My DH didn't fit my "picture" of a potential spouse, either (at the time). We met, as I said, at a singles event, and when we went on our first date, I discovered that he was 3 years younger than me, owned his own lunch truck business, and had dropped out of Penn State. I had not imagined dating anyone who wasn't a professional person, but it was clear my DH was smart, and met all of the other "qualifications" I had, such as not being a sexist pig . We basically had very similar values, and as he got to know my parents, they became substitutes for the crazy parents he had. We moved in together after a month, got engaged after 3 months, and married in 6 months. About a month after we got married, he went back to school (with no prompting from me, it was just his parents had told him he was stupid all of his life, as well as "being embarrassed to say my wife has a master's degree and i am a HS grad").
I think these stories are very interesting.