Love at First Sight — They Met On Facebook Mexico City
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Cherae and Harcher met while he was on a work trip in Mexico City. (Photo: Cherae Robinson)
Who: Cherae Robinson and Harcher Batravil
Where we met: Mexico City
When: 2012
Relationship status: Seriously dating (we live together)
(As told by Cherae)
I was living just outside of Mexico City, working at an international agricultural research center. I was traveling a lot, and dating a lot — constantly on the quest to find that special someone. I had made failed love connections in London and Morocco, but little did I know that love would find me when I finally went back home.
I think I had visited 12 countries in six months just before I met Harcher. He was in Mexico City for work, and we were connected through the Nomadness Travel Tribe Facebook group. I was very busy at the time, so I wasn’t superactive in the group, but because I was the only active member in Mexico, other members kept tagging me in posts announcing that he was coming.
Cherae says it was love at first sight when she met Harcher. (Photo: Cherae Robinson)
I responded to the post with some local spots I thought he should check out. Then he sent me a private message asking if I was available to meet up. I was, so we agreed to met on a Thursday (because I didn’t want to commit my weekend to a guy I didn’t know LOL) and it went from there.
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I drove into the city and picked him up at his hotel. It was crazy, I hadn’t looked at his Facebook profile because I had been so busy, so I had no clue what to expect. But when I turned the corner, it was like something out of a movie. Everything felt like it was in slow motion, and my J*Davey theme music came on as we introduced ourselves. The chemistry was thick. For the first 20 minutes, I think we just talked gibberish and poked fun at each other like school kids.
We started the night with dinner and talked like we’d known each other forever. At one point, he was struggling to put his tuna on his chopstick, so I went to grab it and get it onto his plate. That’s when he came in and swooped it off my chopstick with his mouth, to which I replied, “You’re inappropriate!” We had a good laugh at that.
The couple dated long-distance for nearly a year, meeting in different parts of the world. (Photo: Cherae Robinson)
After dinner we went for drinks. After a couple of shots and two bottles of champagne, we are in our own little world talking about our dreams, the future, and our passions. I knew he was seeing someone back in New York, so I flat out asked him “are you going to marry her?” It may have been crass, but I sort of needed to understand where this intense connection was going. That question started off one of the most amazing conversations about love, life, and mantras that I’ve ever had.
We went to another bar afterwards, and the moment we walked in, random people started coming up to us asking how long we’d been together, telling us how intense our love felt, and buying us round after round of tequila. We sort of went along with it until someone flat out asked how long we’d been together and Harcher replied, “This is our first date.” I busted out laughing and that quickly turned into a kiss.
We ended up exploring Mexico City together the next day, and then Harcher had to return to New York. Two weeks later, we talked on the phone and he confessed that he couldn’t stop thinking about me. He had broken up with the woman he was seeing and was interested in pursuing a relationship with me.
Cherae and Harcher at Wli waterfalls in Ghana. (Photo: Cherae Robinson)
We dated long distance for nearly a year, with Harcher meeting me wherever I was in the world. Every three to five weeks we would meet. After a romantic trip to Cartagena, Colombia, we did Miami, Barcelona, Atlanta a bunch of times, D.C., NYC, and even Rio de Janeiro. It was amazing to be in this new love and have the opportunity to express it while traveling all over the world. It was a fairy tale. I remember how carefully I would plan our itineraries and make sure we did every romantic thing possible. He often needed a vacation just from being with me for a few days a month.
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Harcher is my rock, and above all else, he accepts all of me. Early in our relationship we had a “this is me, my baggage, and the kitchen sink” type of conversation where we were brutally honest about ourselves and it was actually liberating. We both have children from previous relationships, so the fact that he is a man of honor, duty, and integrity is so important as we continue to blend our families.
Solio Lodge in Kenya. Cherae, her son Trace, 6, Harcher, and his son Archer Jordan, 9. (Photo: Cherae Robinson)
Within a year we knew we needed to be in the same space, so I took a job in NYC and relocated to be with him. It was actually hard in the beginning — going from a fairy tale where we saw each other sans kids and always on “vacation” to actually seeing each other every day and dealing with blended parenting and simple things like coordinating schedules and understanding household habits. In some ways I think we both were like whoa! But the beauty of it is, we committed very early on that this was it, and we both stuck to it, even when it wasn’t fun.
I recently started my own business, and I can’t put into words the level of support Harcher has provided. From keeping my son for weeks on end while I traveled for startup meetings to keeping me motivated when things get rough, he has been there. Building a company together is both challenging and rewarding.
I’m thankful to have him by my side. And I know we are creating a future together that will be just as magical as the way we met.
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