​Princess and Thomas’s first date featured a characteristically wide-ranging assortment of conversation topics: concepts for a passion project café, mutual love for southeast Asia, Thomas’ chubby cheeks, and zombie-proof locations in the UAE. Thomas was drawn to Princess’ warmth, many talents, thoughtfulness and goofy sense of humor. What caught Princess’ attention was Thomas's straightforwardness, genuine curiosity about life, and his kind and thoughtful eyes.

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They agreed to a second date soon after on Valentine’s Day, with even a severe sunburn to Thomas’s face – entirely his own fault – not enough to keep them apart. The two went on to share a beautiful candlelit dinner by the Abu Dhabi marina, with Thomas suitably red from both sunburn and excitement.  Not long after, Thomas met Princess’ friends and family. Their relationship blossomed, all the while becoming each other’s greatest champions and developing a vast complex of inside jokes. Princess adopted a very sweet & spicy Persian-Tabby cat whom she named Lily, who wasted little time in making Thomas equally hers. Lily gained a brother a few months afterwards, with Thomas adopting a shy, gentle white cat, whom he named Casper, from an animal shelter.

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Princess and Thomas built a cozy life at home together, filling it with soft spaces for their cats – friends often joke that there is a cat bed every three meters – and plenty of room for both of them to indulge their inner children (arts, hobbies, random interests).

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In August 2025, they packed their bags for a dream trip to Japan. After days and nights of karaage chicken, historical sites, learning the Japanese version of the song “Take Me Home, Country Roads” from Studio Ghibli’s Whisper of the Heart movie, becoming popular guests at “Japanese-only” bars, they spent a cozy afternoon at a pottery workshop beside the Uji River. They both fell in love with the leafy green forest canopy, tranquil surroundings, and storybook charm of the area.

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Thomas brought Princess back the next day under the guise of taking photos and visiting Japan’s oldest tea house nearby. At their now-special spot by the river, in what felt like a ‘pause in time’, Thomas got down on one knee and asked Princess to be his partner for life. She said yes! Beginning a new book of growth and adventure together.