This book nerd's tweet to a bookstore's official Twitter account ended in a love story
LONDON -- The people behind corporate Twitter accounts are a mystery to us all. Witty, creative and enigmatic, they are the unsung heroes of the social media world.
But, one woman's tweet to bookstore Waterstones' official Twitter account not only unveiled the identity of the man behind it; it led to a first date, a love story, and -- most recently -- a wedding.
It all started with a tweet. Back in 2012, Victoria Carlin took a shine to the contents of Waterstones' nerdy tweets, and decided to tweet her mystery crush.
You May Also Like
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
In fact, the tweet Victoria responded to was about Pokémon.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Victoria's tweet didn't go unnoticed, however. Her Waterstones crush replied to her overtures.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
What happened next is such stuff as dream[boats] are made on. (Get it?)
According to Victoria's Twitter crush -- now husband -- Jonathan O'Brien, the two tweeted back and forth a bit before meeting in person.
"One day Victoria came into the shop with doughnuts, I ate them (giving away a very cavalier attitude to food from strangers)," Jonathan told Mashable.
The two went for a short walk on Jonathan's lunch break, and later went out to a secret cocktail bar together.
"It was easily the best first date I've ever been on (and hopefully the last first date I'll ever go on). I brought a book of The Wizard of Oz as a present because Victoria had mentioned to me how much she loves the film," Jonathan continued.
Four years later, Victoria and Jonathan tied the knot at Islington Town Hall, London. (With another appearance of Pokémon into their lives.)
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
And, of course, that first tweet got a special mention in Victoria's speech, Jonathan's speech, and the best man's speech.
"None of us knew the others would mention it," said Jonathan.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
And the rest, as they say, is Twitter history.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
Topics Books Social Media X/Twitter
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
