Normal People season 2 rumours are flying around, and we have our own Marianne and Connell moments to share - because everyone remembers their first heartbreak.
Normal People was undoubtedly one of the best shows to come out of 2020, and the ultimate tonic for lockdown blues. Based on Sally Rooney's 2018 novel of the same name, never had a book adaptation translated to the screen so profoundly. The relationship between Marianne Sheridan (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Connell Waldron (Paul Mescal), was as beautiful as it was painful to watch, evoking memories of first love and teenage dating for many who watched it.
Fans have been calling for a follow up series in the years following the smash hit show, and there's a possibility it could be on the cards. Posting to her Instagram stories on May 28, Daisy Edgar-Jones shared an image of her and Paul Mescal, with the caption "We’ve got some news to share!! Watch this space," and the internet is currently in meltdown that Normal People season 2 is going to be announced any day.
While we wait for the big reveal, it got everyone here at GoodtoKnow reminiscing about the sucker punch to the gut that is first love. Looking back on our own turbulent teenage dating evokes nostalgia, pain, and a whole load of 'what ifs.' We decided it would make great therapy to share our own Marianne and Connell moments, and you're in for a ride as we relay our very own first heartbreaks.
Stories of first love
GoodtoKnow editor-in-chief Anna Bailey, is first up to share her story of first love angst. She says "I admired my first love (from afar) at Gatwick airport on my way to Ibiza when I was 17. I couldn’t believe it when he boarded my flight and then got on the same minibus (remember when you always had a transfer?), and we ended up at the same hotel. I bumped into him on a night out and we were inseparable. I was there for a week, and he was there for two - but he came home early to spend time with me. I should’ve known then it was madness - who’d give up an extra week in Ibiza to hang out in Basingstoke?
"The following few years were so fun and a constant adventure but things are so confusing when you’re young… We clashed in so many ways, but like Marianne and Connell, I found it impossible to identify or share how I was really feeling. I could really relate to all those awkward moments where really important things just went unsaid. Untimely it broke down because we couldn’t communicate. It shocks me nowadays, when you hear couples on reality shows talking about ‘their needs and boundaries’ and ‘wanting to be heard’. We never spoke like that. I wish we had… That said, I don't regret breaking up, and I know if we met now we’d be total strangers."
"I admired my first love (from afar) at Gatwick airport on my way to Ibiza when I was 17. I couldn’t believe it when he boarded my flight and then got on the same minibus, and we ended up at the same hotel."
Our family editor, Stephanie Lowe, is next up to share her gut-wrenching tale of young love. Steph says "Did Normal People season 1 make anyone else want to get in touch with their first love? Asking for a friend. I’m 14-years-married with a son, and I hadn’t thought of my first serious boyfriend in over a decade until I watched Marianne and Connell.
"I was so lucky with my first love and the story it gave me. I met him at 16 years old, I’d just finished my GCSEs. My best friend introduced me to him, he worked in a JD Sports - she fancied him. I thought he was an arrogant t**t. But up close he was funny, full of the banter, and he gave me butterflies whenever we locked eyes. He ‘asked me out’ and we became boyfriend and girlfriend within two weeks.
"He was my ultimate first. First kiss, first boy to meet my parents, first person I went on holiday with, first person I had sex with, bought a hamster with, shared a flat with. And he was the first to break my heart. We had a good five years, though ultimately, it ended up with ugly crying on a train after I overheard him in a bar kissing a girl when he hadn’t hung up the phone properly.
"Watching Normal People brought that all flooding back. The thought of watching season 2 though, has now moved on from my own firsts to wondering about my son and what his firsts might be like. They don’t need to be happy he just needs to experience them, survive them and learn from them, I think."
"He was the first to break my heart. We had a good five years, though ultimately, it ended up with ugly crying on a train after I overheard him in a bar kissing a girl when he hadn’t hung up the phone properly."
Other team members prefer to stay anonymous - spilling intimate secrets can be difficult, right? One of our amazing group tells us all "We met at a holiday park - our best mates got together and we we were the sidestory but he made me feel like the only girl on the Waltzers.
"Afterwards he wrote hilarious letters, sent me brilliant mix tapes and even came all the way from Essex to visit me in Surrey although we got our wires crossed and didn't manage to find each other - the days before phones, kids. Symbolic really - I was out of my depth, a bit startled by the attention and not ready for the intensity so I guess he was the one got away. Every now and then I Google him though and wonder what if..."
"I guess he was the one got away. Every now and then I Google him though and wonder what if..."
Another member of our lovely team recalls, "I wish I had a do-over for my first love. We started as friends and it grew from there, but we were young and inexperienced in all these new and complicated feelings. We didn't know how to effectively communicate with each other, or articulate ourselves, so it was fraught with mis-steps and misunderstandings - all of which felt massive and insurmountable.
"In the end, we fell out over something that now, seems so trivial, but at the time, an utter severing of all ties felt like the only option. As I've grown into the person I am now, I look back and wonder what would have happened if we'd met later in life, where we were both a bit more prepared to tackle the realities of a relationship, had a bit more perspective over red flags and deal-breakers and knew ourselves better."
"As I've grown into the person I am now, I look back and wonder what would have happened if we'd met later in life, where we were both a bit more prepared to tackle the realities of a relationship."
Bringing up the rear with another anonymous recounting, is another GoodtoKnow editor, with a less than perfect story where the word 'love' is fairly contentious. She shares, "I met my first 'love' in a pub when I was 16. I was supposed to be at a Christmas assembly at school, but I'd snuck out for a spot of lunchtime drinking instead. I often wish I'd just gone to that assembly. Even though I'm not religious, it felt meeting him was some sort of divine punishment for not being at the religious celebration I should've attended.
"Never before had I looked at someone, and felt such an instant attraction and physical need to be in their presence. I'd had a few kisses, but never had a boyfriend before. He came over to talk to me as soon as our eyes met. After a few drinks I went to his house and was flattered by how enamoured he seemed to be with me, too. What followed was seven years of intense feelings, fraught arguments, and emotional abuse.
"He controlled my money, who I saw, where I went, and kept me from my friends. A master manipulator, he ate away at my confidence, cleverly disguising it as love or helpful advice. By the time I finally disentangled myself from him, I was a shell of my former self - underweight, constantly anxious, and in need of some therapy. I've been angry that my 'first love' experience was so awful, but it's made me determined to make sure no boys of mine turn out like him. My true first love is my husband - the one who showed me what real love and security is. What came before was just what I had to go through to appreciate what I have."
For more on dating and relationships, we share the five most important things to discuss with your teen before they start dating. If you're a parent looking to spice up your relationship with your partner, our tips will help, even though a sexless marriage isn't necessarily doomed.
