I’d venture to say that 95% of the females on this site, and more broadly threw out the world, think there is “the one” for them and they were open to that and looking for that and waiting for that and believed in it. And, little by little, as men (or women) came into their lives they matched up what they wanted and expected out of a mate and the “winner” was the guy (or gal) who successfully got check marks in all or most of the important categories.
On the other hand, I’d say a good percentage of men, a lot more than some here would care to admit, don’t really believe in there being one and only one good mate for them. Sorry. I am pretty sure, had a I lived in a different city, I’d have ended up with someone else and would have considered her the one and all that jazz. What’s cool is that women can get men to believe in the one and all that just by being so patient and loving. I know I am a better person having stuck it out with the same person for as long as we have been together. I can see now how much better it is. Running around isn’t all that great for most people. Being single might look like fun in movies but isn’t all that great in real life.
I think my current wife knew before I did. I think she knew that date to my Christmas party would go well and open my eyes and it did. We just clicked. Then, over the next few days, I realized there wasn’t anything else to look for. Whatever it was I wanted was right there next to me. I didn’t even realize it at first. As I think back to that night, one thing I remember is how confident she was. She spent most of the night laughing, joking with people, she is shy, but she is fun to be around at a party. She wasn’t trying to impress me, I don’t know how to express this thought, she already knew she was just waiting for me to figure it out.