You know I’m not in the space for that long, but I suspect everyone has been secretly in love with Monero from the beginning :) I was told a funny story by someone who’s been in this world much longer (I posted it and my analogy on The Meritocrat Substack):

Several Bitcoiners from Nostr tried paying with Lightning, but it kept bouncing, so they swapped for XMR! And get this: if you ask the top arbitrators and ‘legendary’ bitcointalk.org users (Bitcoin arbitrators from the link https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=276897.0) what currency they prefer to be paid in, they say XMR.
You can argue all you want on X, Reddit, StackerNews, or BitcoinTalk, but in the real world, people just want what really works: Monero. And the loudest critics? They secretly want it too. It’s like an unhappy marriage: you’re dreaming of Monero-chan, but you’re stuck with Bitcoin-wife, forcing a smile and telling everyone how happy you are. A textbook case of life of quiet desperation!