Yuval grew up in Tel Aviv, Israel while Matias was born and raised in Houston, Texas. Their unexpected journey began when they crossed paths at Zussman’s rooftop party, but the timing wasn’t quite right yet. Yuval thought Matias was a tourist, and Matias, having made Aliyah only a week earlier, was overwhelmed while adjusting to life in Israel.

About a month after the October 7th attacks, Matias was spending time with Dor, Ziv, and Tom in Dizengoff Square. In the middle of a casual conversation, Matias mentioned that he might be open to something more serious. Dor suggested that Yuval could be a great match, and Tom helped make the connection by reaching out to her and convincing her to give an oleh hadash (new immigrant) a chance. Each of them played a part: Ziv, who brought Matias to Israel; Dor, who saw the fit; and Tom, who sent the message that started it all.

Yuval and Matias had their first date on Thanksgiving 2023 at a wine bar called Rumiyah where they sat and talked for 4 hours. The conversation never dwindled and so they went on a walk when Matias discovered Yuval had never tried Jazmino (a kebab restaurant) although she grew up in Tel Aviv; so Yuval had one bite, Matias ate the rest of the kebab, and they continued walking and talking for another 2 hours.

From there on, Matias and Yuval became inseparable, spending as much time together as they could. They took short trips to the desert, found moments to see each other several times a week, and built their relationship around very full schedules. During that time, Yuval was balancing medical school, reserve duty, and weekend MBA classes. Matias was managing Israel’s natural gas production by day and as well as volunteering by helping cover labor shortages in the Gaza Envelope and delivered home cooked meals from kitchens in Tel Aviv to bases across the country. Even in the middle of busy days and long weeks, they kept choosing to show up for each other.

The day after Matias’s 28th birthday, Yuval took him to Amphora, a winery with vegan cheese options, thoughtfully chosen for Matias’s lactose intolerance. On the drive back to Tel Aviv, and after only a month of dating, Yuval introduced Matias to both sides of her family: her mother’s side and her father’s side, all in the same evening, at two separate Shabbat dinners. It was intense, but familiar. Matias grew up in a warm, Argentine household, so the energy felt less overwhelming and more like home.

Just three months into their relationship, Matias and Yuval decided to take a ski trip to St. Anton, Austria with a group of friends. Having friends in common made it easier for Yuval to say yes. The trip began in Milan, followed by a road trip through the Swiss Alps, and a few days of skiing together. This ended up being the first of many trips they would take side by side.

Their first trip alone took them to Prague, where long conversations and time together deepened their connection and sparked the idea of a longer journey during the High Holidays.

Yuval and Matias spent six weeks in Brazil with a return date and a loose plan. They moved up and down the coast chasing wind, kitesurfing almost every day, discovering new towns, and making friends along the way. Plans stayed flexible by choice; sometimes booking accomodation hours before sundown. They made it to Tomorrowland Brazil, and when flight cancellations delayed their return, they extended their time in the north instead of rushing home. Somewhere during those weeks, the conversation shifted. They started talking seriously about moving in together and about the future they were building. By the time they got back, it was clear the trip had changed things in a lasting way.

Not long after getting back from Brazil, Yuval and Matias decided to move in together. After weeks of living out of a suitcase and choosing each other every day, it felt like the obvious next step.

That spring, Yuval and Matias went to Texas. They visited Houston, where Matias grew up, and Austin, where he spent his university years. Yuval had met Matias’s parents before, but this trip meant meeting everyone, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and seeing the places that shaped him. They spent Pesach in Austin with the entire family. The songs and prayers were in Hebrew, the story moved between English and Spanish, and when Yuval read from the Haggadah in Hebrew, the room erupted with applause, disbelief, and a lot of “WOWs.” After Texas, they spent a week in California, where they traveled through Yosemite together and Yuval met some of Matias’s closest friends. By the end of the trip, it was obvious where this was heading.