People share 15 'enemies to lovers' stories that actually happened in real life

We have all swooned over stories where two protagonists who start off as enemies eventually end up falling madly in love with one another. Whether it is the sweet story of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy in "Pride and Prejudice" or the romance of Kate and Anthony in "Bridgerton," these enemies-to-lovers storylines always keep us on the edge of our seats. However, this isn't just limited to fiction, as several people are living these incredible love stories in their real lives.

A thread on Reddit has triggered a series of real-life enemies-to-lovers incidents being shared by people and they sound like an absolute rom-com dream. Here are 15 of the most interesting ones:

1. Boxing to Lovers 

Reddit user u/Limarys shared the story of their uncle and aunt and it is something straight out of a movie. They wrote: "There was a time he was working as a short-order cook at a diner, and he was constantly butting heads with one of the women waiting tables. My uncle is a patronizing joker so that behavior tracks." Over time, their arguments escalated to a point that everyone got them a set of boxing gloves and they "beat the sh*t out of each other and then started getting along to the point they got married. Still together 18 years later." 

2. A lawsuit

Reddit user u/onahighhorse revealed, "My parents met representing opposite sides in a lawsuit!" Now, that sounds like the start of a great romance novel. 

3. Co-workers 

u/magslou79 commented that she worked with her husband in the same workplace and they absolutely hated each other. She explained: "I thought he was obnoxious, immature and a player" and her husband thought she was "a cold, uptight b**ch."

However, in an interesting twist, she added: "I transferred departments after a few years, and the staff I had been working with threw me a goodbye party, and we got to talking, and by the time the night was over, we were friends." They stayed connected for a couple of years and ended up getting married with four kids. 

4. A matchmaker

One Reddit user, u/CeaBreazy, had a part to play in an interesting love story. They revealed: "My old co-worker. She used to complain about this one guy all the time. It was one of her best friends' friend. One day I laughed and said you're going to marry this guy. She laughed at me." Fast forward a few years and "they're now married with a baby. I like to think my comment made her re-evaluate her opinion of him." 

5. A long marriage

"The longest marriage I know between my friends is one that started in college with the girl thinking the guy disliked her because he was quiet and kind of stand-offish but they had to do some schoolwork together and kept talking about school on AIM, but even so he ignored her mostly in real life," commented Reddit user u/amazingstillitseems. "So she was probably reasonable to think he hated her. But eventually, they talked on AIM and started hanging out in real life after class and became friends and about a year later ended up together. He's still kind of a cynical grump but they've been together for 15+ years so something's working there."

6. High-school sweethearts with a twist

u/CallieCatsup shared: "My husband and I knew each other in high school because I dated his close friend. And we hated each other. We couldn't even be in the same room without fights erupting. The guy I was dating got so fed up with us all the time."

She added, "Eventually, that guy and I went our separate ways and my now-husband and I moved to different states and lost touch. Ten years later, we reconnected on Facebook. We had both grown up a lot. And we clicked. We worked. We've been together for eight years now and have a baby."

7. Love in the workplace

Reddit user u/BlueBubbleGame had an interesting story to share about their bosses. They wrote: "My old boss! My section was working on a special project, and my boss, 'Joe,' and the other office’s boss, 'Jane,' absolutely hated each other. They were both acting as our boss, so we were kind of caught in the middle — he would come in and tell us to do something, then she would tell us to do the opposite and pitch a fit when we told her that Joe had already given us a directive."

They added, "Fast-forward a year: The project is complete and we’re back in our normal work center working for Joe. My coworker comes to me and says, 'Joe is dating someone. Remember Jane? They’re together now.' At first, I was happy for him. He’s a great guy and deserved to be happy. Then I remembered who Jane was... and almost died laughing."

8. The quiet guy and popular girl

The parents of Reddit user u/coff33dragon had an interesting relationship. "My dad told me that when he met my mom in grad school, he was this awkward, quiet, nerdy guy and she was this outgoing, popular woman. When she started talking to him, he was standoffish because he was just completely confused about why she was giving him the time of day," they shared. "He'd had the same shoes so long, they had holes in the soles, and she finally convinced him to go shoe shopping with her for their first date." 

9. Tupac and Kidada Jones

Yes, a celebrity couple also made this list as u/itsnotmeRLitsURL shared: "Tupac and Kidada Jones, Quincy Jones's daughter, come to mind. I'm oversimplifying their tumultuous story, but Tupac called out Quincy for having 'fu**ed-up kids' with white women in an interview, after which Kidada's younger sister Rashida Jones (then 17) slammed him in an article for his lack of respect."

They added: "So I imagine there was no love lost between Tupac and the Joneses. Kidada and Tupac apparently met a few months later in a nightclub, and he sought her out and apologized. They dated for a few months (even briefly living together), and he was said to have made amends with Quincy and Rashida before he was shot and killed. No 'happily ever after' here, sadly."

10. Love in misery

Reddit user u/relshira shared: "My husband and I did not get along at all when we met each other. We were 15 years old in high school and we both took marching band class together. He was a huge flirt with a lot of my friends, dated a lot of girls from our school and other schools, and I couldn’t stand his arrogant attitude."

However, when her boyfriend dumped her, he became a constant support for her. She added, "I told him the details and had expected more teasing, but he was actually kind and supportive. He offered to go punch my ex to make me laugh, and I felt much better. " They got engaged after high school and got married after college.

11. Unexpected queer love

Reddit user u/shireengrune shared: "In my high school, there was a girl in my year who was a proudly queer, feminist, punk anime lover. The high school consisted mostly of wealthy and quite liberal kids, so there were a lot of people like her there." On the other hand, there was a guy "who started out his school career with concerning anti-gay behavior. He'd draw graffiti bullying the LGBTQ crowd."

They added, "He'd often get into public Facebook arguments with the girl in my grade. They even tagged graffiti on desks, calling each other out. Well, spring of my final year, I caught them screwing in the girls' bathroom on the second floor." They broke up four years later but the boy's views influenced by his conservative upbringing were changed.

12. Bully to lover

u/campgoose shared, "In high school, a guy in my grade used to constantly tease me for being 'emo,' almost to the point of bullying. One day, he was following me down an empty hallway and saying crap to me. I was generally really quiet, but I had enough. I spun around, shoved him against a wall hard, and said something like, 'Emo means you want to hurt yourself. I just want to hurt you,' and then walked off."

"After that, he backed off, started being nicer to me, and somehow convinced my dumb ass to go out with him. We were together for a little while. It was kinda fun at first — high energy, high emotions, feverish sex. He was a terrible person, though. He was manipulative, incredibly dishonest, and cheated on me multiple times," they added.

13. Enemies-to-friends

Reddit user u/nachosurfer had a different story to share. "We both started a new job and did not get along. Like, I would actually get angry when I would see that we were scheduled together, and because we're both sort of quiet weirdos, we couldn't find any common ground. This went on until we had a slow shift and started actually talking. We called each other fake friends for a bit, then eventually she was my roommate, and later my maid of honor in my (failed) wedding. We've been friends for almost a decade now," they wrote.

14. Middle school love

"This one boy and I despised each other all of sixth grade. We would argue every time we were together. Then, in seventh grade, we gradually bonded over Minecraft and became friends. We grew even closer in eighth grade and started officially dating by the end of that year," Reddit user Power_Pancake_Girl shared. "We continued dating for most of high school. It was good, but at the end of 'us,' we had changed too much and grown apart. However, we're still friends four years later."

15. The girl in the other school

Reddit user u/AmongThosePeople shared: "I was in 12th grade and had a girlfriend. She went to a different school and got a little bit bullied by a guy. One day, that guy hit her and she went home crying. After I heard this, I searched for him and found him right after school — I won't go into details, but he got what he deserved."

They added, "He ran away after that. His girlfriend and 2 other girls were with him too, but they stayed instead of running away. I had a very big argument with them all and insults were thrown over the street. Especially his girlfriend was defensive of him. Later I was single and she was too, I don't even know how and where but I think a friend of mine hooked up with a new girlfriend and the ex from the bully was her best friend. We started meeting and fell in love really quickly. It didn't last long but it kind of went from f**k you to f**k me."