If you grew up in the early 2000s, you no doubt had a few toys and games to entertain yourself with as Instagram and Snapchat didn’t exist yet. There was the Tamagotchi, Webkinz and Neopets. If you didn’t have a pet in real life, Neopets is where you went to feed and take care of your digital pets. For this couple, Neopets ended up serving as matchmaker as the two first became friends online and eventually married. Now that’s one of the best meet-cute stories I’ve ever heard.
According to BuzzFeed, Kristin Andrews-Karr was just 12 when she made a Neopets account and joined a guild titled, “Evil Jellies.” She then met Michael Andrews-Karr on the site and they began to talk through chatrooms while continuing their friendship over the years.
By the time they were teens, their friendship went beyond just having fun gaming and they began to have a larger role in each other’s lives as they took their communication to AIM.
Kristin told Buzzfeed,”It took a long time from having talked pretty much daily when we were younger teens when he finally sent me pictures of himself and we would sneak phone calls.”
Though the two hadn’t met in person yet, they admitted their feelings for one another and began dating. Michael took the plunge by going on a campus visit at Hendrix College, which was nearby Kristin, and the two finally met. Michael enrolled at Hendrix and in 2014, the two were engaged and the rest is history.
While Neopets might not be as popular as it was a decade ago, it’s not yet extinct. Kristin has even rejoined. Honestly, if Tinder and Bumble aren’t working for you, Neopets deserves a go.