Photo: @she_plusfive / Instagram
Wrong number, right person.
By Megan Quinn — Written on Mar 06, 2023
When many of us dream about meeting “the one” we assume that we will run into them by chance or come across them on an online dating site.
If only it were as easy as having them send you a text message one day and then deciding to spend your lives together.
This is exactly what happened to one woman 13 years ago when she unknowingly sent a text message to her future husband and father of their six children.
She sent a text message to the wrong number and the person on the other end wound up being her future husband.
Brenda Rivera Sterns could have never imagined that she’d meet the love of her life after sending a text to who she thought was one of her sister’s friends back in 2009.
However, this is exactly what life had planned for her and now the two are living happily ever after with their six children.
In a TikTok video that has been viewed over 2 million times, Brenda revealed her captivating love story with a series of photos and videos taken throughout the years.
After sending the accidental message to a man named Isaiah Sterns, the two began a long distance relationship before Brenda decided to move out of state to be with him full-time.
Shortly afterwards, the couple got engaged, married, and had two children before buying their first home together. The family went on to travel, add four more children, get a bigger car, and go on many more date nights!
Viewers responded positively to Brenda’s video and were curious to know more details about their atypical “how we met” story.
Brenda, who is from Mexico and moved to the US when she was 12 years old, shared a follow-up story in more TikTok videos sharing how she sent the text message to the wrong number and how her and Isaiah decided to start a relationship together.
She says that in 2009 she was living with her older sister in Georgia after starting a photography business while the rest of her family was living in Ohio.
One day before work, Brenda sent a text message to who she originally believed was her sister’s friend back in Ohio, quoting the scriptures, which are sacred texts of Christianity from the Bible.
“This person replied and they said, ‘Amen to that! Who is this?’” she says. Brenda explained who she was, still assuming that she was messaging her sister’s friend.
“He said, ‘I don’t think we ever met, my name is Isaiah Sterns, but by your text, I can see that you love God. That’s awesome!’”
After she apologized for the wrong number mix up, the mystery man saw it as an opportunity.
He asked to get to know her better, something Brenda was initially hesitant about.
“I’m really nice and I don’t know how to say no, so he asked me if he could call me sometime and I said yes,” she shares. While she declined Isaiah’s phone call when he got around to it, she listened to the voicemail he left her.
Although she doesn't recall his exact words, Brenda claims that he sounded “genuine” so she decided to give him a call back, and thankfully, the two hit it off and discovered that they had a lot in common.
Since Brenda was living in Georgia and Isaiah was in Ohio, she decided to have her mother meet up with him before making the trip herself. After the meeting, her mother informed her that this was the man she was going to marry, giving him an 11 out of 10 rating.
“Having my mom share those words with me, I felt like I could finally let my guard down and let my heart feel what I was feeling for Isaiah,” Brenda shares.
She moved to Ohio two months after sending the text message, and got married six months afterward. Two months after getting married, she says they started trying to get pregnant.
“And I’ve been pregnant ever since!” Brenda jokes.
Who knew that two states, six children and one minivan would all start with a text message to the wrong number?!
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.