. Don't do it. I'm not sure I would have changed if it hadn't happened to me, but still, I can say for certain that I'm the only one who got out of that situation with anything positive having happened to me, and I hate that I know that, and that someone else had to suffer for me to learn this.
"My best friend growing up..."
My best friend growing up and I made this pact. We were 13-14 at the time. The pact was if we didn't marry anyone by 30, we would marry each other. A few years later, we moved it to 25. By the time we were 19-20 we started dating. We got married at 22. Just celebrated our 3rd anniversary.
"The original girl ended up staying..."
I made this pact with a girlfriend from high school (early 1990s), but much later in life.
We dated and in the 9th (me) and 10th (her) grade. We had a falling out for a bit due to my stupidity, but by the time she was graduating HS we were pretty close again. We went in very different directions but managed to stay in touch. She partied a lot and sort of drifted...waitress, bartender type stuff. I was doing responsible s***...college, military reserve, starting a civilian career. We would connect every once in a while over the years and there always seemed to be a little something special there, but for the distance.
She called me out of the blue one year (early 2000s) and tells me I need to watch the NFL draft because her boyfriend or fiance was likely to be drafted by a team in the state where she knew I lived. If all went as expected it would bring us closer (in distance) than we had been in a long time. By this time I was on my first marriage or maybe living with whom would later become my first wife.
He did get drafted and they moved to the state, just 2 hours away. I met and partied with him/them for his birthday before his rookie season started. Good dude. Big dude. She and I were strictly platonic. He ended up getting traded around the league though over the next couple of years and they ended up living a couple states away. Meanwhile, I was certainly married by this time and had deployed to Iraq.
Again, she contacts me out of the blue (maybe a MySpace message) while I was in Iraq after she happened to see me featured in an obscure trade magazine. After her and the NFL player broke up, she had taken an entry level job in my civilian career field and happened to pick up the magazine for the first time ever that month. We started connecting again, remotely, and still purely platonic.
I came home from that deployment to a marriage in ruins. She cheated. I filed for divorce. While I'm adjusting to being home after more than 18 months, and my impending marital status, I decide to fly out to visit my friend who welcomes me to stay with her a few days to help me mend. It was between Christmas and New Year and I was a bit fragile mentally. During those couple of days we connect even more and confide a lot in each other. But she has a few boyfriends (I met at least 3) and lots of drama at the time. Clearly, I have my own drama going on.
I think that was when we made the deal, after knowing each other more than 10 years. We knew we both loved each other, I'm convinced, but we both knew we needed to live (and heal) a little more before we set ourselves up for failure. I think the agreement at that time was that we would get married if neither of us were already, by 30. We talked about it regularly over the years, both assuring the other it wasn't a joke. Even her parents knew of the deal.
She moved again. Her biological father drove out to help move her across the country to the state where we were originally from. On their way through my city they stopped to visit. He stayed in a hotel. She stayed the night at my house. For the first time in what seemed like forever, we were both single and it was clear how much we loved each other. The next day she left and for the next couple of years we continued to live across the country from each other. We stayed in touch and saw each other occasionally. The agreement remained in effect but we kept moving the age because we just weren't ready.
Then two things happened. I met a girl and got notice that I would deploy again about the same time. The girl I met, I really liked. She had her s*** together and was beautiful. I wasn't trying to go overseas again attached to anyone. And, at the time she was really indecisive too.
Meanwhile, I went out to visit the original girl. Then, she came out to visit me. The new girl was still indecisive (except when the new girl was in town). The original girl had been having trouble finding work in her home state even after aesthetician school. And, she was in an abusive relationship that was really f****** her up. While she was visiting we partied a lot. In fact, that's about all she wanted to do. I didn't mind much because I was leaving soon anyway. Among the many, many bad decisions we made, was one where she agreed to house sit for me and take care of my dog while I was deployed for a year. I gave her use of my truck too. All she had to pay for was her food and gas. Sounds like the makings of a country song, right?
Now, I know what you all are thinking...but I had known this person for over 16 years. She wasn't a random. She needed help and so did I. All I wanted was for her to get a job and to help get her on her feet. I went in to it with the proper intentions. It was a gift and I expected nothing in return. There were genuinely no expectations about a future for us beyond what already was. Besides, I was conflicted...she was the beautiful party girl with baggage I had known and loved forever. But, the new girl was truly marriage material that I couldn't get a consistent read from. It didn't matter because I didn't have to decide for at least a year.
A year made all the difference. The new girl and I talked every day I was gone. She was supportive throughout the deployment in so many ways. My old friend had a few boyfriends along the way, which was genuinely fine, but I came home to my house and vehicle not in great condition. Thankfully the dog was alive, most likely because the neighbors across the street came and stole him from my house.
I took the new girl to meet my parents a month after I got home from deployment and asked her to marry me on that trip. We moved to another state for my civilian career and we'll have been married 10 years next year.
The original girl ended up staying in the town where she came to live with me and met another guy who she ended up marrying. I miss my old friend. I still love her and want the best for her. If she is living a better life today than she was 11 years ago, and I think she is, then it wasn't all for nothing. I'm just no longer a part of it.
"I on and off dated a wonderful woman..."
I on and off dated a wonderful woman for a few years. Commitment was always kind of on/off, and we both dated other people during this time, things were exacerbated by us both being single parents (mine were quite a bit older than hers, even though she was older than me). We were always quite close, when we were dating we'd talk about oru respective partners, no jealousy whatsoever.
We ended up as FWB for a while, one night speaking on MSN iirc we made a pact that if we both hit 40 and neither of us were married then we would get hitched. TBH, for quite some time I thought we actually would get married.
During one of our drier spells, I was at her house fixing her washing machine and her sister popped in to say hi. Well, not only did she look amazing, but I could tell she was checking me out, but I left it at that.
More talking online and I joke with her that I'm going to bed her sister, and she jokes back that I should try if I want, but that her sis is married and very happy.
Turns out, not as happy as everyone thought. Very abusive husband.
Very long story cut short, I've been married to her sister for 4 years now.
She did not take the news well to start off with, but that's mostly because I broke the news in such a cuntish way because I was drunk and thought it was funny.
We all get along like a house on fire, her parents (after the initial shock) have been wonderfully accepting, as has her whole family, I'm lucky to be a part of it.
"When we were both 19..."
We're married with a newborn!
When we were both 19 when we made a pact to marry each other at 35 if we're both single. We started dating at 24, married at 29, and now have a newborn at 31.
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
