I think I do.
It’s not the most common beginning to a love story, but I have seen it happen. And when it does, it deserves to be taken seriously. Love at first sight is not magic, and it is not enough on its own. But it can be the start of something real. People come to love in different ways, and this is one of them.
That is why the results of this year’s Singles in America survey stood out to me. Match, working with the Kinsey Institute, asked 5,000 single adults whether they believe in love at first sight. Sixty percent said yes. Nearly half said they had experienced it. The participants represented a wide range of ages and locations. Amanda Gesselman, one of the lead researchers, said the results “sort of blew me away.” I understood her reaction.
We often hear that dating has lost its meaning. Many believe that people are no longer serious, that no one follows through. But most daters still want to connect. The challenge is not a lack of desire. The challenge is how difficult it has become to move from interest to something lasting. The effort feels constant, and the returns are often disappointing.
Because dating can be hard, people often try to make decisions early. They look for signs of compatibility before anything has a chance to unfold. They want reassurance before they risk much of themselves. It is a reasonable instinct, especially for those who have been disappointed. But it can leave very little space for surprise.
Love at first sight offers something different. It does not require logic or proof. It does not ask anyone to wait and see. It offers the chance to feel something real before the facts are known. That does not make it naive. It just makes it rare.
Romance novels have always taken that possibility seriously. One character sees another, and everything shifts. Sometimes the moment begins in desire. Sometimes it feels like recognition. In the strongest stories, that first feeling deepens. The connection holds because the story builds on it, not because it needs to defend it. Even when the moment does not lead anywhere, it still matters. The genre knows that love does not always start slowly.
So I am asking: Have you felt it—love, not just interest, from the first look? Have you read a book where that moment felt real to you? Have you read one where it did not?
As always, I would love to know your thoughts!
The post the ask@AAR: Do you believe in love at first sight? appeared first on All About Romance.