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