HOW WE MET (I didn't notice her at first)

Hey guys, welcome back to the channel. We are Matt and Abby, and we're so excited that you're here with us. Before we go ahead and get started, make sure that you hit that subscribe button and the like button. And today we're talking about our love story, how we met and what it was like dating long distance in high school. So I guess we'll have to go all the way back to my eighth grade year. We were both really like into the performing arts. I lived in a smaller town in Illinois. It's just smaller and there's no professional theaters. And I was like, I think it'd be really cool to try out for a professional theater. I would go with my mom to audition where he lived in St. Louis. And there is a theater that's an outdoor summer theater that I would audition for. And I think I had auditioned one other time before I actually auditioned and made it in. I got in and I was like super excited about it. And so that meant that I was gonna be living in St. Louis for at least part of the summer, which is actually where I met Matt was at that theater. We got in the same show together. The show was Mary Poppins and we were just very small, like ensemble roles in it. But the kids kind of hung out together and played cards together. And I remember playing cards with you in like that summer we would play cards. That game where you like slap the card deck. Yeah, Egyptian rat screw. If you guys have heard of that game before. I remember thinking that you were super cute and all these things. And I think that my mom had become friends with your mom. And so I was kind of like, felt like I had an in in a way. But I was also like, I was the girl in school was like, I'm not gonna date. Like, I just don't have time for this. I don't have time for boys. But that summer when we were in that show together, I had just turned 15 and she was 14. And we were just friends. We didn't really know each other that much. Abby started to like me, but I didn't even really notice her in that way just because I wasn't really looking for anyone to date at that time, especially in that environment. I was kind of just there to perform. Also keep in mind, I had this crush on you, but I wasn't like, first of all, I always said I wasn't gonna date a theater boy. I don't know necessarily why I said that. You say you weren't looking for somebody. I definitely wasn't looking for somebody, especially when we first met. It was more of just like a little crush because I thought he was super cute and I like showed my friends him. But like, this was a span of three years that we just would see each other randomly off and on. Yeah, nothing was serious. Not because we lived two and a half hours away from each other. Oh yeah. And then we ended up in a show together the summer before our senior year of high school. It was like the May of our junior year that we started. Yeah, we started. We got in The Wizard of Oz. And that summer is when I just completely realized, oh my gosh, Abby Biswell is a pretty girl. I need to talk to her. And so I started talking to her and just, I noticed how sweet she was and just noticed all these incredible qualities about her. And eventually led me to realize that when I was turning 18, I was about to turn 18 and I'm thinking, man, I haven't kissed a girl. I haven't asked a girl out on a date before. I haven't done like any of these things. Never been on a date. You're like, I'm about to be a man. It's time to do this. Exactly, like I'm about to be a man. I'm turning 18. I gotta make a move. And so I asked her out and our first date, I picked her up from the- Wait, can I add a side note really quick? Yes. You, he texted, cause you don't remember the details. Okay, okay, let me know. Let me know what are the details. You texted me and you were like, hey, so we should hang out sometime or something. No, we should get Ted Cruz. We should get Ted Cruz. So basically it's like we should get ice cream together. And I was like, hey, maybe this is code for a date. And I was like getting excited. I like told my mom, I told some girlfriends. And then all of a sudden I get a text from Matt saying a group of us could go like to get ice cream or we could like, a group of us could go on a hike or something. And I was like, well, crap. I just kind of got friend zoned in a way because I thought this was a date. And then now it's not a date clearly. Keep in mind, like, I feel like if you were older I probably would have expected you to ask me in person on a date. But you just texted me and I was fine with it apparently. I was like, well, shoot, this isn't a date anyway. Do you want to say kind of what was going on on your end of things with that? Yeah, no, looking back, I wish I would have talked to you personally, but I also, I don't know. I guess I was trying to gauge your level of commitment and your level of like, does this girl even like me? Is there any interest there? And I was just trying to get- I was playing hard to get. I was trying to get some conversation rolling. I don't know. I just didn't really know what any of this looked like. It was my first time really trying to ask a girl out on a date. Abby had a friend who mistakenly told me that she was dating somebody. And so eventually when I'm doing all this, I'm like, oh my gosh, like if she's dating somebody I can't ask her out. I can't do anything like this. And so I had asked her to go with me to this beautiful state park in Missouri with me and spend the day there and just kind of hike and hang out. But I ended up telling her, yeah, I'm like with friends. I added that next part because a friend of hers told me that she was dating someone, but this girl was wrong. Abby had never dated anybody until we started dating. And so eventually when I find out that she indeed wasn't dating somebody, I text her again and I'm like, hey, remember how I said this would be with friends? Let's just do me and you, just us. Because again, I was turning 18. I wanted my 18th birthday just to be extra special. It was my golden birthday too because my birthday is June 18th. Ended up going on that date and it was a blast. And I even kissed her. I had never kissed somebody before. I had never kissed anybody either. I had never actually dated a boy either. So we were both very awkward. Later in the future, you told me how that first kiss was earth shattering. I was like, what? Blown away. That was cool. But we kissed each other in a movie theater because we saw a movie together and we got some Chick-fil-A. When we say kiss, it was like a, It was literally like this. We were so scared. It was literally like this. I don't even think I puckered because I wasn't ready for it. That was all it was. Went to Chick-fil-A, went to a movie, went on a hike, and then we had a show that night. So it was a fun first date. And then we started dating. So we started dating within five days of our first date. Because I was going back to my hometown. So the show was wrapping up. And then five days, I had, so I think there was like five or six days until I had to go back home. We went on dates like every single day until I had to go back home. And then on that last day, I've said my famous words. I don't know what I want to say because I'm kind of embarrassed. We had been kissing each other because we had been going on like various dates and kissing. And she was like, didn't you say, oh, here, I'll explain what happened. What happened was I was talking to someone and Abby overheard me and I was like, yeah, you know, Abby, my girlfriend or whatever. And I referred to her as my girlfriend. No, no, no, it wasn't me. You used the term my girlfriend and I have been going on dates with you and I overheard you and I was like, he's had a girlfriend this whole time? What? And I was like, no way. And you were taking me home that night after the cast party and I was like ready to confront you about it. I wasn't actually mad. You never thought I had a girlfriend though. Yes, I did. I was like, who is, for that short period of time. You never told me this. Are you for real? I said, well, I didn't like. You thought that I had a girlfriend. Well, I was really confused because I was like, he's either referring to me or he's had a girlfriend this whole time. I never, this is new to me. Never heard this one. You had never used the word girlfriend with me or asked me to be your girlfriend. So I was like, I felt like that needed to be a formal step before you refer to me as your girlfriend. Don't you think? Yeah, I never asked her about like the whole girl. I just kind of referred to her as my girlfriend. Messed that up too. So if you're a guy watching this, ask your lady before you refer to her as your girlfriend, if you guys can be boyfriend, girlfriend. Cause I just kind of referred to her as my girlfriend. I didn't really know how it worked because we were technically having a thing or where Abby's from, they call it talking. Like we were talking because we were going on dates but we weren't officially dating. But I just said to someone, you know, referring to Abby as my girlfriend. Abby overheard that and it's news to me now. She thought that. You know, I want to add that as a note that that was something that I really appreciated from the get go because I feel like that talking stage can linger for so long that it's like, okay, well I don't want to be like giving my time and affections to somebody that's not even going to be wanting to call me my girlfriend to take it that seriously. And that's not even a very serious step, you know? So I was like, I really liked that you were very respectful and like laid out, like from the very beginning, like your intentions, like to date me and even like talk about marriage from the beginning. We live next to a fire station. Yeah. Good thing I'm a heavy sleeper. Where were we at? Oh, basically. We're talking about me referring to you as my girlfriend, but we weren't technically. Yeah, basically I was like. So just say what? I was like, hey, I'm not going to be macking on a boy. That's not my boyfriend. So like, what are we? Are we boyfriend and girlfriend? And it was that night that I said, yes, we're boyfriend and girlfriend. So basically I asked you to be my girlfriend. And that was June 23rd. June 23rd, 2016. I was 17, he was 18. And we say June 23rd. He literally had turned 18 five days before. Five days before. And then that next day I like left home and first of all, I felt super weird because I had never had a boyfriend. So I like woke up and I was like, this is weird. Like, I don't know how to navigate this. And then I went back home with my mom. And I think that the whole time I was like, I don't know how this is going to work out. Because first of all, I obviously had my license. I was 17, but I wasn't allowed to drive on highways. So I was like, anytime I visit him, I'm going to have to bring my whole family with me. And they came, they came a lot. Abby's whole family would just come down to St. Louis all the time so that we could hang out. That happened. Yeah, quite a bit. And I would drive to go visit Abby on my own. Cause I just kind of, I did that. I was used to driving on the highway. Yeah. So the rest of that summer and the rest of my senior year in the summer after that, we would just take any chance we could. We would drive, make the two and a half hour drive. Long distance sucks. And we would FaceTime each other all the time. Every day, every single day. I will say like, okay, it's long distance. It wasn't that long a distance. It was just two and a half hours. But like with our schedules, we weren't able to see each other a ton, but we would FaceTime so stinking much. I feel like it was really good to start a relationship off like that. Cause like all we could do was just talk and get to know each other and like really just listen. And I thought, I think that's a great way to start. Which is funny. I completely agree. And it was so fun just getting to become best friends with Abby and spend time talking for hours on end on FaceTime. But like the reason we were so committed was because we really liked each other and we really did become best friends. I wouldn't change any part of that. It was awesome. Just getting to become best friends in that way. Oh, I will say that it was kind of nice dating in high school long distance. Cause then we would see each other. We would stay with each other and we got to really like spend good time and get to know each other's families really well. Yeah. Cause I know some girls, I think Abby has said this before. Some girls will only be seen by their boyfriend with makeup on. They only see like one side of them. But because we dated long distance when I would go to stay with her family or she would come to stay with me and my family. I mean, we got to really get to know each other very well. But that's how we met you guys. We met at a summer theater in St. Louis and started dating in less than a week after we had that first date. And that first date took three years to happen because we met each other when we were 15 and 14. And it wasn't until that we were 18 and 17 that we started going on dates and then dating and the rest is history. That's so funny though, too though. Because I remember like telling my mom like, what if I've already met my future husband and I don't even know. And like at that point, I definitely had already met you. And like, I didn't know that you'd be my future husband. That's crazy. That's weird to think about. Yeah, and I would have never guessed in a million years if you would have asked me at 15, 16, 17, who was I gonna marry? Like I really, I would have never guessed that it would be Abby, the girl that I just was friends with that I had met at the summer theater. But it's just, it's interesting how you change and you grow and I started to recognize how sweet and beautiful Abby was and fall in love with her and we became best friends. And I think that's the biggest thing that has just really held our relationship together is being best friends, being committed to that friendship, which has been so, so good for our relationship. Yeah, I also never would have thought that I would have been, first of all, I said I wasn't gonna date in high school and I kind of ate my words with that. And I never, ever thought that I would have been married this young. I was thinking that I was gonna get married like 30. Like I just never, I never thought that that'd be the case. I didn't either. I mean, I wouldn't. I'm pretty happy with this arrangement though. Yeah, this is good. No, I never really thought of myself as being someone getting married super young or anything, but it just, it happened. 21 and 20, boom, married. Awesome, now we're both 21. So, very happy to be in this relationship and I wouldn't change a thing. Stop. You're being cheesy. Stop it. Well guys, thank you so very much for watching our video. If you did truly like our content, be sure you smash that like button. It helps us out with the YouTube algorithm. It really does. Smash it? Just smash it, pound it, hit it, whatever you need to do, just hit that like button. Thank you. Subscribe, subscribe. Subscribe. Thank you for watching. Please hit the like button and subscribe. Why are our endings getting so weird? I feel like, I feel like we're getting worse at endings. You took it to a whole nother level. It just gets. How can we make this the most awkward? You watch this whole thing, you're a real one. Yeah, you're a real one if you're watching this right now. We appreciate you, you're awesome. And you just saw all that awkwardness, so. Cut it out. All right, thanks, bye. Okay, thank you, bye, see ya.