These Preschool ‘Sweethearts’ Reunited Years Later, Fell In Love And Got Married

Natalie Crowe Tatman and Austin Tatman’s love story began in preschool in Ocala, Florida. Starting at the age of 2, the toddlers were inseparable. Then, when they were 5 years old, Natalie moved out of state, and they didn’t see each other for 12 years. As a teenager, Natalie decided to try to reconnect with her old best friend via social media. Not only did she find him, but after just two dates, they realized they were in love. Now 24, Crow and Tatman married in April 2019.

“We just automatically became best friends and our parents realized it,” Natalie told People of her bond with her now-husband when they were still in diapers. “It’s strange when you’re that age — you don’t usually hang out with the opposite sex. But from when we were 2 until we were 5, we were constantly together.”

Check out this adorable shot of the pair together on Valentine’s Day in 1999, posted to Natalie’s Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BBxho7EM5Ld/

“My valentine since ’99,” she captioned the shot.

As the years went on, Natalie would wonder what happened to her friend, but she had no way to contact him. At the age of 17, she came across his name in her mom’s old address book and decided to find him on Facebook. Natalie was living in Connecticut at the time, but she was due to visit her dad back in Florida, just 10 minutes from where Austin was living. When they met up after all those years, Natalie said their connection immediately picked back up right where it had left off.

They dated long-distance for about a year, and then Natalie moved back to Florida for college. They each attended different colleges in Florida — Austin went to the University of Florida, in Gainesville, and Natalie attended University of Central Florida, near Orlando — and they stayed together:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQLdESYgcfi/

About a year after graduation, they got engaged. As they planned their wedding, Natalie realized how amazing her fate had been.

“After we had picked the place we were gonna get married, that’s when it was like ‘I’m literally marrying my preschool sweetheart,'” she told People. “This is insanity.”

Check out their adorable wedding video on Instagram, featuring some adorable throwback shots from when they were preschool sweethearts:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwcWP3Hgpab/

They even recreated a shot from their preschool days, featuring a red Jeep, at the wedding:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwXN6ULA8KN/

What an awesome love story! Here’s to many more years of happiness for this sweet couple!

[h/t: People]