ST. PETERSBURG, FL (WFLA) – When online dating first gained popularity Amy Giberson wasn’t buying it. She couldn’t imagine meeting the love of her life through a computer. Eventually she decided to hesitantly give it a try.
“He reached out twice,” Giberson said. “It took a few times for me to see it and actually respond.”
He is Justin Pounders. Both Giberson and Pounders describe their first date as something out of a romantic comedy, the perfect mix of fun and sparks. Giberson even busted out the old cliche, “I felt like I’d known him my entire life.” Despite its seemingly common beginnings, boy meets girl on Match.com and they fall in love, this story is anything but ordinary.
“After a while of we were just talking like people do when they’re getting to know each other and he said to me, ‘I’ve always liked the name Amy. My first crush in preschool was on a girl named Amy,'” Giberson said. “I didn’t think anything of it. Then fast forward and one day he starts talking about a scar on his eye brow. He tells me the story about falling off the monkey bars and then says his famous line,” Giberson said as she looks at Pounders. “Good old Sunshine Preschool,” they said in unison.
Giberson and Pounders couldn’t believe it. Giberson was the Amy he had his very first crush on. They immediately called their moms to dig up the evidence. Sure enough they found a class picture with Pounders and Giberson sitting right next to each other. Turns out the couple, in their early 30s, lived just ten minutes away most of their lives.
“It’s incredible,” Giberson said. “Even had this not happened our relationship was already so incredible. I was so thankful to have met this amazing man then to find out this sweet little detail I was just like how is this possible?”
It gets even better. The preschool sweetheart love story spread across the globe. Pounders even proposed on ABC’s The View. They’ve made national magazines and websites.
“All the positive feedback is just amazing,” Pounders said. “We’ve heard from Japan. People in Germany sent us clips telling us we’ve inspired them to find love. You name the country and we’ve heard from it.”
The couple plans to get married in November in Downtown St. Petersburg.
“I woke up the day i met him and had no idea the type of fairytale that would unfold before my eyes,” Giberson said.MORE:Valentine’s Day deals for Tampa Bay area
