It Was Always You

We met as teenagers in high school through a mutual friend. Both of us were coming to terms with our sexuality when we met, but we were just friends for a while. Neither of us had ever experienced anything romantic with the same sex before because of our religious upbringings. On October 30th of 2011, we took a day trip to Ocean Isle Beach, NC together. We chased each other around the beach for a while, then we spontaneously went in for a kiss as if we were in a cheesy Hallmark movie. It was impulsive and unplanned, but right away, we both felt fireworks like we'd never felt before. It was as if the light in both of our hearts had finally turned on and everything made sense. We decided to try pursuing a relationship that day. Because of our religious backgrounds, we both struggled to comfortably tell the world that we were together. We went four months only telling our closest friends or people that we trusted, and hid it from our families. Eventually we knew we were in love and decided to come out of the closet together completely. We walked into school holding hands one day and changed our relationship status on Facebook. After coming out publicly, we faced a lot of ridicule and backlash, but we knew that as long as we fought our battles together, nothing could come between us. It ultimately just brought us closer together and strengthened our bond, even though we had some really painful moments and losses. We were together for a little over a year before our relationship ended. I (Kyler) was unfaithful, and broke Courtney's heart. We spent over a decade living completely separate lives with no contact or interaction. Then, in March of 2022, we reconnected and the rest is history. I spent so many years thinking that Courtney hated me, only to find out that a part of her still loved me all along. I'm so glad she never fully let go, because we're here now, and it has been such a beautiful unfolding. Getting to love each other twice in the same lifetime feels like such a blessing, and this time around, we are both capable of loving each other properly as the best versions of ourselves. If you spend 5 minutes with us in the same room, you can see our genuine love and respect for each other so easily. We say all the time that the word "love" feels so mediocre compared to the feelings we have for each other today. We are both in recovery from drugs and alcohol and keep God at the center of our relationship. It has been such a moving and amazing experience to find each other and love each other again, and we can't wait for the rest of our lives together. Our story is a true testament that people can change for the better, and that when two people are meant to be together, they will always find their way back to each other.