网友提供的句子中使用的一般过去时没有问题,需要注意的是此处的it was the first time不同于常说的构式it was the first time that。
具体来说,这里是在讲强调句(it was ... that构式),转换为普通的陈述句则是:
The first time (that/when) I saw her, I fell in love with her.
即这里只是the first time这种结构,参考朗文词典上的句子:
The first time I flew on a plane I was really nervous.
而常说的这是第一次it was the first time that中that并不能与when互换。