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How we met: ‘Luke fell on top of me and broke my arm’

When Nad’a stopped at Luke’s food stall along the river embankment in Prague in summer 2015, she wasn’t expecting sparks to fly. “I was surprised to see that he was selling Middle Eastern food, because he looks about as Irish as you can get. I thought I’d go over and try it to see if it was any good.” As a vegan, she couldn’t eat his speciality chicken dish, but he made her a plant-based version. “It was amazing. I also noticed he had really nice eyes – but I couldn’t stay. I had to pack for a summer in Spain.”

Luke says that Nad’a was “the best-looking person I’ve ever seen” and he hoped to bump into her again. “For the next few months, she kept popping into my head at random moments. It was very strange.” Although she returned to the food market when she came back to Prague, she did not see Luke. “I was at a wedding so I didn’t get to see her,” he says.

Early the following year, they bumped into each other at a party. “I heard someone say: ‘What are the odds that two people would bring the same dish to a party?’” says Nad’a. She turned around to find Luke holding za’atar and maqluba, one of her favourite Palestinian dishes. “It sounds cheesy, but it felt inevitable that we’d meet again,” he says. They began chatting, and made arrangements to meet for coffee. Although he liked her, Luke was worried about misreading the situation.

“In the end, I had to make the first move,” Nad’a says. “I put my arm around him when we were out on a coffee date. He didn’t seem to mind.” A few days later, she invited him over, and he kissed her. “I was nervous. It took a leap of faith,” he says. Nad’a laughs: “Then he immediately started rambling about how he was going to mess this up.”

They have since had some unusual dates. “Once we went to a deserted graveyard that used to belong to a hospital prison for the criminally insane,” says Luke. “That was interesting.” Not all their dates have been plain sailing. “Once we climbed the bottom of a bridge to do some silly handstands for a photograph,” Nad’a recalls. “Luke ended up falling over on top of me and breaking my arm.” Despite the disaster, the pair have continued to explore Prague. “We love doing things you wouldn’t find in a tourist handbook,” says Nad’a.

The couple have plenty in common, but they also appreciate each other’s differences. “Nad’a opens my eyes,” says Luke. After growing up in Ireland and moving to England when he was 12, he had always been cynical about religion. “I understand more about spirituality now, and I try much harder to think about things from a different perspective.”

Nad’a, who was born in Libya, grew up in the United Arab Emirates with parents from different religious backgrounds. “My mum is Czech and was Catholic and my dad, who was a Marxist, was from a Palestinian Muslim family. It meant I was exposed to lots of different influences. Spirituality has always come naturally to me, and I think it’s important.”

They share many of the same values, and Nad’a loves Luke’s kindness and respect. “He treats everyone equally, no matter who he is with. It’s a really lovely quality.” What does Luke love about his partner? “Hang on, I’ll get my spreadsheet,” he says. “It changes on a day-to-day basis, but one of the things I love most about Nad’a is that she always tries to make the right decisions for the people around her. She is very caring.”

The couple, who work as translators, have recently moved in together. They live with Luke’s pet tortoise, Stamper, and spend lots of time cooking together. “Luke is a better cook than me,” says Nad’a. “I am definitely being treated to some really great food.”

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