I friend-zoned my four-foot husband because he didn't look like my dream man but marrying him was the best decision I've ever made - even though strangers think our photos are AI
Anita Wing Lee and Timothy Muttoo, from Toronto, met through mutual friends in 2021, but despite having plenty in common, their romantic connection wasn't instant.
Businesswoman Anita confessed that their height difference was an issue for her at first, with the content creator questioning: 'How does a "regular" 5'4" woman fall in love with a four-foot-tall man?'
As such, Tim - an engineer and co-founder of a Canadian charity working to make clean drinking water accessible to all - was the first to develop romantic feelings, but Anita saw her future husband as a 'great friend'.
But after reflecting on her emotions, and remembering the love story of Australian motivational speaker Nick Vujicic, who was born with no arms and legs, and his wife Kanae, she decided to give Tim a chance to prove he was her fairytale ending.
Anita soon realised Tim was everything she was looking for in a husband; he was kind and thoughtful, with 'no red flags', and she confessed that when she thought about the list of qualities she wanted in a future partner, she 'never prayed for someone tall'.
Eventually going from friends to partners, the couple got engaged in September 2024 before tying the knot this year.
The duo - who constantly tell those online that they 'are not an AI-generated image' - are now sharing their unconventional story on their own website to prove love does come in all shapes and sizes.
Whilst their love story started some years before their engagement, the couple had actually unknowingly spent years living in the same area of Toronto.
Tim was born in Canada, while Anita's family moved to the destination when she was 11 from Cambridge. For around 15 years, the pair lived just 20 minutes apart but were completely unaware of each other.
Tim, who left a corporate career behind to start his charity, first met Anita at a mutual friend's birthday party in 2021, but neither felt anything other than friendship initially.
Soon, they would form a strong friendship, spending hours talking to one another, going on trips together and sharing their dreams with each other.
Eventually, Tim's feelings towards Anita turned romantic, and he increased his contact with the content creator via texts to try and show her more of his personality.
Recalling their love story on their website, Anita said: 'Tim started texting me more frequently, and I found myself feeling uneasy. I didn't see him that way, and I already knew he liked me.
'I felt like I needed to put a stop to it, but at the same time, I didn't want to lose him as a friend.'
With the help of her sister, Anita crafted a message to try and explain that she wanted to remain as friends only, and maintain their boundaries with one another.
Yet the businesswoman admitted that she hesitated over sending the text, and once she did send the message, she regretted it almost immediately, which suggested to her that her feelings were perhaps stronger for Tim than she realised.
'But how could I imagine myself with a 4-foot man? Tim's torso was normal-sized, but his arms and legs were shorter. While that could look cute in some ways, it wasn't what I had ever pictured in a partner,' wrote Anita.
'I had always envisioned myself looking up into my partner's eyes, but with Tim, that wasn't possible. What was I supposed to do?'
Anita reflected on her feelings, remembering the love story of Australian motivational speaker Nick Vujicic, who was born with no arms and legs, and his wife Kanae.
She eventually discovered that she had strong romantic feelings for Tim, who made her happier, and explained how she believed they could have something 'even better' than she pictured for her life.
The pair are now sharing their story online, with Anita recently writing on her Instagram account (@anitawinglee): 'I never prayed for someone tall.
'You know how people write out lists of what they're hoping for in a partner? I never actually wrote down 'tall', because I just assumed God would bring me someone tall. Ideally, someone 5 inches taller than me so I could wear heels and they'd still be taller.
'But I never actually added it to my list, because there were other things that mattered more.
'I prayed for someone with substance and character: a visionary, a humble world traveller, big-hearted and creative (or at least someone who understood my creative soul), with deep faith. And I always sensed he'd come from a different culture.
'It all felt a bit contradictory, so I didn't know where God would find this person. How do you find someone who excels in the modern world and is totally open to leaving it all behind?
'But that's who I am. All those versions of me co-exist in me, so I trusted that God had someone out there who could hold it all.
'As I got to know @timmuttoo, I saw he was all of these things. But… he wasn't tall. And when I asked God about it, He said, "Well, it wasn't on your list."
'Hey! It wasn't on my list, because it just didn't matter as much as being with someone who understood me to the core and stood by me. Asking for someone tall felt so… surface-level, in comparison.
'And of course, God picked up on that little omission. Because the external of a person is just that, external. It's the internal - the heart, the soul, the kindness, the way they treat you and others - that truly matters.
'Thankfully, I processed the height thing… and now I actually think it's so adorable! It's an added bonus that brings so much fun and sweetness to our lives!
'So if you're still waiting for your person …they may not look like what you pictured and that might be the best part,' concluded Anita.
She eventually discovered that she had strong romantic feelings for Tim, who made her happier, and explained how she believed they could have something 'even better' than she pictured for her life
'So if you're still waiting for your person …they may not look like what you pictured and that might be the best part,' Anita told her followers
In another post, she confessed: 'We know many of you have been curious about our story, how we met and how our love grew. And, no, we are not an AI-generated image.
'There's the short version (we met through mutual friends), and then there's the longer version, which we think is far more winding and wonderful. Something that we don't want to forget.
'So we wrote it all down in the hope that it might inspire and encourage someone one day, right when you need it,' she added, before sharing a link to the couple's website.
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