Fredrik Eklund: My Side of the Story Is That I Saw an Angel...

Last night Derek and I celebrated our 5-year anniversary together and we dressed up in white tuxes and had a drink at the legendary Rainbow Room. It’s so important in today’s fast-paced and crazy world and try to stop...no, not try but to actually just stop, STOP, and take it all in. Stop and take this gorgeous moment in. And take the time to remember where we all come from and in my and Derek's case, how we came together as a couple, which I believe was predestined by the stars above.

Fredrik Eklund Really Wants A Daughter

So here it goes...I was alone, I mean not alone in the world because I had friends and family, but alone inside because I too was dreaming of meeting someone for real and to start living the dream I had as a boy. You might have had the same dream? You know, the dream to travel the world with someone and maybe one day start a family? To find a beautiful friend to have fun with, to be yourself with, to discover the world outside and inside with? It was the end of summer 2010 and I went to Greece by myself and I felt like not only summer but maybe life itself was starting to pass me by. I was 33 and still single. But I told myself that perhaps first there is a little darkness needed to later be able to see the light from the stars...

Towards the end of my week on the island I saw a really tall blond guy from behind across the room full of people, he was the only one taller than me, and I thought "What the hell, this is it, now is the time, my time." I tried to keep it cool (no high-kicking now) and I went straight up to him and knocked on his shoulder. "Hi..." He turned around and there are always two sides to every story but Derek claims he had never seen anyone more handsome and he was confused because he didn't know this blue-eyed guy standing in front of him smiling like he was was about to do the biggest deal of his life. My side of the story is that I saw an angel - the hottest angel I’ve ever seen, I swear on it. How could something so pure and beautiful not be taken, I’m sure he was there with someone? All I said was "why are you so handsome?" over and over again, probably with a strong Swedish accent which I get when I'm nervous. One moment, alone - the next, heartbeat in love. That’s how life can turn...

That night changed everything. We woke up together and spent the rest of the week together, drove around the island in my little rented car and exchanged dreams of the future. We drank wine, ate tsatsiki, swam in the ocean, talked, talked, talked. He told me he grew up in Zimbabwe and loved rain storms more than anything. I told him I grew up in wintery Sweden and left to NYC alone with nothing but a dream. I was scared, because when you suddenly don't see any warning-signals anymore, when YOUR dreams match HIS...that's when it gets really scary. When you want something so much and then suddenly you see it so near you, so near can almost grab it – that’s when you freak out. When Derek had to leave back to London, I cried in front of him which was so embarrassing because who does that after just a few days together? He asked, holding his luggage on the way to the airport, almost worried "Why are you crying?" And all I said was "I don’t know."

Anyway, I came back alone to New York City and walked through Central Park in full bloom and exclaimed to my friends that "This is IT! He IS the one!" The only problem was that he lived in London and I lived in New York... And I had no idea if he would ever consider moving to New York after a quick fling in Greece. I mean, love can be such a fleeting thing and all I had was a phone number saved. But...as you know, it all worked out and the rest is history. Actually, it wasn't easy or a fairytale. No love is. But it was amazing. So this post is to all of you out there celebrating some sort of anniversary with your love too, but also to those who haven't yet knocked someone on the shoulder. I know you will!