Have you ever heard the term of "the one that got away?" That's the person who you should have been with, but you let go. It's a heartbreaking idea, and it's often tied with the concept of a soul mate. A soul mate being someone who you are bound to forever. This all might sound like something out of fairytales.
Whether you believe in true love, the one, or any of that romantic nonsense, this story will surely warm your heart. Imagine if you could reignite the feelings you had you were in high school. Wouldn't you do anything to get back to that sense of excitement and wonderment about love?
That's exactly what this story is all about. It's a story about love lost, then two people living their lives, and ultimately finding each other again when they needed it most. Even if you're a Grinch when it comes to love, this story is bound to warm your heart, at least a little bit. Read on to discover this lovely story.
TODAY has a wonderful segment during the third hour of their show that is called "Love & Lost." As you can imagine, this series explores people who have loved and then lost. The segment is all about 60-year-old Terry Farley and Steve Downey, two people who had dated way back in highschool. They first met in 1971 during a conference for a Catholic youth organization in Washington DC. This was back when Farley was 14-years-old and Downy was 16-years-old. It's been a long time since that conference, but they both remember it vividly.
Regarding Steve Downey, Terry Farley told TODAY, "I just thought he was the cutest thing I ever saw." Unfortunately, the two of them didn't last. They eventually went their separate ways. Their relationship did last all throughout high school, but they lost touch once they went to different colleges.
Terry Farley remembers their relationship with fondness, "we were very innocent. When we held hands, it felt very dicey," she told TODAY. Understandably, they parted ways when they went to separate colleges. Both of them went on to get married to other people. They both had some tragedy in their relationships, which later led them to each other. Steve Downey's wife passed away in 2009 of cancer. That was at the same time that Terry Farley was having issues with her marriage that ended in divorce.
"After my wife, Kathy, passed away, I didn't really have any interest in dating. I thought that part of my life was over. And after a while, I became OK with that," Downy told TODAY. As for Terry Farley's dating life post-divorce, she said, "I had one blind date, and it was a disaster."
It had been over 30 years since they'd seen each other, but thanks to LinkedIn, the two of them found each other in 2012. Terry Farley had found Downey's profile, but she was afraid to contact him. "I did not message him because ... I didn't want to pop into his life,'' Farley said. "So I just sort of looked at the picture and reminisced a little."
When Terry's profile was notified that Downey had looked at his, he felt motivated to contact her. "I just felt motivated to send her a message. I just said, 'Hey, Terry, this is the Steve Downey you used to know.'" They eventually met up and developed a long-distance relationship. That long-distance relationship turned into a marriage in 2015. It goes to show that love never really dies. If you have someone you loved, you never know when they might come into your life again.
