6 Times Marriage Pacts REALLY Worked — According To Reddit

In a world where many people feel pressured to pair off by a certain age, it makes sense that some try to hedge their bets while they're in their teens and 20s. Hence, marriage pacts. You know, the ones you make with your friends, saying, "If we're both single at 30, let's just marry each other." After all, a good friend should make a good partner, right? Of course, when these pacts are made, it's often assumed that they'll never actually be fulfilled. (And in a perfect world, we wouldn't feel such societal pressure to couple up that we'd feel the need to make them in the first place.) But what happens when the deadline approaches and the pact-ees decide to go for it? Redditors who have fulfilled these so-called "marriage pacts" have decided to come forward in a fascinating thread, filled with heartbreak, romances that fizzled out, and quite a few movie-worthy, passionate tales. Ahead, eight redditors share their stories.

"Life couldn't be better!"
"We were both never single at the same time, but always best friends. Made a pact in high school that, if at 30 we're both single, we'd get married. We stayed friends after graduation, and at 25 we started hanging out more and more. We fell deeply in love, and on our 30th birthday (yes, we have the same birthday) we were married. Life couldn't be better!" — tightnrain

"What started off as an 'arrangement' eventually evolved into something extremely serious and passionate."
"We left our spouses around the same time (not for each other) and decided to share a house. We got to [talking] one night and decided we each had all the things the other was looking for, plus we got along really well. We were in our mid-30s by then and sick of the dating scene, so we just laid it out like a business arrangement. What started off as an 'arrangement' eventually evolved into something extremely serious and passionate. We've been together now for almost seven years and married for almost one. We are extremely in love, and I have zero regrets." — 1throw9away79

"I'm not gonna recommend it."
"Had that deal with a friend from church camp. If we were both single at 30, we'd go for it. He dated my good friend when they were 16, then that relationship blew up. A year or so later, we started going out. In the three months we dated, he treated me like shit, made fun of me for not doing drugs with him, cheated on me. Then, when I told him we could try and work through it, he dumped me for being 'too clingy.' So, I'm not gonna recommend it." — Allisonsie

"Currently married for three years with two children."
"My best friend of 10 years said to me one day in a group conversation that if we weren't with anyone by the time she was 30 (she was 25 at the time), that we would have to be together. As beautiful as she was/is, I never made a move because I used to date her female best friend, so I thought the 'girl code' would halt my advance. Sure enough, once she said that, I was like, 'Hold up, she's possibly into me?!' I made the move! Six months after that conversation, we got married. It was a fairly easy transition. Currently married for three years with two children. I'm fucking loving every moment of it." — BioKlean911

"If we were both single, I'd move the 2,000 miles and be with him."
"My bf and I made such a pact about seven years ago. We met online and were friends, and over the course shared our misfortunes of broken hearts and bad relationships, and [we] made such a pact that by 30, if we were both single, I'd move the 2,000 miles and be with him. I jumped the gun and had moved here at 28, and two years later we are engaged and I couldn't be happier. Maybe not the story of a long marriage one would hope, but I don't regret my decision in the least." —mybrokendelilah

"You could say I was a pact player..."
"I made pacts with a bunch of female friends through school, college, and university...on my wedding day, just before the service, one girl made reference to it (the fact we had made a quote silly pact), only for two of the other girls which I also made a pact with to overhear her and state that they also had a pact...all three were shocked I went to such lengths...I was coy about it, though, and made the pacts at different ages in case one or two became off the market... You could say I was a pact player..." — ReaperBallz

"We're still really young, but yeah, we want to get married."
"Well, my best friend and I made that pact when we were 13 and just friends. We pledged to marry each other when we were 30 if we hadn't found anyone else by then, which really kind of made him happy-sad, because he was worried I'd find someone else within that amount of time and he'd be left alone. So he was kind of prompted to ask me out. Long story short, we've been together for about four years. We're still really young, but yeah, we want to get married. And move to California. And raise some cats together. And become teachers. Maybe we'll get married in a few years. At least, before we're 30." — littlesqueal

"Life is sweet."
"I wouldn't say 'as a result,' but when my now wife and I were 19, we dated for a few weeks, and during that time I suggested if we were still single and childless by age 35, we should look each other up and have kids. After college, we rekindled that romance, dated two years, broke up for nine months, dated again nine months, then she moved to Japan for two years, I followed her after 1.5 of those years, and asked her back to the States. We dated another five years before I proposed, got knocked up, and were married just before my 35th birthday. We had our beautiful daughter just before her 35th birthday. And we're doing great. We're about to celebrate our fifth anniversary, and today (July 4) is the 17-year anniversary of our first date after college. Life is sweet." — Smittles