MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- It’s a story of finding your life partner and best friend thanks to a "glitch" on social media.
Schuler Benson and Celeste Zendler met in an unusual way. Benson recently shared the story on Reddit.
Accidental Facebook hacking
In October 2009, Benson was on his phone when he noticed he was logged into someone else's Facebook account.
The account belonged to Zendler, a woman who lived 1,000 miles away.
Unable to log out, Benson began posting status updates to get Zendler's attention.
A friend request that changed everything
Following several attempts to log out, Zendler sent Benson a friend request, which allowed Benson to log out of her account.
Zendler intended to unfriend Benson a few days later, but through various status updates, the two realized they had a lot in common. The couple chatted online and met for the first time in 2013. A year later, they were engaged.
Last June, Benson broke into Zendler's account again (this time on purpose) and posted a picture of a ring to her wall with this message:
***ATTENTION: This is NOT Celeste. Her account has been HACKED… for the SECOND TIME.***
And, for the second time, it’s been hacked by me, Schuler, her boyfriend. For those who don’t know, Celeste and I met in October of 2009 when a glitch in Facebook Mobile logged me into her account from a cell phone I used while living in South Arkansas. After that, we became friends, grew closer, and eventually began a relationship. Prior to this, we’d never met, never lived in the same town, never known any of the same people, either on Facebook or in the real world. We were connected at random, by accident, and against odds. Some quick comparisons: In the fall of 2009, Facebook already had over 175 million users. Rounding down, the odds of us connecting were less than 1 in 175,000,000. Statistically speaking, you’re about 300 times more likely to be struck by lightning. You’re more likely to be bitten by a shark… on land. And you’re about as likely to win the Powerball Jackpot… with the exact same numbers as someone else.As amazing as our story is, it puts me at a disadvantage. If I were to ask Celeste to marry me, I wouldn’t be able to take her to the place we first met, because it wasn’t a physical location. So I’m coming back here. Celeste, I’m hacking into your Facebook account for the second time (on purpose for the first time ;)) to ask you a question. In a sea of millions of people going in millions of different directions, without even knowing we were looking, we found one another. You are truly my other half, and I want us to be with each other, in love, always. Will you marry me?
Happily Ever After
As you probably guessed, Zendler said yes. The couple is now happily married and credits the Facebook "glitch" for everything.
