Like most present day love stories, it all started with an Instagram direct message. On February 7, 2021 at exactly 10:53PM, Ikhlas slid into Will's DMs after seeing a video on one of their mutual friend's Instagram stories during the Super Bowl.

After a month of silly and serious conversations and day long FaceTime calls, Ikhlas and Will decided to finally meet each other in person at Riverside, a car show in Chattanooga, TN. It was nerve-wracking for them before meeting, but the moment they saw each other, they knew this was more than casual feelings.

The following month on April 9, 2021, Will formally asked Ikhlas to be his girlfriend at a Japanese restaurant called Kaizen in Knoxville, and he moved into her one bedroom, 400 sq ft apartment in May 2021, where they began to build a life together.

I&W