Khalif and Hadiya met as undergraduates at UMass Amherst. She was a sophomore and he was a junior. Though they had met a few times, the first time they really connected was at a back-to-school party in early 2016. Hadiya had a little crush and asked Maija (now her Maid of Honor) to introduce her to Khalif. After making introductions, Maija slipped away leaving the two to talk. Despite being at a party, Khalif and Hadiya spent the entire night (literally until the sun came up) talking and getting to know each other. After that night, Hadiya and Khalif were often in each other's orbits as Khalif ran a student government campaign with Maija. As the months passed, the two enjoyed hikes, Grammy's watch parties, and even a trip to Washington D.C. together. By the end of the semester, they had made things official and the rest was history. Who would have thought that nearly a decade later, these two college sweethearts would be preparing to say "I do."

Each week, Khalif and Hadiya have a date night and rotate who plans it. On an unassuming summer day, Khalif decided to plan a fancy date night. On the way to dinner, Khalif asked Hadiya if she'd ever seen the "Luminescence" installation at the park near their apartment. Hadiya said no and Khalif asked if she wanted to check it out. He walked her down to the waterfront, to a place where seven stone moons absorb sunlight during the day and reflect it back at night. On each moon there was a rose, and Khalif took Hadiya to each of the sculptures one by one. At each, he told her a story about that year of their relationship; seven moons for seven years. At the last moon, Khalif led her up a pathway lined with rose petals to a small mat with tea lights where he asked her to be his wife. Hadiya's emphatic (and very teary) yes was captured by their friend Kristophe, who photographed the entire proposal. After the very unexpected detour, "date night" continued at a lovely Italian restaurant on the waterfront. The next day, friends and family traveled to New York for a long ago planned housewarming-turned-engagement party. It could not have been more perfect.

Since 2022, Khalif and Hadiya have lived together in New York City with their son (of the canine variety), Tobias. Khalif works on Wall Street as a cooperative business developer and Hadiya works in Times Square as a litigation attorney at a large law firm. They love living in New York, and in their free time you can find them trying a new restaurant, catching a show, walking their dog, or checking out a new museum.