First of all, congratulations on your engagement! Let’s start at the beginning. How did you two meet?

Nico: “I came into the kitchen, and this girl asked me, ‘You do computer science? Can you repair my PC?’ And while I was opening it, people kept coming in - and then suddenly this girl walked in. My first thought was: ‘Wow, the most beautiful woman just walked in.’”

Mumi: “I had a really long day, I just wanted to cook dinner. Then I saw this new guy, in the middle of the table, fixing a computer. And I thought: finally, someone who can help me with my technical issues! But at that point I was still taken, so we just had a chat.”

How did you go from friends to a relationship?

Mumi: “Every evening we cooked together with other students from the eighth floor, went out together, we had kitchen parties - it was a real community. The whole floor felt like family. After his first two weeks, we invited him to come out with us.”

Nico: “We went out to our favourite bar, Hole in the Wall at Leidseplein. At one point it was only us from the eighth floor dancing in this tiny bar, we basically took it over, always asking for our favourite songs. We were dancing, and then our song came on: ‘Shut Up and Dance.’ As if by magic, some lights were pointing at her while she was dancing during the lyrics ‘This woman is my destiny’ and I felt a really strong pull towards her. That was the night it clicked for me.”

Mumi: “I also started to feel a strong emotional connection to him. Every morning he made me coffee in the kitchen, but I was very honest from the beginning that I had a boyfriend.”

Nico: “Everyone was warning me: don’t try it, she’s taken. They’re super happy together. My grandma was the only one who told me: ‘Go for it.’ She was the one who encouraged me when everyone else said there were plenty of other girls. One week after we first hung out, she passed away. I’m so happy I followed her advice.”

Mumi: “All my girlfriends were the same as Nico’s friends, they were like, ‘Why is he trying? You are in a relationship.’ But at that time, I already wasn’t sure about my relationship anymore.”

After Mumi’s relationship ended, she and Nico finally got together.

Mumi: “It was just a couple of days after the opening of GAPP. We were up on the rooftop, having a beer and our little drama chat. And then he told me: ‘I will fight for you. No matter what happens, I will try, and I really want this to work between us.’ For me, that was so important. I’m not usually a very romantic person, and at first, I thought, ‘Oh, that’s just the Italian guy being romantic.’ But deep down, it really meant a lot to me.”

Nico: “I was fighting stereotypes, haha.”

Is there something you’ve learned from each other?

Nico: “So much. Having a relationship with someone from a different country and background teaches you a lot. There are a lot of miscommunications in the beginning.”

Mumi: “I learned how to be more chilled and relaxed.”

Nico: “For me it was the opposite – I learned to be more realistic, to plan and to schedule.”

What is the perfect date for you guys in Amsterdam?

Mumi: “With our student salaries, we only went to places with the app The Fork. So we tried out a lot of places. We went to a lot of cafés and bars. Nico would always take me on his bike, very romantic, because I didn’t like to drink and bike at the same time.”

Can you tell us a little bit more about the day of your proposal?

Nico: “I started e-mailing CASA a few months before, saying that I wanted to propose to my girlfriend. They reserved my old room on the eighth floor. On the day of the proposal, I woke up with the worst stomach ache. It was obviously because I was nervous.”

Mumi: “I noticed there was something going on, but I didn’t know exactly what. He organised the whole weekend. I knew we were going to stay at CASA, but I didn’t know more than that.”

Nico: “In the evening I had planned to eat out at Bar Botanique, here in Amsterdam East, where we also had our first date. We ended up going there around 20:00, but I made the reservation for the proposal at GAPP at 20:30. I tried to breathe and stay calm.”

Mumi: “After dinner we cycled back to CASA. We got this beautiful place in the middle of the terrace on the rooftop, really romantic. He found the right words to say and the right moment, so I didn’t feel weird or uncomfortable at all.”

Nico: “When the drinks came I gave a little speech and I proposed. I’m usually a very chill guy and I don’t get nervous very often, but this time I was.”

Mumi: “Even I started to feel nervous.”

Nico: “But she said yes. And I gave her the ring, which is actually my grandma’s ring, the one who encouraged me to go for it.”

Mumi: “It was good advice from her, because otherwise we maybe wouldn’t have gotten together.”

Thank you so much for sharing your story with us!