Facebook post of third grade class picture leads to reunion of long lost crushes

NEW JERSEY - Two former New Jersey classmates are sharing their story after a tagged photo on Facebook led to them reconnecting, falling in love, getting married, and starting a family of their own.

Back during the 1986-1987 school year, PEOPLE.com reports that Edward Hemmes and Christy Young were classmates at Ironia Elementary School in Randolph, New Jersey. They were both a part of the same third grade class.

They rode the same school bus and Edward had a crush on the young girl.

Ed told PEOPLE, "I'm sure she knew I existed, but I don't know if she 'loved me' back. Of course, love is a different thing when you're eight vs. when you're 38."

Christy moved away to Chester, New Jersey. It was just the next town over, but they lost touch regardless.

But on August 27, 2009, the lines of communication were opened again when a fellow classmate named Eileen posted their class photo from third grade on Facebook.

Various former classmates were tagged and many began to comment on the image.

Ed was one of them.

People reports that he wasn't aware that everyone tagged could see his comments, so he wrote a line about his long lost childhood crush: "Christy Young (loved her)."

Soon after, Ed realized that everyone could see his comment, so he posted an apology and also expressed his embarrassment.

She responded, "No problem. Flattering to have an admirer."

"Facebook was still kind of new at that time," Ed told PEOPLE. "I understood it then about as much as I understand it now. I thought my comment was just going to be seen by the person who posted the picture. I thought there was no way Christy would see it, read it, let alone respond to it … We exchanged Facebook messages for a while. Eventually we planned a date."

Christy told a similar story.

"First we became friends on Facebook," she said. "Then, one night, he started messaging me. We talked for a long time that way before he asked me out. I did give him a little grief for taking so long to ask."

Their first date took place a few days after Valentine's Day in 2010. They went to the Corner Pub in Mount Olive, New Jersey.

Christy told PEOPLE they talked for hours: "Our first date was like meeting up with an old friend. We just clicked."

Ed agreed, but he revealed the truth about his nervousness that night.

"Our first date was a little awkward. It was a loud bar ... I didn't know if she drank or what she liked or what to talk about. We both recognized each other right away, and after some time talking, I thought she had a pretty interesting life, and she was doing some things I would like to do. I was definitely attracted to her still. It was like everything I saw and thought about her as a child was grown up, and we could actually talk about things that mattered."

And the rest is history.

PEOPLE reports that the pair began texting almost every day and dated for a little over two years before Ed popped the question.

The proposal took place at their old elementary school.

"I had to leave work early and convince her to meet me at Ironia School," Ed said to PEOPLE. "I told her we had to meet someone there and then drop off a car at my mom's house. When we got there the front door of the school was locked, and I was as nervous as could be. What I planned to say versus what actually came out of my mouth are probably very different, but the point was 'Sometimes one door closes and another door opens, and sometimes the door is just locked, but being here at the doors we both walked through so many times so many years ago seems like a great time to begin a new journey through a new door.' There is a rumor that when you ring the door bell at the school, it starts recording what's happening. It's possible [the proposal] is all on video, but we never asked."

The two married on December 28, 2013.

They currently reside in Andover, New Jersey and have welcomed a daughter, 16-month-old Emily Grace, to their family.