Nina & Thomas

It’s an Emily in Paris love story come to life. SoCal native, Nina, was living in New York when she was given the opportunity of a lifetime: to transfer to Paris with her consulting company. It was an immediate “yes.” But little did she know that her transcontinental move — and Bumble — would also be the start of her love story.

Of course, dating comes with its own set of challenges, and adding cultural nuances and language barriers only raises the stakes (even though Nina arrived in Paris with some French under her belt). Two years into living in the City of Lights, she came across Thomas’s Bumble profile. His smile caught her eye, and she knew she had to say something. But for the now songwriter and content creator, small talk has never been her style, so she went straight for it: “Hey, cutie, let’s get a coffee.”

“She was very direct. I wasn't used to it,” Thomas admits. But he suggested they meet at a coffee shop located below Nina's apartment in Paris's 17th arrondissement. The recommendation caught her a little off guard since it was “weirdly close” and a spot frequented by everyone in her neighborhood, so she countered with another spot, and Thomas accepted.

“I was really stressed about meeting,” recalls Thomas. Not only was it his first date on Bumble, but he was also nervous about his English around an American girl. However, right before their date, Nina canceled. “I go through episodes where I want to just create all day and do my thing, and so I felt like playing music that day, and I canceled.”

Thomas took it in stride, busy with his thesis. A few hours later, Nina’s mood shifted and she texted to see if the offer still stood. To her surprise, he said yes.

The Six-Hour Date

What started as a simple coffee date turned into a six-hour adventure. Somewhere between strolling the streets and sitting in the grass at Invalides talking about their futures, Nina asked where Thomas wanted to live one day. His answer? “That will depend on my future wife.”

“That was an intense answer for our first date,” says Nina.

“She was really impressed by the answer,” Thomas adds.

As the evening wound down, neither wanted it to end, so they both agreed to grab dinner. Then came the final twist of the night.

“As we were walking home, I was like, ‘Oh, you don’t have to walk me all the way home,’” says Nina. “And he’s like, ‘Oh no, I’m also going to my house.’” As luck would have it, Nina and Thomas were neighbors. Despite living in neighboring buildings, it took Bumble to bring them face-to-face.

From Neighbors to ”Oui”

Even with their geographic proximity, Nina and Thomas come from entirely different worlds. She’s an American musician. He’s a French engineer. She’s expressive and extroverted. He’s more reserved and methodical. “We’re total opposites in terms of personality,” Nina says. But those differences have only added depth to their relationship. "We value all the same things and have a similar vision for the future," she adds.

When asked what their relationship has taught them about love, Thomas says, "Acceptance of each other’s culture is nice, but appreciation of each other’s culture is even better." It shows in the details of their life together — Thomas with his love of American food, Nina with her love of French food, and both adapting to each other’s style along the way. And as their lives blended, so did their future.

In May 2024, while in London, Thomas proposed. Less than a year later, they were married — first with a civil ceremony in March, followed by a summer celebration in the South of France with family.

It still surprises them that, long before the proposal and the weddings, they were practically neighbors. They might have crossed paths a hundred times, but it was Bumble that turned proximity into possibility, and possibility into a love story only the City of Love could write.