Scott Howell, 22 Residence: Beverly Hills,
Mich. Relationship status: single
I was 15 years
old when I got a message from Sean in a gay teen chat
room. He told me he was British, lived in Stamford, Conn.,
and just happened to be moving right down the street
from me.
At the time, I
was in the process of coming out, so it was perfect
timing, and he was perfect-looking: blond-haired, blue-eyed,
and he was a soccer player, so I'll leave it up
to your imagination what his body looked like.
However, you know what they say: If it's too good to
be true, it probably is.
Within a week of
talking to each other online, he asked me to marry him.
This is what our "engagement" looked like:
Sean: gets down
on one knee::
Sean: Will you
marry me?
Me: Yes,
I'll marry you.
Needless to say,
it was anything but romantic. And in just a few short
weeks, he disappeared.
Eventually we
started talking again, and he told me that he was coming to
Michigan to visit. I told him I wouldn't meet him
until we talked on the phone. We talked, but we never
met.
I honestly
don't know what I was thinking nor why the red flags
didn't go up right from the beginning. My heart
was ripped out and stomped on. I was blinded by
"love." Although I now know that
"Sean" was most likely some old pervert
preying on children and teenagers, back then I didn't
see the signs. I truly loved the man I created in my head:
Sean. I guess you could say it was love at first site.