If there’s one thing that’s true about social media, it certainly helps us stay in touch with people who we don’t see in person on a regular basis. Many of our Facebook friends, for example, live in other parts of the country or even the world. Without social media, we wouldn’t know who they married, how many kids they have, or what they ate for dinner last night.

While social media makes it easier than ever to keep on the lives of our friends, it can also be a great way to reconnect with friends we had years ago. We’ve rekindled friendships with people we knew way back in kindergarten thanks to social media. Facebook’s “people you may know” feature makes this even easier.

We’re not always the ones finding the long lost friends. Sometimes the friends find us. There have been times when we’ve gotten a friend request from someone who we really didn’t even recognize. Then, after looking at her profile and chatting on Messenger, we realize who she is and why we didn’t recognize her (her last name is different now because marriage).

While we think it’s amazing to reconnect with friends, imagine reconnecting with “the one who got away.” Have you ever Facebook-stocked an old boyfriend or girlfriend? Just us? Come on, you have to admit to being a little curious about what ever happened to that person you dated back in high school. Did he get married? Do they have any kids?

Karen Lynch and Rick Hayward knew each other in high school. They even went out on a date once. Karen liked Rick and thought the date went really well. They went bowling and had a great time together. She expected Rick to call her and ask her out again, but he never did. She could only assume that he wasn’t interested and that the date must not have gone as well as she thought, at least in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Rick wanted to call Karen. He really did. He wanted to ask her out on a second date. He was a shy kid and really nervous about asking her out. He even picked up the phone to call her a few times, but he could never go through with actually dialing her number.

As time passed, Rick decided that it would be weird to call Karen now. He assumed she’d probably be mad at him and wonder why he didn’t call her earlier, so he decided not to call. He gave up and let her slip away.

That was back in 1977. They were 17 years old. Social media didn’t even exist then and wouldn’t for many years. Then, 33 years later, they friended each other on Facebook.

Watch the video below to hear how they rekindled their relationship thanks to social media.

Have you found long lost friends on social media? Have you rekindled relationships with any old sweethearts thanks to social media, or do you know anyone who has?