30 People Who Got Married To The Popular Kids In School Reveal What They Are Like Now
Interview
Nobody expects to peak in high school. Even if someone was prom queen, head cheerleader and student body president, they still had big dreams for what would come next. High schoolers are so young, and their ideas of what's considered cool are skewed by rampant hormones and teen angst. The "nerdiest" kids in high school can go on to become CEOs of massive corporations, and the captain of the football team can have a hard time finding his place in the world without the recognition of being a student athlete. High school is only four years, and despite how meaningful it feels at the time, it can have almost no effect on the trajectory of our lives after.
It can be fun, however, to reminisce on how cool (or shudder to think about how uncool) we all were back in the day. Earlier this year, Reddit user DeezyEast reached out to r/AskReddit and posed the question, “Spouses who married the cool girl/boy from your high school, what are they like now?” Many people responded sharing how much their spouses have changed (or stayed the same), and the answers are fascinating. Keep reading to also find our interview with DeezyEast about how this conversation was sparked in the first place.
Enjoy hearing about these relationships and thinking about how different your own life is from the days of homecoming dances, crowded lunchrooms and jammed lockers. And after reading this piece, be sure to check out these other Bored Panda articles featuring hilarious and juicy high school stories.
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My mom was the elite Atlanta debutante and lived a very cushy life at a budding Miami country club. Beautiful and very popular at the private school. My dad grew up on a farm in Virginia. They weren't poor but they were definitely not refined.
Eventually my father's family made it down to Miami after selling the farm. He became the lifeguard at the country club pool where my mom spent days lounging about. My parents say they saw each other and that was it. The scandal was great - the debutante and the lowly lifeguard....
They just celebrated 54 years of marriage. My "lowly" lifeguard father made quite the life for my mom regardless of what all those elite twats said was going to happen. She gladly left the country club life for him and they are still so utterly in love it's crazy. He carries a photo of her at the pool where they met. The only references she makes to being "that girl" are that they proved everyone wrong.
They are beautiful and I love their story.
We reached out to DeezyEast to see where his curiosity on this topic came from. He told Bored Panda that he’s “a cripplingly nostalgic millennial and needed to know how far the myth of the high school sweetheart had been stretched”. Fair enough. To many of us, the idea of a successful high school relationship is one of rom coms and fairy tales, not reality.
He continued, “I often wonder why we even date in high school. The popular kid aspect was added to answer another question: what’s the peaking-in-high-school afterlife?” Another valid question, considering most of us who weren’t popular in high school like to assume others peaked far before we did.
I was the loser who married the prom queen. She came from a rich family that gave her everything she wanted. I grew up in a very poor family; we’re talking 13 people in a one-bathroom house. I thought she was kinda snobbish, but it turned out she’s the kindest person you ever met. We moved in together, and she had no concept of money. Her family didn’t like her moving in with a guy before getting married and cut her off financially. My friends warned me she’d be gone by the time the rent was due, and we couldn’t afford it.
Instead, she got her first job (while in college full time), and we cut back on everything. She couldn’t cook to save her life, but I could, so we didn’t go hungry. Overnight, she became a normal college student. She finished college, we put her through law school, and she made good money after she graduated. She still has her prom queen streak — she likes to dress up and buy nice things — but she now goes to thrift stores and garage sales and refuses to pay full price for anything. She got very good at DIYing stuff and made us a beautiful home filled with stuff she made herself.
I’m very happy. Friends warned me that she would take off when we went broke, that she would cheat on me (she is WAY outta my league looks-wise), and that she’s not the kind of girl to stick around long. Turns out she’s in this for life.
We asked DeezyEast if he knew any successful examples of love stories that began in high school, and he responded, “I think Kendrick Lamar?” We fact checked that one: it’s true. Kendrick Lamar and his fiancé Whitney Alford have been together for over a decade, since they met in high school in Compton, California.
He can’t think of any examples from his personal life, however. “I remember couples in high school would always say they would be together forever, but then someone would grow up and go off to college.”
My husband was the prom king and star athlete. I was a super awkward marching band nerd with severe scoliosis and a heart condition.
He’s always been sweet, silly, smart and kind.
Still can’t believe we’re married.
I hate to be the one that bursts everyone’s bubble, but my husband was the good-looking athletic guy with a great sense of humor that all of the girls adored. I was the petite blue-eyed blonde cheerleader that he chased for all four years in high school. We ended up getting together after high school graduation and were engaged 6 months later. I should have kept running from him like I did in school. He’s now an addict who is verbally and emotionally abusive. He’s a compulsive liar and he’s stolen prescription medication from me to get high. He’s very jealous and has accused me of having an affair with every male I’ve ever worked with, all without any merit whatsoever. It got so bad at one point that he told me I needed to quit my job and stay home with my son. Then he criticized me for not having a job. I teach high school English, and he is jealous of my male students because he claims he “sees the way they watch me and look at me.” He’s made my life hell. He criticizes and ridicules me for being a diabetic, saying he never intended to marry a cripple, which is hardly the case. I’m happy to say that he’ll be getting served with divorce papers very soon. God help the woman who takes my place because he can’t do anything for himself. He’s never paid a bill, made his own doctor appointments, etc. He’s exhausting. He’s also that guy who likes to tell our son what a stud he was in school and how he eventually got the girl he wanted.
While dating, he portrayed himself to be the man he thought I would see as husband material; however, I quickly saw it was all an act shortly after we married. If I had it to do over, I would have left the country to avoid him. The only good thing to come out of our marriage is my son.
I’m sorry that my story was the nightmare in the bunch. I’m just keeping it real.
We asked DeezyEast how much he has changed since his high school years, and he told us, “I don’t know if I would get along with myself in high school.” He explained that, “There was a tremendous amount of effort in being someone else rather than being myself, and I think my bank account thanks me for that realization.” It is completely understandable to feel that way; I cringe extremely hard when I think about some of the decisions I made in high school in attempts to be cool or impress others.
He was a football player and hung out with the jock crowd, and I was in the drum line. He kept his nerdy side under wraps in high school so as not to be bullied, and it's now out in the open. He ended up becoming a software developer. We still hole up and have Lord of the Rings weekends and watch the trilogy or have gaming nights. We've been married eight years. He helped me follow my dreams to become a vet and supported me through going back to school. I would 10/10 marry the hot jock with a sensitive, geeky side all over again.
My parents were both the 'coolest' kids in school. Prom queen and prom king, and my dad was football captain. When I was a kid, my mom would pull out their high school yearbook and show me. I would be so upset because I thought that I wouldn’t be as cool or popular as they were when I was in school. But they didn’t really do anything, so I grew up poor in a trailer park.
It wasn’t until I was in my 20s that I realized they were f*cking losers living in the past. My mom still talks about how cool my dad was in high school, and she’s almost 60. It f*cking sucks.
I really don’t understand this stuf about being popular in school. The only things you have to focus on are your grades and friends
Lastly, DeezyEast shared some words of wisdom with us about love in general. He pointed out how "contemporary conversations around love flood subreddits like r/tinder, where it’s treated more like a commodity than a companionship”. “I don’t think we have to believe in soulmates in order to have an understanding and appreciation for love," he added. "We just need to take a deep breath, and maybe put our phones down for a minute.”
I married the homecoming queen, head cheerleader, and star basketball player. Yes, just one person.
At 50, she's still stunning with an amazing drive. We're partners in real estate sales, and she's the engine that keeps our team successful.
I just keep trying to not f*ck it up.
Like Dani M said about some post above : And the way you speak about her shows that you are equally wonderful and deserve it :)
My mum was the nerdy girl who got all the As and had zero social skills, and somehow managed to start dating my dad who was the popular, good-looking guy who everyone thought would peak in high school.
She was actually advised by her family and friends that he wouldn’t give her the future she was hoping for. They got married at 19, had me when they were 20, and while they were pretty broke the first few years of my life, he paid for my mum to attend law school, started his own business and 25 years later with 3 kids, they’re still so in love and have a pretty cushy life.
My dad actually met one of the loud voices who told my mum she was making a big mistake marrying him, and she had said how she always knew he would turn out well, which he found hilarious.
I started dating a popular, athletic (varsity volleyball and softball as a freshman) girl in our senior year, when I was at the peak of my weird emo phase.
People teased her so badly she broke up with me the first week, but quickly realized she didn't give a sh*t about what others were saying and we got back together. We've been married nearly six years now, in our 30s.
She's largely the same sarcastic, funny person I fell in love with, but more mature as you'd expect with age. Very great mother, the breadwinner and glue that holds us all together. We also have an as*hole dog now, too.
Now, not all of these respondents actually met their partners while they were in high school. Many of them met years later, without all of the social pressures teenagers face. But this post did make me wonder: how common is it for people to marry their high school sweetheart? According to a 2017 study, less than 2% of marriages in the US are between high school sweethearts. This is not surprising. Most 18-year-olds have a hard time deciding what to eat for dinner, let alone choosing a life partner.
But when relationships from high school actually do continue for years, they can produce successful marriages. High school sweethearts who tie the knot while they’re still teenagers have only a 54% chance of their marriage lasting 10 years. However, if they wait until they’re at least 25, their marriage has a 78% chance of lasting at least a decade.
My Mom was prom queen, Dad was the hippie stoner. They had me and my sisters by the time they were 25 and have been married for 43 years. I've never heard them raise their voices to each other and they say "I love you" everytime one of them leaves the house. They showed me that a good relationship involves love, support and letting the other person be who they are.
Still play tag with my wife - every single day. Been married 43 years.
Ok, so my mom was very popular and from a wealthier family, youngest of 3. My dad was the youngest of 10 and his mom worked her a*s off nonstop. They met at a country club where he worked maintenance and she did something else....maybe was a waitress? Can't remember. Anyway, my dad was definitely not her type. I chuckle at old photos of him. Anyway, my mom started dating my dad because she felt bad for him, and was only going to date him for a week or 2 and then dump him (straight up told my grandmother (her mom) that). Well my dad managed to work his way into her heart in that time and she fell for him. Now here's where it gets slightly better. My dad thought he was hot sh*t after dating her for a while. Thinking he might cast his line back into the water and see what else he could get. Before he did this though, he was burned badly in a fire (was a volunteer firefighter). Badly burned.. 3rd degree burns on multiple parts of his body. Guess who was there every possible minute? My mom. She worked, went to the hospital, slept on repeat the whole time he was there. That's when he realized he had been about to be a dumba*s and make a terrible mistake. They got married, had 3 kids, a dog and a cat and lived a really great life up until she passed 9 years ago And that's the story of how a dorky looking dude got the popular girl.
I was the prom King, I was a starting athlete in many team sports. I was also ironically barely connected socially to my class and spent a lot of time gaming and eating.
I am divorced, fat and play competitive M:TG. My ex probably doesn't give a sh*t about me being the prom King.
Falling in love for the first time is an extremely powerful feeling, and some people just cannot imagine ever giving that up. While many want to be free and explore meeting new people after school, others are satisfied and see no desire to keep searching. The New York Times even published a piece in 2016 sharing “secrets to lasting relationships” from successful couples that got together in high school, and the responses are incredibly sweet.
One woman, who has been with her husband for nearly 70 years, shared that, “It’s not just about floating through life. You just got to understand each other and accept weaknesses even if they drive you crazy.” Her husband added that, “Marriage is a two-way street. You have to be in it together. Otherwise, it doesn’t work.”
I was the cool girl in high school, marrying the cool guy from a neighboring high school. Homecoming queen and cheer captain marrying mr popular prom king.
We're incredibly boring now. No college degrees. I work 2 jobs, he cleans for the school district. But we're happy with it. We have an easy routine, pay the bills, raise two beautiful kids together. Life is good, for the most part.
Found out recently (30 M) that my dad was extremely popular in highschool from my aunt. I had no idea he was an all-star football player with lots of college offers and was prom and homecoming king. Never talks about it, but he's doing well. 2 kids, a dog, and a loving wife, imo he's still winning.
You never hear about it because he's a mature man with a lot going on in his life and he doesn't need to relive it. Unlike some on this list his peak years were not his high school phase. He sounds like a great person.
Not me but my mom married my dad who who was hot sh*t. They met in college when he was an absolute hellion. But since then he became a doctor, still a really fun dude. He’s also a licensed contractor so when he was bored he built a 6000 square foot barn in our backyard over 10 years completely on his own.
Absolutely stand up dude.
A common reason people cite for not marrying their high school sweethearts is because they grew apart or changed too much over the years. This does not always have to happen, though. When one couple in the NYT piece was asked how growing up together helped their relationship, the wife responded, “We really had a special opportunity to see each other grow up and we grew together.” Her husband chimed in, “We evolve every day and that improvement can make you a better person. If you’re the same person at 15 and 28, you’re wasting your life.”
Not sure if he was necessarily cool but my dad was prefect and head boy of his school, got along nicely with everyone and was responsible. They didn’t have prom there so that was the highest honour you could probably get. Worked hard and all and had his classmates help to tutor him.
His grades didn’t end up great because he came in late to school once and got after school detentions. He would go home late and finish homework overnight, then get up at the crack of dawn to wash his father’s bus and be late to school again (more detentions). He dropped out and transferred to another school.
Now he’s a retired policeman who is working in security to send me and my siblings to school, does his best still. In my mom’s view he’s still handsome and she calls him a multitude of cutesy nicknames that he pretends to hate. Life is always as tough as normal but he keeps going.
I sat next to the popular guy every day for five years, and I was so afraid of speaking to him. I watched him and his friends chasing each other around and throwing their shoes at each other. Typical school sh*t. They were rowdy and loud and intimidating, but he was the quiet yet seriously funny one. I crushed on him HARD for years. He remembers me as the little blonde girl who didn’t speak to anyone (because I was so anxious all the time). He also protected his sister from some as*holes every break time, and she’d come to find him for safety from bullies.
I should have spoken to him sooner than when school finished, because we have the same music taste, and we get on well enough now at 26. We have a 6-month-old daughter together and my daughter from a previous relationship. We just got engaged last weekend. I adore him; he’s handsome, charming, and funny, and I would do anything for this man, as he would for me.
Ah. The sweet sounds of pure carnage, tearing deep into our souls, leaving nothing but the wake of the destruction. EDIT : AH. SHITE. WRONG WEBSITE, PLEASE DISREGARD.
Although they are certainly the exception rather than the norm, successful high school sweetheart relationships are inspiring to hear about. When asked about the difficult parts of her relationship, one woman said it was confusing at times when she was younger. “I was surrounded by so many long-distance couples in college who were breaking up,” she said. “But I quickly realized that my relationship was different than other people’s, and I really learned to appreciate ours. Josh is so genuine. There’s something so real about him that I know I couldn’t find in anybody else.”
Didn’t marry her but we dated for a bit. She moved to Arizona for college, stayed there then became a fire fighter. Came out as gay and married a woman. We lost touch but she seems happy.
I married the valedictorian/prom queen of my high school. The woman has excellent taste in everything but men, it seems. We’re coming up on 25 years of marriage next year with two fantastic kids. She’s a highly educated, continually advancing executive at her company. Career woman, stellar mother, and the best of partners. This ol’ boy got lucky in life and in love.
My friend married a high school running back who led the league in rushing. He was actually pretty good, his record is unbroken to this day. He hangs out with his same high school friends drinking beer in the alley every day and now sells propane and propane accessories.
For the vast majority of people, the person they were in high school is a distant memory. Maybe it feels like that was a completely different person. Technically, our brains do take until we’re at least 25 to fully develop, so we can blame our questionable teenage fashion choices on that… But in terms of relationships, it can be extremely hard to navigate love with another person while simultaneously figuring out your own identity. After high school, life experiences in the “real world” can cause many people to have new perspectives and alter their beliefs. Religious affiliations, political associations, views on marriage and more can shift through going to university, starting a career, or simply gaining life experiences.
i'm the opposite of this question... i totally peaked in high school. was cheerleading captain, valedictorian, prom queen. super involved and outgoing.
now i'm fat and very unnoticeable, not pretty and maybe not ugly just bland, and incredibly shy and reserved. don't really have many/any friends. but married my high school sweetheart, who was quiet and mostly flew under the radar- and now he is outgoing, successful, and more and more handsome by the year.
As it turned out, I married one of the mean girls, didn't go to her school, didn't find out she was considered that til after the divorce. That's how it turned out.
Then I dated one of the cool chicks. Did go to her school, did know she was considered that. And she was the most amazing human being I've ever known. That one didn't work out either.
Now I'm just retired from relationships for a bit, strike 3 would kill me right now
Thanks all. This was very therapeutic. I have friends and family that are awesome. Hopefully I'll have more Someday. For now it's me and my kids I'm focusing on.
So divorced the mean girl, also divorced the nice girl. I'm thinking someone needs to look inward for the problem.
You just need to get out and experience new things. Let life happen. They say life is what happens while you're planning other things. Experiences and being present will help to be a better person and happy without someone else. Then, you'll meet the right person that is also happy by themselves. Then you can share happiness instead of trying to take happiness from the relationship.
My sister didn't get it right until #3. Her child with him is a treasure, smart & talented.
My sister married the prom king/starting runningback from her high school. He got fat, but also is a nice dude who makes a killing running some kind of raw materials company. Doesn't talk about the past at all.
One on hand, however, dating can help adolescents figure out who they are. Developmental psychologist Erik Erikson actually viewed crushes and relationships among young people as instrumental in helping them develop self-understanding and their identities. While many people consider teenage love “puppy love”, Erikson thought of it more as a form of self-development instead of true intimacy. When dating, adolescents get to “try-on” adult roles which can help them clarify their self-image. All of the discussing emotions and experimenting with affection teenagers get to do in relationships can be character development, even if the relationship itself is short-lived.
I married the cool, outgoing, outdoorsy, sporty high school jock. Turns out he’s secretly as geeky and introverted as I am. He’s still the same person 25 years later.
My highschool friend was the "cool-guy".
Everyone liked him, guys and girls. He never got into fights, was always instantly invited everywhere and girls totally swooned over him.
He's still the same awesome dude. Hasn't changed a bit.
He married an incredibly hot nurse.
My dad was crazy popular. Prom king, salutatorian, running back, serious ladies man. He met my mom in a nursing class in college which he took to meet girls (lecture course and he was the only guy in a sea of women- this was the 70s)
They married, he became a car sales man, developed a terrible drug habit and died of a heart attack at 52.
Life doesn’t care if you were prom king or captain of the mathletes in high school, what happens after can be a rollercoaster of surprises for us all. While those four years do not determine what happens later, it can still be amusing to find out what everyone from your graduating class is up to now. So if you have a high school reunion coming up, why not check out what everyone else is up to? It’s only natural to be curious if any of your classmates peaked in high school. And if you were at the bottom of the food chain as a teenager, don’t be afraid to show everyone how well you’re doing now.
We didn’t go to school together but I married the Captain of the Cheerleading team. She’s a very down to earth, good human being who never been one to be elitist or a snob in any way. She does wish she still had her high school body (who doesn’t) but she looks more beautiful to me now than she does in any old pictures. We have a large family and are very happy
Every once in a while I’ll be acting goofy with my kids and they’re friends will give me the side eye and I’ll casually drop “you think I’m a nerd huh?...well maybe so but I married the Captain of the Cheerleaders” - for some reason this gets me instant credibility with young men
My mom was the cool girl all through high school, undergrad, grad school. But life didn't go that well. For most of her life, she had to be caring for someone in the family who was ill, and that took a huge toll on her. First it was her dad, then it was me (I had childhood illnesses), then her inlaws in quick succession, then her dad again, and finally she had to nurse my dad until he passed away from a terminal illness. She was meant to be social and have fun, and instead she was forced to be around sickness and sadness for her best years.
But she is a very happy and mentally strong person in general who made the best of things. She hosted a lot of people and events. My house growing up was full of people visiting and having fun. She's very charming and easy to talk to, and has a lot of fans all the time.
Though, my siblings and I find her social side rather annoying. She isn't like that with us, and she tells us her charming side is just an act, and the real her is the lady who is constantly critical of us "for our own good". She likes having groupies hanging around, people who are happy to take her help and be grateful to her. She has very few friends who could be considered her equals.
She also expects a lot from other people and is constantly disappointed. She wants to be the center of everything. She doesn't know to be a guest at anything, she somehow ends up running every event she's invited to. She sincerely believes she's helping, but it's just disrespectful sometimes and when we tell her that, she doesn't get it. She likes to dominate everything and make decisions for everyone. We joke that if the prime minister was her friend, she'd somehow end up running the country for him.
Wife was the prom queen, state champion athlete, and generally loved by everyone she knew. Dated her popularity equivalent and struggled through its toxicity. With the help of a bunch of champagne and a shirt with a cat on it, I swooped in. Now every day I get to hear about how I'm punching above my weight class or out kicking the coverage or whatever metaphor (by coworkers). But she's just the absolute best person ever, complete smokeshow inside and out. Her best friend went to the rival school and was the same type of person... 10+ years later, they are still just the best humans. Kinda cool to see, as the popular kids from my grade were pretty sh*tty.
My wife was the hot girl that everyone gossiped about. She’s still super hot but Is such a wonderful, supportive, loving person. It makes me sad no one took the time to get to really know her when she was young.
He was the one who had the 6 pack who all the girls swooned over. Very popular.
I was not.
Saw him after just leaving HS and started going out.
Ended up getting married in our early 20’s. God knows why?! I guess we thought it was just what happened next?
He never grew up. All he wanted to do was play online games. But I mean constantly. He would get in from work, walk straight past me to the spare room, straight online and play until the early hours. Get a bit of sleep, go back to work.
Same thing, again and again.
Never wanted to go anywhere. Just wanted to game.
Eventually, I gave him an ultimatum. He chose the game.
From what I gather, he’s remarried to someone else we went to school with and has 2 kids now. I was told she had to give him an awful lot of ultimatums before he eventually grew up.
Dated a popular class clown out of high school. Got pregnant. He is and was a pretty big deadbeat.
Ended up marrying a nerd a few grades above me (years later) We have 2 more kids and he is an amazing dad to all 3 of the kids. He is also a godamn snacc and a half. Been together for a decade.
We were both the cool kids.
I was an All-American baseball player, she was the cheer team captain.
Now, she's better than she was then. She's a nurse practitioner. She's kind, caring, compassionate, funny, intelligent, witty. I own a couple businesses. We're still pretty much who we were, just able to afford to do all the stuff we talked about doing together one day when we were kids.
My sister (1st child) was homecoming queen, prom queen, and head cheerleader. She's been a fundamentalist Christian since then and hasn't talked to me since 2006 because I was finally honest and came out. I'm the youngest and the only boy. I idolized her and Jesus got in the way.
I married the popular guy. We didn’t go to the same schools (or even in the same city) but met when we were 30. Extremely charismatic and likable. Also used to having everything handed to him and done for him. He constantly spoke about how prior to me, he always was with hot girls and that he basically settled for me (I know I’m pretty but I’m also overweight). He didn’t seem to realize that while he was in shape in high school from playing sports, he ballooned up as an adult. We divorced earlier this year. He’s already living with potential wife number 3 and me and his first wife have bonded over how terrible he treats his spouses. Yep. He’s 35 and working on wife number 3... but he doesn’t think he has behavior that needs to change because he spent his whole life hearing he was the best.
Babe, overweight does not mean you are not absolutely stunning. Scale wise, for my height, age, gender, I am overweight, but that does not mean a single thing. No one has the right to tell you how pretty you are or aren’t, and I’m glad he is out of your life
I married one of our high school sweethearts. We started dating there in the late 70's. A girl everyone loved. Long straight hair down to her rear end. Smiled all the time. Always in the beauty contestant shows and always generous and friendly. Fast forward to now and she is still good looking and does not look her age of 60. Great mother and grandmother and still as good a person now as she was when I met her in 77.
My husband was in the popular crowd in our small high school. He was quiet, super hot, and had lots of friends. I had the hugest crush on him all throughout high school but was way too intimidated to talk to him in class. It wasn’t until three or four years after graduation when I first started talking to him at the local grocery store where we worked together. He was still way too cool then with his long dark hair and all. He had dropped out of community college and was just working at the store. Now, I’m not saying it was allll me, but after we started dating ,he did go back and get a degree and finally quit the grocery store life. He has a really nice lab job and enjoys it. We’ve been married for six years (together thirteen) and we have two kids. I think it’s so funny now because I thought he was so cool in school but the real guy is this down to earth LOTR nerd (which is totally awesome).
Fell in love after we met couple of years after graduation. She used to be the cool girl and I was the quite interovert. Found out apart from being cool, she was also a very loving person. Married her. She gave meaning and purpose to my life. I can get through life only with her beside me. She is still as cool and as hot headed as she was. Quick to battle anyone and everyone, if she thinks they are wrong (to my dismay).
Not married but been with the class clown of a different high school for 7 years. I moved towns to live with him and people still stop him in public, they can't believe he has a girlfriend, 2 kids and another on the way. They all retell a story about something happening in school and how funny/crazy/outrageous it was. He's actually had an autism diagnosis as an adult which explains alot of his weird behaviour.
My very own father was Football Quarterback and baseball captain, had an offer to come to summer training camp with the Chicago white socks. Ended up in the Navy for 4 years then got my mom pregnant. They divorced after 2 years of marriage and he took his life 10 years later at the age of 39. Could never get over high school. And I mean that as honestly as I can. He is missed!
my hubby was the one extremely popular during HS+uni, soccer, basketball, really great looking and nice sense of fashion.
I’m a introverted girl who enrolled in ‘science’ extracurricular and socially awkward among others.. people tended to bully me (just realized i have autism spectrum)
we’re both quite successful, happily complimented each other with our own uniqueness and I’m currently pregnant with our first. really love him coz he always made my day bright with his jokes.
My brother was the cool kid in his grade which extra annoyed me because I was a year older and a lot of my friends asked about him.
He felt a lot of pressure to stay the coolest kid so he made a lot of sh*tty choices because doing blow is what the cool kids are doing, I guess. He went to rehab by the time he was 16. He pretty much threw his life away after that and has been in and out of jail and prisons since then (16 years later).
My husband was the coolest of his high school (different hs from mine). I met him a few years later, hanging with the same friends but now providing for them also. They kept talking about hs years and it was oh so freaking boring. It was very difficult and painful to wean him from them, but here we are 26 years later. People adore him because they see him as larger than life, but always kind. He gives of his time to so many, he’s still the coolest wherever he goes.
So she meets him, doesn't like his friends and removes them from his life. This is her side of it, but that's clearly what she did.
The most popular guy at the time we were highschoolers (same age) was THE most “eligible bachelor” - every, and I mean every, (including my best friend) girl was head over heels for him or at least had a crush. He was handsome, funny, kind to everyone, not afraid to talk to girls, a dancer, and extremely charismatic.
I FINALLY got to marry him when we were both almost 26. He’s still everything he was in high school and more. What a freakin catch. I pinch myself every day.
I don’t know if he was THE cool guy, but he was definitely in the cool group. I sure wasn’t, I was a band kid.
Anyway, he’s a pilot in the military and still infinitely cooler than me. He’s a good guy and I love the sh*t out of him.
I married the cool girl. Super athletic, everyone was her friend. We started dating in high school.
She's kept up everything people loved about her. Nowadays she isn't as interested in other people, and focuses on herself, her career, us and our future. We're planning to buy a house and have kids soon. I'm the breadwinner today but I'm not so sure if that'll be true in a few years lol
We’re divorced now but my ex-wife was a popular cheerleader in high school. I didn’t even know much about her younger years when we were dating. I remember cracking up when she busted out a yearbook to show me. She said she loved high school and had a great time. Had lots of friends and ran with the popular kids.
I was the total opposite. I hated those years of my life. I remember telling her that she probably would have disliked me if we had known each other as teenagers. I was a computer nerd that was into painting and graphic design. I was bullied a lot just for being socially awkward and super introverted. I was always carrying around and reading books instead of interacting with anyone.
Anyway the ex-wife isn’t doing so well from what her current soon to be ex-husband told me. She had (and still has) a drinking problem when we divorced but I got out relatively unscathed. She had a kid with this other guy a couple years ago and ended up getting a DUI (not her first). She lost her license and they ended up splitting up. Due to her alcoholism he got an order of protection against her after several domestic disturbances where she got violent. He is still going through the court system but he will likely get full custody of their kid because she has violated a couple orders of protection to come after him. She is on probation now too which I think she has violated as well.
Overall her life sounds like a mess. I feel bad for the guy because he is essentially me if I had decided to stay with her. I feel bad for her too because I know a lot of her issues are due to her dysfunctional childhood. We tried therapy twice but she was quite hostile and resistant to it.
She still the nicest and gorgeous girl I ever met. Nothing change, she is studying to be a pharmacist, that's something no one would guess, since she always loved History and her school didn't had Biology or Chemistry
My best friend was prom king 14 years ago. Now he owns a successful small business. Never had a girlfriend. Never had a boyfriend. Not sure about his sexuality but he’s a kicka*s dude. Proud he calls me a friend as I’m an awkward introvert.
My brother was one of the hottest guys in high school and went on to be a model. He’s still cool and hot to many but now he’s a bit fat. He’s my brother so ewww on the hot part in my opinion. But women still swoon and he’s so obnoxious. Think Matt Dillon, etc…. Era. He got dumped by his model 17 years younger wife for a 26 year old. He has impossible standards and it’s making him miserable. He’s into these flashy shallow women. Overall he’s doing really well and his business is thriving.
A friend was a top track and rugby star for the school (here in the UK). He was also in the top classes for all academic subjects, which is how I knew him. Super nice, modest, handsome, guy. This is back in MSN Messenger days, he'd invite me into group chats with his other "popular" friends to talk politics and books. They were all nice guys too.
He had me introduce him to one of my best friends, a pale alternative girl. Immediately hit it off, dated through school and college and long distance when they both got into top Unis. Both raised by single mothers, both smart, both working class, the stuff that mattered they had in common. She was also anxious while he was calming, so they just fit together naturally.
Fifteen years later they're married and living in Asia, he makes six figures as a investment banker.
We broke up can I move to California but I had a hot down low gay relationship with the coolest boy in school. He was extremely beautiful and a talented athlete. Captain of the football team. He got married and had a kid and we lost touch with each other for some time. Several years ago I discovered him on Facebook and touch base with him. He made it clear that he was interested in rekindling our relationship. Made it perfectly clear. However while I have maintained my health and some of my looks over the last 50 years oh, he did not. Hard liquor and the vicissitudes of a regular American career path had made him ugly in the manner of our fathers generation. But I wasn't going to let that stop me, I loved him dearly back in the day. What stopped me was the discovery that he thought Barack Obama was from another planet and Michelle Obama was a man. The political discussion became heated one day and he unfriended me. He's a sad and lonely man who's pension got taken away by the Republicans and who has no friends, drives an Uber to make ends meet and had to sell his boat to pay medical bills for his crumbling body. When I close my eyes I can think of it the way it was when we met I fell in love with each other. I remember prom night when we dumped our girlfriends, paddled a Jon Boat across the inlet to and Island out in the channel. We took acid and got naked and made love under the moonlight all night long. I remember that night forever.
Mom was the cool girl. Still is, still literally gets stopped by strangers talking about how cool/pretty/whatever she looks/acts.
BUT divorced (husband cheated) and widowed (second husband died), so never really managed to get a happily ever after in romance.
I’ve only seen her as a grown-up of course, but going by pictures + what I remember as a kid, she hasn’t changed all that much, I think sometimes she’s too used to people being “in her orbit” and will get sad if something happens where she’s not involved. Not overtly so, but you can see she’s expecting everyone to always want her there.
Wifey was cheerleader back in HS. Homecoming Court, etc. She’s 46 now. We’ve been married for 25 years and have 4 kids + a daughter in law. And she’s still super freaking hot.
I married the football/baseball start, voted best looking... His brother died while they were in high school shortly after he broke his collarbone and ruined any chances of college sports. He was good at masking his feelings for years. He’s now in rehab for alcohol and about 100 lbs heavier.
My dad was super popular. Prom king, valedictorian, class president, football captain etc. He has a high ranking but normal roll a a smallish to medium sized company. Pretty normal guy and a good dad. If brought up he will mention his high school years but he doesn’t brag.
Cool as f*ck. More open to new experiences. More love affirming and supportive than ever. Got together when we were 17, we’ve been together 12 years.
Not spouse but my uncle was always popular with the girls, especially mall workers. He was on the football team, and his mom was a total bada*s who rode motorcycles.
Nowadays, he keeps talking about how he can throw a pigskin over some mountains and laments how they could have been state champions if the coach put him in 4th quarter.
And now you're the nerdy awkward kid who tried to get the super popular girl by drawing her a portrait and inviting her to prom, but it didn't work out because she's way out of your league. Luckily, a cute and business savvy girl nerdy girl, who is also socially awkward, sees the potential in you, and you two could be together if you ever open your four eyes and ask her out. Also, you're a bit jealous that your equally awkward nerdy brother somehow roped in a beautiful popular girl, and is now married.
I've been with my husband since I was 13 in middle school.. that's 14 years now. Crazy to think we have been together longer than we were alive when we met. It literally feels like yesterday.. he was the cool kid in high school, super popular. Lots of girls liked him but he never cared or gave them attention. He has always given me his full attention and has always treated me like I'm the only girl in the world.. We are both 28 now.. he honestly still looks the same, just more mature.. no weight gain, no hair loss lol. He is still HOT AF. He is still the same person I met in 2006. Still outgoing, still respectful. I can't complain!
So f*cking cool. Works hard, plays hard, always improving, follows their dreams and is generally a life-saver.
My mother was the prettiest girl in school and the best dancer. My dad was kind of a nerd and did not dance at all. He was so shy that one of his friends asked her out for him! But she says he always treated her so well and she liked his family so they kept going on more dates. Their 60th wedding anniversary is in June.
Maybe a bit off topic but every time I am reading things like this I am really grateful that we did not have this kind of stuff in school - no cheerleaders and jocks, no prom kings or queens, no valedictorians and all this. Being a teenager was difficult enough even without all this added social pressure. This article proves pretty well how superficial it all is in the end.
Me too! We didn't even have cliques, just various friendship groups, many of which were very flexible. All extra-curricular sport is in clubs outside schools, meaning you can mix with even more people from different areas.
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My dad was class clown w a dangerous streak his nickname was Maddog. My mom looked like Cher. They ran away and eloped when she was 16 he was 18. In her prom queen pictures in 12th grade she's pregnant w me. That was not a good marriage. She ended up w a quiet very kind man and spent the last 40 yrs of her life w him never married again after my dad. I don't look like Cher lol I took after my dads side ended up very petite w light hair but still found my way to prom queen. Married a football player 5 yrs younger than me and have been married 22 yrs. Very content w a wonderful daughter that didn't get to go to her 12th grade prom bc of stupid Covid. She was homecoming queen in 10th grade though and her boyfriend is the class clown hoping history doesn't repeat itself w a skipped generation lol.
I was a total overweight, wear-a-jacket, hide my face, never talk, kind of weirdo. Not attractive because my self-esteem was so low. I then lost about 50lbs in 2 yrs., a yr. into college. I caught the attention of former all-star running back jock from my high-school, online, who sent me a friend request. He had been a senior while I was a junior, and man, I knew all about him while he had no idea who I was. Lol. I'd hear his name on the intercom constantly about his part in Friday night's game. Anywho, I've gained my weight/lost maybe 3 diff. times, especially after having our daughter, turning 2yrs in couple weeks. 8 years later, he has never treated me differently from my 21 yr old FIT ASF self. So, so supportive and still thinks I'm sexy. I call him crazy every. day. 😅🙈 He makes jokes that I would have turned him down in H.S. and I be like, you would have never looked at me, believe me! Hahaha. (Same school, diff. classes, diff. grade level)
I was an uber nerd. She was one of the most popular girls in school. We dated senior year. Instant popularity for the guy who nobody even knew the name previously. Dated until sometimes shortly after high school. At about 21 she ended up marrying a guy who was nearly 50 and inheriting a 16 year old step-daughter that hated her. He manages a dead-end p**n shop, she threw away promising acting and singing talents to become an elementary school music teacher. It's 30 years later now and while they are still married they went nowhere. Still live in a town of population no-wheres-ville living in her grandmothers house. She occasionally posts on social media, I guess she's starting a bakery business. Judging by her photos, she needs some practice.
I was Joe average in HS so none of the cheerleader type set would pay me any mind, until, I was dating someone. Then suddenly, many were interested but I wasn't. They actually got pissed off and gave me crap because I was the one ignoring them. Decades later most of them are divorced at least once and their lives s*ck. Some of them still try to contact me and I'm 61 now! FK them! They got the life they deserved and I dodged a full magazine of bullets. Oh, the jocks they drooled over? That's who they are divorced from and most of them are minimum wage earners. "Stupid gets what stupid deserves".
My mother was the prettiest girl in school and the best dancer. My dad was kind of a nerd and did not dance at all. He was so shy that one of his friends asked her out for him! But she says he always treated her so well and she liked his family so they kept going on more dates. Their 60th wedding anniversary is in June.
Maybe a bit off topic but every time I am reading things like this I am really grateful that we did not have this kind of stuff in school - no cheerleaders and jocks, no prom kings or queens, no valedictorians and all this. Being a teenager was difficult enough even without all this added social pressure. This article proves pretty well how superficial it all is in the end.
Me too! We didn't even have cliques, just various friendship groups, many of which were very flexible. All extra-curricular sport is in clubs outside schools, meaning you can mix with even more people from different areas.
Load More Replies... My dad was class clown w a dangerous streak his nickname was Maddog. My mom looked like Cher. They ran away and eloped when she was 16 he was 18. In her prom queen pictures in 12th grade she's pregnant w me. That was not a good marriage. She ended up w a quiet very kind man and spent the last 40 yrs of her life w him never married again after my dad. I don't look like Cher lol I took after my dads side ended up very petite w light hair but still found my way to prom queen. Married a football player 5 yrs younger than me and have been married 22 yrs. Very content w a wonderful daughter that didn't get to go to her 12th grade prom bc of stupid Covid. She was homecoming queen in 10th grade though and her boyfriend is the class clown hoping history doesn't repeat itself w a skipped generation lol.
I was a total overweight, wear-a-jacket, hide my face, never talk, kind of weirdo. Not attractive because my self-esteem was so low. I then lost about 50lbs in 2 yrs., a yr. into college. I caught the attention of former all-star running back jock from my high-school, online, who sent me a friend request. He had been a senior while I was a junior, and man, I knew all about him while he had no idea who I was. Lol. I'd hear his name on the intercom constantly about his part in Friday night's game. Anywho, I've gained my weight/lost maybe 3 diff. times, especially after having our daughter, turning 2yrs in couple weeks. 8 years later, he has never treated me differently from my 21 yr old FIT ASF self. So, so supportive and still thinks I'm sexy. I call him crazy every. day. 😅🙈 He makes jokes that I would have turned him down in H.S. and I be like, you would have never looked at me, believe me! Hahaha. (Same school, diff. classes, diff. grade level)
I was an uber nerd. She was one of the most popular girls in school. We dated senior year. Instant popularity for the guy who nobody even knew the name previously. Dated until sometimes shortly after high school. At about 21 she ended up marrying a guy who was nearly 50 and inheriting a 16 year old step-daughter that hated her. He manages a dead-end p**n shop, she threw away promising acting and singing talents to become an elementary school music teacher. It's 30 years later now and while they are still married they went nowhere. Still live in a town of population no-wheres-ville living in her grandmothers house. She occasionally posts on social media, I guess she's starting a bakery business. Judging by her photos, she needs some practice.
I was Joe average in HS so none of the cheerleader type set would pay me any mind, until, I was dating someone. Then suddenly, many were interested but I wasn't. They actually got pissed off and gave me crap because I was the one ignoring them. Decades later most of them are divorced at least once and their lives s*ck. Some of them still try to contact me and I'm 61 now! FK them! They got the life they deserved and I dodged a full magazine of bullets. Oh, the jocks they drooled over? That's who they are divorced from and most of them are minimum wage earners. "Stupid gets what stupid deserves".
