Are you dying to know what a couple's relationship is really like? Elite Daily's series, ILYSM, celebrates couples who met on dating apps and dives into the inner workings of their relationships. How did they know they were falling for each other? Who sent the first awkward message? What's the one thing they fight about? Are they astrologically compatible, and do they care? By the end of each story, you'll love them both so much.
Moneá Eskridge and X’zavieyan Green knew they were falling in love on their very first date while listening to ‘90s R&B after a hike. Their connection was so natural, X’zavieyan said he felt like they had known each other “forever.” The two met in July 2020 after matching on BLK, a dating app for Black singles, and they’ve been inseparable ever since. When they’re not physically together, they FaceTime around the clock.
Moneá, a nursing student and patient transporter at a hospital, loves the spiritual connection she has with X’zavieyan, and feels like they’re always communicating “in equilibrium.” X’zavieyan, a personal trainer and aspiring model, has learned the value of communication from Moneá, and says it’s one of the keys that makes their relationship work so well. “It doesn’t matter what it is,” he said. “We don’t hold secrets.”
Here’s their story.
An intellectual, talkative, goal-driven critical thinker and knowledge-seeker.
Quiet, loyal, dedicated to health and fitness.
Moneá Eskridge: BLK.
X’zavieyan Green: Nine months.
ME: We consider the very first day we met as our “official” first date, so since July 23, 2020.
ME: We don’t live together yet, but we plan to move in together by next year! We aren’t currently engaged, either, but we’re looking forward to that after I graduate nursing school.
XG: Those are our plans for the near future.
XG: Her smile.
ME: Initially I wasn’t going to swipe on him because his profile picture was a basic, shirtless bathroom picture, but his conversation from the very beginning is what attracted me to him.
XG: I did, it was, “Hey, how you doing?” She was having car troubles so we talked about that and just about our future plans and stuff. We just connected pretty good and it’s been something special ever since.
ME: He messaged me first and I saw right away we both wanted the same things in a relationship, and that we shared a similar mindset and outlook on life.
XG: About two weeks.
XG: It was very relaxed and comfortable. Everything felt natural, as if we had known each other forever.
ME: We went hiking. Even though we could both feel how nervous we were about meeting for the first time, the flow from our endless hours of phone calls made our IRL conversations seem so natural and not forced at all. By the time we made it back down the mountain, I felt so comfortable with him.
ME: We didn’t have our “DTR” conversation for almost five months! It was pretty obvious how exclusive we were since we were spending all of our days together. But my mom kept asking if he’d “made it official” yet. And finally, after her constantly questioning us, he asked me to be his girlfriend... and of course, I said yes!
XG: I asked her to be my girlfriend. We were FaceTiming, having a nice conversation, and I was like “Hey, Moneá, will you be my girlfriend?” And she said yes.
ME: The first photo I posted was of our holiday shoot together.
ME: I knew from the first date that I was falling for him. After our hike, we sat in the car for hours and just talked while listening to R&B love songs. “Promise” by Jagged Edge came on and we both knew everything was meant to be.
XG: The night we first hugged to “Promise” by Jagged Edge.
XG: She did. I felt very good about it and it felt good to say it back.
ME: I did. We both had been holding the words back for a while and I felt like I would explode if I just didn’t say it. So I put all my pride aside and told my baby just how much I loved him.
ME: The thing we debate about almost every single day is food! He's more of a health freak than I am and we always bump heads on why you should eat this and not that.
XG: The spiritual connection we’ve built to a point that many others wouldn’t understand.
ME: The spiritual connection that we hold between each other is definitely underrated. I think it’s one that not many understand nor ever will. But in a sense, I feel as if we are always communicating in equilibrium, even when spoken words are not involved.
ME: I sent him the photos of my student ID badge I received today for nursing school and he said I got a big head!
XG: Her nursing school and apartments.
XG: We text each other in the morning and consistently throughout the day.
ME: We are actually on FaceTime 24/7. If I'm not at work or physically with him, you can guarantee he’s on the phone with me. We rarely need to text each other because of this.
ME: I did look it up once in the beginning of our relationship just for fun. We were said to be pretty compatible, but I didn’t really care what the results said — I know he’s my person and no astrology could ever make me doubt that.
XG: I’m not sure, but it doesn’t matter. I know she’s the one for me.
XG: The Walking Dead.
ME: It's our all-time favorite show to watch together. We are looking to start more shows soon.
ME: My favorite date was our second hike together. We went to Gold Strike Hot Springs. It was adventurous, fun, and felt so good to be out there in the middle of nowhere with the one I truly love.
XG: Our Valentine’s Day outing. It’s my favorite because we spent quality time together. We got a hotel for two days and it felt very good to be around her. We went out for breakfast and dinner. It was nice — we came back to the room and had some wine and we were just relaxing and vibing to the energy that we both put out.
XG: Amazing!
ME: Passionate and strong.
ME: I think our relationship works because we both aren’t afraid to be vulnerable with each other. We both know exactly what each of our hearts desire and we work well together to make sure we support each other’s wants and needs, as well as pushing each other toward our future goals.
XG: Because we value each other in every way, from our opinions, to our time, dreams, goals, and thoughts.
XG: Communication and being able to tell each other everything without hesitation. It’s one of the big keys in our relationship. It doesn’t matter what it is — we don’t hold secrets. We let everything out.
ME: The biggest lesson I’ve learned with X’zavieyan is patience. Although we are very compatible, no relationship is perfect. It is very important for us, when we hit a bump in the road, to take time to relax, reflect and be patient enough to actually hear what one another is saying.
ME: My best advice for people on dating apps is to be completely transparent with each other from the very beginning. It's better to know right away what you’re both looking for, and if those interests match up, everything else will flow into place!
XG: Have fun, don’t stress it, and know things will work out for you. Always follow what you think is best for you. Love is out there.
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