I met my husband online. I was about half in love with him before we met. I knew the night we met he was the one, though … so I guess instantly.
We met on a Friday night, in an “after-hours” club, and were committed to each other by Saturday morning. We had the rest of the weekend for our honeymoon. The clincher was when we discovered we have the same birthday . . . exactly 20 years apart.
He’s a lot hotter than I am (by most people’s standards, including mine), and it took him a while to convince me he was really interested in me.
1-6 months, IIRC. But I did think she was a little cutie when we were introduced. It was at a social function at the start of the school year for the U of Hawaii, and a married Thai lady introduced me to my future wife because I had lived in Thailand before. We weren’t officially a “couple” for another nine months, but I’d fallen for her before six months were out.
Last relationship:
1st meet: “I like redheads”
2nd meet, 6 months later: “Wow ,we have a lot in common!”
3rd meet, 2 months later: The ton of brinks
I found him attractive before I met him. My friend was showing me pictures of her boyfriend’s birthday party, and I saw his brother in one of the pictures. I thought he was yummy. A few months later, she threw a Halloween party, and he showed up. We’ve been together ever since (27 years and counting). He’s still a fine looking man.
While the attraction was immediate, the love took a few months. I’d dated other men that were more attractive than my husband, but most weren’t as intelligent as he was/is. I dig smart people.
I knew I liked him, (most) warts and all, from the start… but I don’t think he ever hit me as hard as I hit him. He was much more black-and-white in general.
Actually, I’d been conscious of several of his biggest defects (such as the utter inability to be on time) since before we met in person along with a bunch of other people who played the same game; I went drool as soon as I saw him, as he was very much “my type”. If he’d been better at listening, or I at making him listen, we’d be married with kids.
Like before first sight, lust at first sight, but communication incompatibilities - oy vey!
My wife and I say it was love at second sight.
We knew eachother for about 4 years as friends and the main reason I talked to her was because I had a crush on her friend. Years later in high school we had both gone through break ups and were both in the mind set of “What’s the point of dating in high school? I’m going to go away to college in two years and probably won’t go to the same place as my boy/girlfriend, and I can meet someone there to date and marry.”
One random day I saw she was looking really sad (she’s so cute when she cries) and asked her what was wrong . . . It’s now been about 13 years and 1 month…
So when we met there wasn’t really anything, but years later I followed her around for a few days and called to ask for help in History every day even though I had better grades.
The first time I ever saw my wife I was in the catwalk of a theatre, trying to hang a light. One of the actors, a male friend, pointed out a very attractive girl with a french horn warming up in the orchestra pit, about fifty yards away. He went to school with her, and was planning to ask her out at some unspecified future point. I nodded - she was attractive, but at the time I was in a relationship and also, she was fifty feet away and we had a show opening in three days - and went about my business. I mentally filed the girl away as “cute french horn player;” I saw her in passing several times during the 2-week run of the show, and then away she went.
A year later, I went to play basketball with the same set of friends. When I knocked on the door, the french horn player answered (she had come along to play basketball). She really was very cute. Four hours later, I had a dinner date. Three years later - almost to the day - we were married. Eleven years and some change after that, I wrote this post.
So I don’t know how that qualifies in the poll, but there it is.
Another vote for “1-6 months, but without the brick tonnage”.
It’s complicated. But let’s just say that as much as I still love her, I wasn’t ready to throw my life in complete upheaval for her. I would be miserable today if I did.
Going by the OP’s request, my most recent SO was a “love at first sight” thing, but it didn’t get acted on for a few months.
She was a new coworker. Really cute, shy. She was 18 years younger than me, though, and a younger coworker friend of mine also fell for her, so I stepped back and let him court her. And court her. For weeks on end. We all sat at one table on lunch and breaks, and it became clear that while they said things at each other, she and I were actually talking to each other, which the friend picked up on. He wasn’t pleased, and would pull her away so they go outside by themselves. One day he wasn’t at work, and we sat at the table alone for lunch hour, and got into a fairly deep conversation. That lunch ended up with us spending the rest of the day (and night) together.
Of the prior three, only the first was also love at first sight. The second I found semi-cute but plain, tall instead of my usual petite, not my type. However, her intelligence (and again, deep conversation) won me over, and her look is now one of my “types.”
The third I found plain, dumpy, overweight with a stocky body. I fell for her on a day-long outing which was meant to be completely platonic. Fascinatingly creative and intelligent; it was the reason that the outing was day-long, and not just lunch as we had planned. During our relationship, I adored her looks at the same time as I would see “meh,” and her look is now the one of my “types” that make people think 
.
Mine’s kind of complicated. I’ve known her for years, 9-10. We had a very short ‘friends with benefits’ for about a month. I’ve seen her at least a few times a year, non sexually, or more ever since. We both swim so that’s when I’ve seen her.
We started seeing each other again in June, within a few weeks I knew I must have fallen for her years ago but didn’t do anything about it. She says she was the same way.
Hmm, percentages are pretty close-except that a few more women said they went the long road.
I met my husband through an online dating site. We talked for a while before we exchanged pictures, which I thought was great. Then when I saw him…Jackpot!! I knew we had *something *before I met him in person, but during our first in-person date I knew it was going to be something big.
I picked the second option (took awhile, then hit me).
We’d known each other casually for a few years and she was someone I liked and respected, but considered too aloof to bother with. Then there was a party, and all the guests had left, and we were the only two straightening up and… When we woke up together the next morning I found I’d changed my mind completely. We moved in together a week or two later. We had our 31st anniversary a few months ago.
I’ve had lust at first sight at least 10 times a day since I hit puberty. But love at first sight? Nope.
SWMBO and I were both very cautious. We were both recovering from failed marriages and weren’t in any rush. It was worth the wait; next April, we’ll celebrate our 20th year together.
We met and were in the same circle of friends all through college. After graduation, he moved 400 miles one way, and I moved 400 miles another. For the next year, we occasionally talked on the phone and saw each other at group get-togethers. About a year after graduation, we became an item. So love grew after 5 years of friendship.
Less than a month, but it wasn’t love at first sight. I did really, really like her from that first date, though, and by about week three we were both skirting around saying “I love you,” which took another week before it got blurted out. I have been in love before, but never anything this overwhelming; I didn’t actually know feelings like this existed in the real world.
A long time: years, since I was recovering from a failed marriage. We were coworkers for a couple of years in a small company, and friends, before we started dating. After a few months of on-again, off-again dating, I fell hard for her. It was one special date where we just talked together all night long. I can’t remember what we talked about, either. She was much more patient with me - she liked me sooner than I liked her, and she waited for me to come around. Either that, or she wore down my resistance.
After dating for 2+ years we married. That was 10 years ago.
Oh, cool. I didn’t know this thread was about my comment. I avoided this thread because I don’t currently have an SO (and am not sure I’ve ever truly been in love.) Glad to know that my experience with men is somewhat atypical. And nice to know that love at first sight is more common for women.