This Hamilton couple fell in love weeks after starting to date — here's the science behind why

Heading into her second date with a man she had met weeks before, Mikeera Miller recalls she couldn't shake the feeling of butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

"I wasn't sure if it was anxiety because I hadn't dated in a while or if it was that I really cared about this guy," she said, looking back on those months in 2018 that changed her life.

Mikeera and Aaron met through Aaron's sister in 2018. Mikeera says she had given Aaron's sister her phone number to give to her brother, but he forgot to message Mikeera for weeks.

Eventually they went on a first date.

"When I first met him, I thought 'Who is this weird guy? He is so quirky and I don't understand him at all,'" Mikeera recalled.

Her friends ended up convincing her to do a second date — and that date sealed the deal, she said.

"It was love at second sight," she said. "I realized about two weeks in, I definitely loved him."

The science behind love

Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist and senior research fellow at the The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction at Indian University, told CBC's Ontario Today that people can "instantly" fall in love if the timing is right and they meet the right person.

Although, she also said it's generally a good idea to let the passion at the start of a relationship settle before taking a big step like professing your love or moving to a new city for someone.

She said when someone first falls in love, part of the brain makes and pumps out dopamine.

"This is what gives you the energy, the euphoria … and the intrusive thinking," Fisher said.

"It can be so discombobulating you suddenly move to China ... and find yourself without a job and with somebody who annoys you."

Mikeera said two weeks after her second date with Aaron she told him she was in love. She said it scared him at first, but two weeks later, he reciprocated. Mikeera said her love for him has only grown.

Fisher said brain scans have shown people can still feel as in love with someone months or even years later as they did when they first met, the only difference is when you first meet someone you also feel anxiety.

It was a happy ending for Mikeera and Aaron — they are celebrating their six-month wedding anniversary this Valentine's Day.

Fisher said people who are looking for love or feel like they've never fallen in love shouldn't fret. Many times, it comes down to the opportunity.

"Some people only fall in love once in their life ... some people fall in love all the time," Fisher said.

"Any way you do it, it can work."