Their 3rd Date Lasted 79 Days — & It's Why They’re Still Together

“If you were stranded on an island, what’s the one thing you’d bring with you?” is a pretty common getting-to-know-you date question. But what if the date itself involves that exact scenario: being stuck on an an endless vacation with someone you met on a dating app and barely know? That’s what happened to Matt Robertson and Khani Le. Right before COVID hit and travel restrictions took effect in March 2020, the duo spontaneously booked a trip from NYC to Costa Rica for their third date... and they ended up staying there for 79 days, unable to leave.

The Netflix documentary Longest Third Date, released on April 18, follows Matt and Khani’s journey from a casual fling to something more serious. Much of the footage was filmed by Robertson, documenting the experience for his YouTube account. As they faced a string of canceled flights and Costa Rica’s hungriest mosquitos, the couple was forced to let their guards down early. The situation, while undoubtedly difficult, paved the way for their current relationship (yes, they’re still happily dating three years later). “Living together so quickly, you don't get to hide. You're fully on display, 24/7,” Robertson, 34, tells Elite Daily. “We skipped a lot of steps, and it probably accelerated how close we got.”

That closeness carried them through their trip all the way up to now — and they credit the experience with building the foundation of their relationship. “If it weren't for that trip, we probably would've gone our separate ways,” Le, 32, says.

Here, the couple opens up about their time in Costa Rica, their relationship now, and everything in between.

Elite Daily: As we see in the doc, you quickly went from a romantic vacation at a gorgeous hotel to pseudo-roommates in an Airbnb when you couldn’t leave the country. What was the biggest adjustment you had to make when living together in Costa Rica?

Khani Le: It was like playing house together. We had to cook for each other, clean up after each other, and do laundry together. It basically fast-forwarded the relationship. That was the biggest adjustment. At a hotel, you get to enjoy yourself. On our own, you really have to take care of each other.

Matt Robertson: We dated in reverse. Typically, you get dressed up and go on a date. You would try to look your best and put your best foot forward. For us, we just jumped to moving in together.

KL: Luckily, we're the same level of messy.

ED: This chaotic situation obviously worked out for you two, but it could have easily gone the other way. Did you ever consider breaking up or going your separate ways during the trip?

KL: I considered it at the beginning before I knew what we were getting into. It was so early in our relationship, and I didn’t know who he really was at the time. So, in the back of my head, I thought, “If this goes south, I'll just veer off on my own and get my own hotel.”

MR: She had an escape plan in case I got crazy. For me, there weren’t any big red flags. But there was this battle of wills about letting our guards down, and there were definitely some moments where I felt like, "OK, this is a lot. I'm used to being a bachelor, and now I'm being thrown into a full-fledged relationship.” It was going in a completely different direction than either of us thought.

ED: Once you decided to stick it out, what was the most surprising thing you learned about each other during the trip?

MR: Khani is super tough and can handle herself. Her only weakness was bugs — not that she didn't like bugs, but bugs *really* liked her. She was really susceptible to bug bites and had a bad reaction to them. I had to carry her to bed one night. But she never complained. She was a trooper about the whole thing.

KL: Matt really took charge, making sure that we were always OK and had a place to stay. His qualities really shined through in that sense. One thing is I didn't realize that he is obsessed with games. I’d always be like, "We’ve got to go to the store and get the essentials." And he’d respond, "Oh, there's this pool float, this racquetball set... This set has 10-in-1 games!" He tries to find the fun in everything.

ED: Keeping things fun is important, but did you ever have a more serious conversation about a plan for the relationship when you were heading home?

KL: The whole theme of Costa Rica was really just going with the flow and seeing what happened. It kept leading us to being together. After Matt announced we were boyfriend/girlfriend to a media outlet (without asking me), I called him out. When we got back to the States, I made him formally ask me. There was a certain point where, after spending so much time together, it would be weird to go our separate ways. And it’s been smooth sailing ever since.

MR: When this experience became a viral story, we started doing these interviews, which forced us to talk about things we might have otherwise avoided. I was putting out feelers in the interviews to see how she reacted, but it was a strange dynamic to try to figure out. I thought it would be weird for us not to be together, but I didn't want to assume anything.

ED: It sounds like you gradually grew closer during the trip. When did you know you wanted to pursue a more serious relationship versus a fling?

KL: I don't know if there was a specific moment. We just built on the foundation we had started and built on the chemistry between us.

MR: It felt like a relationship already in Costa Rica. That’s why I announced that we were boyfriend/girlfriend unprompted, without discussing it with Khani and without even thinking about it. That was my little oops moment. And I didn't even realize it. It came so naturally to say.

ED: That natural progression is so nice. What do you think would have happened if you had never booked that flight for your third date? Would you have worked out as a couple?

KL: We’ve talked about it a few times, and probably not. COVID was happening, so I don't think we would've seen each other much. If I didn't go to Costa Rica, I probably would've tried to go back home to Seattle where my family's from, and that wouldn’t have left us with much opportunity to get as close as we did.

MR: I probably would've gone home to Maine. Everyone left the city, so it would've been hard to date. I know a lot of people had to do this, doing Zoom dates and FaceTimes. And maybe we would've done that, but—

KL: I don’t think we would have.

MR: I don't think it would've been the same outcome. We wouldn’t change anything, though. I think everything happens for a reason.

ED: Having gone through this wild experience, what's your best piece of relationship advice?

MR: I was a hypocrite when this whole thing started. I would write blogs about getting out of your comfort zone, being adventurous, and putting yourself out there. But I realized during the experience that I wasn't doing that when it came to dating. So my advice would just be to be really open, put yourself out there, and be vulnerable. It's scary as hell, but it's worth it in the end.

KL: I feel the same. As much as you want all your life planned out to a T, sometimes you just have to go with the flow and see where it takes you. And sometimes the path is really rewarding.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.