We Met on a Mistake and Stayed for Everything Else

Sometimes love begins with a glitch.

Carlos, a Spanish teacher in Mexico City, had meant to change the location filter on his dating profile. Instead of narrowing it, he accidentally expanded it to “worldwide.” That’s how he ended up matched with Elise, a nurse from the Netherlands, who thought he lived two blocks away in Amsterdam.

“I messaged him asking if he wanted coffee,” Elise laughs. “He replied, ‘Sure but it’ll be a long flight.’”

What could’ve ended as an awkward mismatch turned into one of the most surprising connections of their lives. Despite the distance, they kept talking about movies, late shifts, the best tacos, and the strangeness of the pandemic.

“We didn’t mean to fall in love,” Carlos says. “But there was something grounding in how we made each other feel like we had known each other forever.”

After months of calls and digital dates, Elise visited Mexico. Their chemistry in person felt like an extension of everything they’d already built. “It wasn’t sparks it was warmth,” she says. “It felt like home.”

They now split time between their two countries. It’s not always easy but it’s worth it. They say the key was never about “fixing the distance” it was about making the space between them feel full.

Their story is a reminder: even the wrong settings can lead you to the right person. Sometimes love isn’t a perfect plan it’s a beautiful accident you choose to keep choosing.