Sri Lanka
The summer of 2023 represented a completely new beginning for me. I had recently said ciao cacao to my job at Klarna and was figuring out what I wanted next. I wasn’t looking for a relationship at all, I just wanted time to reset, chill, and think about the next chapter.
My train of thought was - let’s ask Fynn.
Fynn… Fynn is a friend if mine who claims he REALLY LOVES Munich, but is traveling probably 250 days a year, and had unsurprisingly a trip coming up to Sri Lanka. I asked if I could join him, and to my surprise, he said yes - there was a spot open. Within two days, I booked my flight from Munich to Colombo. “A really cool crowd, a couple of people from Munich and Bielefeld, we booked a nice villa for a month, and everyone is working remotely,” Fynn shared.
I didn’t know anyone in the villa except Fynn. There were eight of us in total, and I didn’t even know who I’d be sharing a room with. After stalking everyone’s profiles in the WhatsApp group, I saw Marvin’s picture and thought, “Wow, who is this kid? He looks really young, probably around 22.” Little did I know…
The flight itself was magical - I was upgraded to business class, which made the beginning of this adventure feel extra special and my instagram stories extra insufferable. When I landed, a driver took me on a three-hour ride in heavy rain to the villa. Honestly, I was a bit scared for my life. When I arrived, Fynn asked if I’d be okay sharing a room with Marvin. I was exhausted, didn’t want to make people switch, and just said yes.
When I first met Marvin, my only thought was: “Wow, he looks so different from his picture - you really need to change that profile pic!” That was it. I went straight to bed around 7am, and Marvin, noticing I needed rest, gently patted my foot and told me to relax. That small gesture was the first moment I felt cared for by him. My exact thought was “Wow, finally nobody is giving me shit for sleeping so long/needing rest/wanting to relax”
The late nights
The first night in the room was hilarious. We slept on opposite ends of the bed, facing away from each other (We met like 10 hours before! It’s awkward!). With the heavy rain, we both spent about three hours silently annoyed at each other, thinking the other was taking an extremely long shower. In the morning i said “hey...quick question, why were you showering for so long at night” and he goes “i thought you were showering! I was so pissed”. “Great match” - thought.
During the first three nights, we stayed up until 4am talking about everything: life, families, past relationships, childhoods, dreams, likes, dislikes. I learned he was also an ex-athlete and an only child. Even though our villa friends kept nudging us to do something romantic, we explored everything naturally and at our own pace. Good try though.
Three days in, during a late-night conversation about my granny and mom playing basketball, Marvin thought - this is ABSOLUTELY the right moment - and kissed me for the first time - totally surprising me. I went with it, thinking, why not? Life is meant to be experienced.
The rest of the Sri Lanka trip was a full-on romantic adventure: surfing, beach walks, Vespa rides, grocery shopping, and exploring together. When he had to leave three weeks later, and I stayed an extra week but before leaving, he said: “Let’s try this outside of Sri Lanka. If you want, let’s see each other back in Germany.” That was the start. “Alexa, play The Start of Something New by High School Musical”
First Date
Back in Germany, Marvin was extremely consistent with texting, showing daily interest, and really wanting to know everything about me. At first, I found it suspicious. TikTok therapists and mountains of psychology books taught me about lovebombing. I’ve never met a consistent man like that so that was very new to me. A few days later, when I said I had nothing planned, he booked a train from Bielefeld to see me in Munich.
Our first real date was at Gigi, an Italian restaurant in Munich. We talked about deeper topics - kids, life goals, and what we wanted from a partner. It was magical.
On 13 October 2023, we officially got together. The universe decided to make it memorable: a ladybug landed on my laptop at the exact moment we were talking about ladybugs. Ladybugs have always been a symbol of good luck in my life, appearing whenever important decisions are made. That evening, Marvin asked me to be his girlfriend, and now 13 October marks our anniversary. One year later, during our anniversary trip in Verona, a ladybug landed on his bag at the exact same time, it’s just wild when you think about the odds of that happening.
Being accepted
Growing up in professional swimming and art school, my childhood was structured and disciplined. I’m grateful for it - it gave me creativity, focus, and a strong work ethic. But with Marvin, I reconnected with my playful, carefree side.
We embraced the little joys of life: sleeping in (I love sleeping), watching cartoons, drawing, and exploring new places. We traveled extensively together: Moscow, Paris, Istanbul, Helsinki, Mexico, Texel, and many more.
He’s my best friend, the Mort to my King Julian, and schmand to my borscht.
The Proposal
Marvin had always been transparent; he wanted to marry me and saw me as his soulmate. For the first time, I truly let go and didn’t push for a proposal. I just enjoyed being with him.
In the months leading up to Mexico, he playfully misled me with questions that made me think he wasn’t proposing. For example: Who should he ask for my hand? Did I want a proposal in Moscow? I thought: there is no way it’s happening….
On the day of the proposal, it was a normal day, we were playing water volleyball, having margaritas and he was extra caring about me not breaking my nails doing that. He mentioned a photo shoot, which seemed normal since we like doing them. During the shoot, I was glancing over his outfit but saw no ring or bulging pockets but later, at the beach, I noticed rose petals. Still completely clueless, i asked “are these just rose petals?” and he said “no, these are not just rose petals”. I am pretty sure i am so traumatized sometimes, before our wedding day i will text him asking “are we still on for tomorrow?”, the level of consistency and caring is just absolutely unbelievable.” When he got on one knee, he said beautiful, heartfelt things, and I was in complete shock. Both of us cried.
I said “yes, of course yes”. Since then, during day to day, we use this little phrase to check certainty levels: “Is it kind of a yes, or is it a "yes, of course, yes?”"