WNBA star Cameron Brink\u2019s love story with fianc\u00e9 Ben Felter is melting hearts and it all began, surprisingly, with an email.<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles Sparks forward recently shared an image on TikTok of the first message that Felter, who was a member of the rowing team<\/a> and the pair\u2019s alma mater, Stanford University, sent to her to get onto her romance radar.<\/p>\n In his email, Felter told Brink, who was then a star on the Stanford Cardinals women\u2019s basketball team, he felt sliding into her DMs on social media was a \u201ccreepy\u201d idea. So, he opted instead to share his phone number with her in a more old-fashioned way.<\/p>\n Felter\u2019s unconventional approach has sports fans cracking up while relationship experts like Erika Ettin<\/a>, a New York City-based dating coach, are applauding his ingenuity.<\/p>\n In his now legendary email, Felter wrote, \u201cHey Cameron, Wanted to chat you up but I think dms are a bit creepy. Not that an email is much better so here\u2019s my number.\u201d<\/p>\n His subject line? The disarmingly honest, \u201cAttempting to mingle.\u201d<\/p>\n Beneath the screenshot of Felter\u2019s email in her post, Brink wrote, \u201cThis wasn\u2019t supposed to be a love story…\u201d<\/p>\n Under a second image of the couple kissing, she continued, \u201cBut I guess it is now,\u201d adding emoji of a heart on fire.<\/p>\n In her caption, Brink paid homage to the business-like platform where it all began. \u201cI love that Outlook brought us together lol lol,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n Felter\u2019s email may have been an unusual starting point for romance, but it worked. He and Brink began dating in March 2021, according to People.<\/a> They announced their engagement<\/a> in September 2024.<\/p>\n Fans on TikTik couldn\u2019t help but chuckle over the retro way Felter choose to shoot his shot with his future WNBA pro bride.<\/p>\n \u201cSliding in the emails is crazy,\u201d wrote one.<\/p>\n \u201cSubject line has my cackling,\u201d said another.<\/p>\n Felter\u2019s Email \u2018Cut Through the Muck\u2019<\/p>\n Dating expert Ettin says contacting Brink in an \u201cold-school\u201d email made Felter stand out.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was trying to cut through the muck\u201d of Brink\u2019s DMs, Ettin tells TODAY.com. \u201cI think that was pretty clever.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, Ettin felt Felter\u2019s email itself lacked pizazz. \u201cI would have made it more personal,\u201d she says. \u201cOn a scale of one to ten, I would give that email a three.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m glad it all worked out for them,\u201d she adds, laughing. \u201cBut that was pretty lackluster to me.\u201d<\/p>\n Tips for Sending a Message to A Romantic Prospect<\/p>\n Ettin tells TODAY.com she would advise someone in Felter\u2019s shoes \u2014 that is, someone reaching out to a romantic prospect<\/a> \u2014 to send a message that begins by mentioning something \u201cflattering\u201d about the person you\u2019re contacting.<\/p>\n Then, the sender should add some information about themselves.<\/p>\n Ettin suggests a script like, \u201cI saw you (fill in the blank to say something you saw this person doing) and I was really impressed by that.\u201d<\/p>\n Next, add, \u201cI know we don\u2019t really know each other but here\u2019s a little bit about me.\u201d<\/p>\n Share anything about yourself that feels relevant, says Ettin. That could be anything from what you do for a living to what your hobbies are or what books you\u2019ve recently read.<\/p>\n Finish the message by asking to get together in person.<\/p>\n Ettin suggests, \u201cWould you be interested in meeting each other for a coffee or a drink?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat is a perfectly acceptable and appropriate way to ask somebody out,\u201d she says of her script.<\/p>\n Respect the Person and Their Response<\/p>\n As for TikTok users who responded to Brink\u2019s TikTok post to say sending an email is more respectful than sending a DM, Ettin says that\u2019s not necessary true.<\/p>\n \u201cJust like most things in life, it\u2019s less the where and more the how,\u201d of what we do, she explains.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can get hit on in any way and if someone is gross about it or disgusting or creepy it doesn\u2019t matter the venue, whether it\u2019s in person or DM or email.\u201d<\/p>\n The most important thing, Ettin says, is that you send the message in a respectful way.<\/p>\n She advises anyone asking someone out in person or in a message to \u201cbe confident\u201d but also \u201cdeferential.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cExpress what you want, but then say, \u2018If that doesn\u2019t work for you, it\u2019s OK,\u2019\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Just do your best and \u201caccept whatever outcomes happens,\u201d Ettin adds.<\/p>\n This article was originally published on TODAY.com<\/a><\/p>\n