‘We met on family holiday when we were just EIGHT years old – no one expected the love story that followed’

A couple who met on a family holiday when they were children have revealed how a chance encounter led to a proposal 17 years later.

Carly Cooper, 24, and Evan Glatt, 25, first met in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, when they were just eight years old.

Their families were staying at the same resort when their mums, Jill Cooper and April Glatt, bonded over a poolside chair.

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April had asked Carly’s mum, Jill, if she could sit in a lounger beside her because there were no others left.

From that moment, the two families were inseparable – and so were Carly and Evan.

“I remember our families instantly clicked,” Carly, who works as a media supervisor, told What’s The Jam.

“From the day we met on the trip, we continued to hang by the pool and have dinner together each day after.

“Those memories are not concrete as we were super young, but they are filled with laughs and smiles and lots of travel scrabble by the pool.”

Despite living on opposite sides of the US – Evan in San Francisco and Carly in New Jersey – the pair stayed in touch following the 2008 trip.

Their families took joint vacations, and visited each other’s homes and the two kept their bond strong through phone calls and a 3,100-day Snapchat streak.

Carly says things changed once they entered their teenage years after Evan realised he had feelings for Carly in high school.

She said: “We saw each other about once every two years for the most part.

“I realised as we started talking more and more.

“We just always clicked and were so in sync with each other even being as far away as we were.”

Carly says she felt the same way but was hesitant to admit her feelings.

She feared she would ruin their friendship and the close connection between their families.

But in 2021, things came to a head during a family vacation to Costa Rica.

They were swimming late one night when Evan made a move.

Carly said: “We actually went down at night to swim in the pool at the hotel and found the hot tub.

“He tried to kiss me there but I rejected it because I was scared to make a big move and risk ruining the friendship we and our families shared.

“It also didn’t help that we got kicked out by security because we were not supposed to be in the pool.”

However, a few days later, they finally shared their first kiss.

Carly said: “[I had] butterflies. It just felt so natural, like everything had been leading up to that moment.”

Evan later visited Carly at college at the University of Delaware and their bond continued to grow.

They planned a trip for Carly to visit him in San Fransico during Memorial Day weekend – but it ended up turning into a family reunion.

Carly added: “Once my sister found out I was going, she wanted to go see Evan’s sister so she booked a flight.

“Then my parents found out and wanted to come as well!”

That evening, Evan asked Carly to be his girlfriend and they told their families the next day.

Carly said: “Our sisters screamed with excitement, saying ‘I KNEW IT’.

“Our moms immediately started planning the wedding and our dads were like, ‘Cool’.”

The new relationship saw the bond between the two families grow even stronger.

And in March 2025, the pair finally got engaged during a wine tasting at a vineyard in New Zealand.

Carly said: “Once we had booked our trip to New Zealand for Evan’s law school spring break, he immediately knew he was going to propose there.

“He had a friend on the ground in Auckland who helped him pick the place and hire a photographer.

“Throughout the day on the island all I kept saying was, ‘Wow, it’s so beautiful here!’

“Once the tour was over, we went up to this beautiful spot to take some pictures.

“He turned me around and when I looked at him next he was on one knee.”

Carly says she was in total shock.

She added: “I said, ‘Shut the f*** up!’ and started crying happy tears.

“I eventually said yes. I was so surprised.”

The pair now live in Brooklyn, New York, and say their families couldn’t be more excited about their upcoming wedding.

Carly added: “We absolutely love telling our story and know how incredibly special it is.

“The love we share is so special and we cannot wait to marry each other and continue building our lives together.

“The connection our families share is just the best.

“I will forever be grateful for our parents sharing lounge chairs in 2008.”

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