Slowly but surely she started to fall in love with him.

虽然缓慢，但她确实开始爱上他了。

《柯林斯英汉双解大词典》

She started to fall, then steadied herself.

她打个踉跄要倒下去，然后又站稳了。

youdao

She almost started to fall from the balance beam but recovered herself in time.

她几乎从平衡木上掉了下来，但及时恢复了平衡。

youdao

"Our first few conversations were about work and films and art, and gradually, we started to fall in love, " she said.

CNN: A Syrian woman's year of love and fear