Our story begins in 2017 at a surprise birthday party for our mutual friend, Zarak. João and Zarak had been childhood friends, while I had recently grown close to Zarak through the University of Miami thanks to my college bestie, Maham. What I didn’t know at the time was that Maham had ulterior motives when she put together the guest list for that night. She secretly invited João with the hope of introducing us—without either of us having the slightest idea. I remember coming down the stairs at Maham’s house and seeing João for the first time, immediately thinking, “Wow… who is that?” João, on the other hand, swears he thought I was an absolute angel (his words, not mine 😌). The sparks were definitely there—but I quickly dismissed the idea once I learned he was “just a freshman” while I was a sophomore… only to later find out we’re actually the same age, and he’s even a month older. Turns out João had moved from Brazil in the middle of the school year in elementary school and was forced to start a year behind. So yes—strike one for my assumptions. At the time, we were both newly single, in college, and not exactly rushing into anything serious. We had insane chemistry, quickly became friends, but drifted apart after a couple of months, and life moved on—though João did casually mention that I was “the kind of girl he’d like to marry someday.” No big deal… right? Fast forward to June 2018, when João unexpectedly texted me asking to meet for coffee at Pasion del Cielo. I went—very tentatively—fully convincing myself that I was only (!!) interested in being friends. We spoke for hours until the coffee shop closed. One week later, we were going on dates. And somehow, from that date at Pasión onward, we never stopped choosing each other. The rest, as they say, is history 🤍