Mehba grew up in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, while Nubia grew up in the Bay Area, California. Nubia and her mom moved to Ethiopia in the middle of her 11th grade year, and their paths first crossed in the spring of 2016. Mehba and his friend, Abbner, were watching a Bingham Academy vs. ICS girls basketball game that Nubia was playing in. Mehba asked, “who’s that new girl on the basketball team?” — and that was the beginning of forever. Throughout high school, they became close friends within the same friend group, though Mehba was disappointed when his hope for “more than friends” was initially shut down. After graduation, they went their separate ways to Northeastern University and the University of Pittsburgh. They kept in touch through FaceTime calls and a daily Snapchat streak, but their communication slowly faded as college life picked up. In the summer of 2019, both returned to Ethiopia for internships. Nubia coincidentally ended up at JSI, where Mehba’s mom, Wuleta, worked. They spent a lot of time together that summer as there were only a few people in their friend group in Addis Abeba that summer. Living in the same area in the city, Mehba frequently offered to drop Nubia home after work. The quality time that they spent together reignited their friendship and slowly sparked something more. As the summer ended, they began forming a romantic relationship, but had to return to their junior year — Nubia to study abroad in Greece and Mehba back to Pittsburgh. Despite the distance and time zones, they spent hours on FaceTime. On September 14, 2019, during one of those calls, Mehba asked Nubia to be his girlfriend. She said YES! They knew long-distance wouldn’t be easy, but they committed to visiting each other at least once a month when Nubia returned to Boston. Then March 2020 hit. COVID-19 forced Nubia to leave her campus housing and return to the Bay Area while Mehba stayed in Pittsburgh. With everything online, they ended up spending more time together than expected, as Nubia made frequent month-long trips to Pittsburgh until they graduated. In the summer of 2022, they both landed job opportunities in Washington DC and were finally in the same city for good. In the fall of 2023, they moved in together, creating their first true home as a couple. Their relationship blossomed throughout this period leading to Mehba proposing to Nubia on May 16, 2025. In the fall of 2025, Mehba and Nubia bought their first home together in Washington DC as they prepare for a lifetime ahead.