A new season of 19 Kids and Counting is starting , and public opinion over Jill’s relatively short relationship and quick pregnancy announcement and Jessa’s slightly longer courtship is still raging. People are also questioning the concept of courtship as all of the kids have courted instead of dating. I have a confession (that is no longer a surprise because of my post title): I’ve only dated Mac. Personally, I never intended to only date my future husband; it just worked out that way.
Through middle and high school, I never felt any sort of attraction to any of the guys I knew. Sadly, Gerard Butler never visited Greensburg, Pennsylvania, or things may have turned out differently. The feeling was mutual because I had tons of guy friends, just no boyfriends. College was a different story. Fraternity mixers, parties, and philanthropies provided lots of ways to meet guys. I soon decided that most of them weren’t worth dating when all we wanted was no-strings-attached fun. I met several guys (probably 4) that I would have dated had they asked me out. Confession 2: one of them was half-Korean, and I spent more time than I should admit dreaming about our quarter-Korean babies (I was mildly obsessed with Jon and Kate Plus 8). He’s apparently now gay. Obviously, none of them were Mac, and none of them did ask me out. When he and I met, we both assumed this would be more harmless college fun. We started dating about a week after we met, knowing that Mac would be commissioning about six weeks later. When that May rolled around, we realized that we were pretty okay together and decided to try out our first bout of long distance. Obviously, the rest is history.
When I tell people that I’ve only dated Mac, most people assume that we’re high school sweethearts and starting dating when I was 15, not 20. It no longer bothers me when they give me weird looks when I tell them the truth. It’s not “normal,” but it’s still special to me that I married my only boyfriend.
Did you date before you met your spouse or are you also a one-and-done?
Ya know… I’ve always wondered what Mac’s name was.. I love Mackenzie!! I had a few boyfriends before John..
We met 18 years ago in middle school but only dated for 2 months before we got married. š
I love your story! I met SoldierMan when we were in Jr High so basically yeah, only him. TBH, I can’t imagine being married to someone I *haven’t* known my whole life. That’s not why I married him, of course.
Cute! I was with my ex boyfriend for 8 years(15-23)…It taught me so much though! Everyone has a different path š
I love your story! I dated a few others before Tom.