Words With Friends Stories: How the Game Changes Lives

The First Words With Friends Marriage

People meet over a game of Words With Friends. For Jasper Jasperse and Megan Lawless, it meant meeting their new life partner. In fact, Jasper and Megan’s marriage just might be the first that resulted from a chance encounter in the popular word game. 

In 2009, Megan couldn’t get the one person she was playing the game with at the time to take their next turn. Rather than continue waiting, she opted to find a random opponent. The opponent she found was Jasper Jasperse. They began chatting in the game, engaging each other in small talk. Slowly but surely, their connection spread into more meaningful conversations. It also moved over to other communication methods such as Skype. 

Their relationship grew over the next two years. In July 2011, Jasper Jasperse moved from his home in the Netherlands to marry Megan Lawless, who lives in the United States. 

Trish and David’s New Beginnings

The story of David and Trish Palmer is a story of finding new love in the most unexpected of places. Both people had been in previous marriages that ended in divorce; each marriage lasted the same span of 18 years. Each of them also had two children from their previous marriages.

David and Trish were new to Words With Friends when they met. David was also new to smartphones in general, as he only downloaded the game after his daughter traded in his old phone for an iPhone. He started the game and matched with a random opponent. That opponent, his very first opponent, was Trish.

The two instantly liked each other after that first game. She lived in Atlanta and he lived in Houston. Their connection eventually grew to the point where they decided to meet in person. In October 2010, David and Trish enjoyed a romantic weekend on a beach in Texas. One month later, the couple were wed on another beach in South Carolina.

Love Is a Four-Letter Word

The relationship between Kyla Smith and Charles Briggs happened thanks to a single word. The two people, who had met randomly on Words With Friends, kept a friendly competition going while also using the game’s chat function. They became friends, but the relationship evolved when Kyla playfully spelled the word “sexy” in a game. That subtle, joking play was enough to charm Charles, who started to feel a spark between them.

Players often need to be cautious of people’s intentions while playing Words With Friends, thanks to the rampantness of scammers. But, Charles and Kyla are an example of a legit connection between two real people when they find words to express how they feel.

Pat Pascoe’s Online Friends

This is a different case than the romantic connections above. But, Pat’s story isn’t any less sweet. Pat Pascoe of Kinglake, Victoria, Australia was in her 80s when she was a client of ReadyTechGo, a group that specializes in training older adults to use newer technology. 

During her time with ReadyTechGo, she learned how to use many different devices, programs and apps. Since word games are known to be fun and stimulating for seniors, one of the apps she got was Words With Friends. Pat made several friends over the years of playing the word game. As she explained, one of the best things is meeting new people from around the world:

You can make new friends overseas, by playing with them, chatting and competing with them. I’ve made two very good friends, one in New York and one in London. We exchange news about our families, and we have now been friends for 3 years! We even email each other!

The Rapper and the Grandma

Spencer Sleyon is the real name of rapper Half Empty. And his skills with words are not limited to his rap lyrics. He’s also an avid wordsmith in Words With Friends. It was during his time with the game that he met and befriended an 81-year-old woman named Rosalind Guttman.

The two continually played together for months—over 300 games in all—before Sleyon quit the game for a time due to a hectic schedule. Months after he quit, however, the two friends were reunited by an acquaintance of Sleyon’s: Pastor Amy Burton. A few weeks after that, Burton arranged for Sleyon to travel from New York to West Palm Beach, Florida to finally meet his friend in person.

Use Your Word to Make New Friends

True to its name, Words With Friends empowers players to make real connections with other people. Those connections might lead to meaningful relationships no one ever expects, but they are always welcomed and appreciated. Perhaps the idea of making friends with other word game fans intrigues you, but you’ve never been an avid Words With Friends player. Luckily for you, the game is easy to get into. Our Words With Friends quick-start guide can teach you the must-know basics so you can start unscrambling letters and making new friends right away.

Zac Pricener has been a content creator for the past eight years. He’s a bit of an all-around nerd, and he has a bad habit of working movie and TV show references into conversations whenever possible.