The couple first met on Independence Day 2019 in Newport Beach, CA, after Tarek spotted Heather on a mutual friend's yacht while they were docked side by side. Tarek reflected on the fateful day in an Instagram post, writing, "It was the last thing I ever expected but I met the love of my life. The second our eyes connected and we smiled at each other I knew my life would never be the same."
Heather credits Tarek for making the first move, as she revealed in her own Instagram post, where she wrote, "Thank you for honking your boat horn at me the day we met, that will forever be the moment that you became my game changer."