A modern-day “Romeo and Juliet”- romance blossomed on the University of Wisconsin campus when an unsuspecting guy wearing a Vikings jersey caught the eye of a female student on the university’s Snapchat story.
Admirer Abby Diamond decided to try to track down her mystery man.
"I never put myself out there; I don’t make the first move,” Diamond told “Nightline.” "I’m really shy. I would never go up to a guy and give him my number."
But she posted a Snapchat, saying, "Guy wearing the Vikings jersey on the UW snap story. I am seriously in love with you."
The cutie in the Vikings jersey was Reed Bjork. Diamond’s snap was “quite a surprise,” he said.
But he responded with his own snap back, saying, "To the girl from Memorial Library. It looks like they took down my first snap. But that's ok. If it's fate, maybe they'll post this one. Meet me here."
Students became enthralled in the suspense of whether they would get together, with many chiming in with their own snaps and tracking the development of the story as it unfolded in real time.
Hoping that his efforts would pay off with the proposed date time, Bjork and other Snapchatters eagerly awaited a reply. But Diamond didn’t show.
"I thought after that there was no chance of us meeting up because it had passed the time," Bjork said.
But Diamond said she never saw his post, and took to Snapchat again, saying, "I didn’t even realize that you replied back to my video. So I missed the 8:30 at the Discovery Centre. But if it’s fate, I’ll see you out tonight."
By this point, many of the university’s 40,000 college students were watching, reacting and cheering for the two star-crossed lovers on Snapchat, and begging for updates.
Ordinarily, Snapchat is not an application people associate with online dating. Indeed, Diamond said it was her first time reaching out to someone over Snapchat.
But dating coach Laurel House said non-dating sites and social apps -- such as Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Snapchat -- are more recently being used to connect romantically. Snapchat might be the newest dating platform because of the recent “Add Nearby” feature, which allows users to find and follow other Snapchat users who are close to their location.
“Snapchat is not for dating, per se, but it’s a great way to date," House said. "You’re actually watching people in real time to see what their lifestyle looks like. It’s not just these very staged, perfectly lit photos of them that they have on an online dating profile."
Snapchat gives people a chance to see what someone is like in the flesh, House said.
“If your goal is to have fun and hook up with a bunch of people, have a blast,” she said. “But if your goal is to possibly find a relationship, then you need to be strategic.”
There are some pitfalls for those who don’t want to use sites like LinkedIn and Snapchat for dating. Social media manager Frankie Greek said she has received some inappropriate snaps.
“It sucks because sometimes it will be someone I’ve had a conversation with about something completely different and I’m disappointed because it’s like, ‘Ugh, I thought you were cool,’” she said. “So sometimes I’ll be like, ‘Hey, just so you know, what you’re doing is 100 percent sexual harassment and you shouldn’t do it to anyone.”
So what’s the problem with using actual dating sites such as Tinder or Match.com?
“Some people still have a stigma against online and app dating,” House said. “But these other social platforms feel safe.”
And so the unlikely Snapchat romance at the UW campus was a big hit.
After Diamond and Bjork sent more snaps back and forth, Diamond invited Bjork out to meet her at a bar near campus called the Kollege Klub, saying, "I’m at the KK right now. If you wanna come. Please come to the KK right now."
Bjork said, “My friends were texting me, ‘You’ve got to go meet up with her, you’ve got to figure this out.’”
Friends and fans of the story cheered them on hoping for a romantic connection as Bjork went to her location and sent a video saying he was at the bar. “Mystery Girl, I’m here … waiting for you.”
“I got really nervous and anxious and kind of panicked a little bit and left,” Diamond told “Nightline.”
Students responded with snaps, like, “Don’t you do this, Mystery Girl.”
After stepping outside to shake her nerves, Diamond replied with another snap, saying, "I’m outside the KK. Viking Fan, if you see this, come find me."
With overwhelming chants for her to "Go back inside," Diamond spotted the Vikings jersey mystery man at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for her. The two hugged upon meeting surrounded by friends' and classmates' cheers. Their meeting was, of course, documented on Snapchat.
"We were on different levels but it was pretty emotional,” Diamond told “Nightline” afterwards. “Because when I saw him, it was like I had already seen him."
“It was like we were friends,” Bjork said. “It was really exciting.”
"I’m not ashamed to say we met on social media," he added. “It’s pretty genuine, I would say.”
This is the future, and the digital fairy tale couple lived happily ever after.
