Nina Cretan (2) Nina Cretan, a Paris-based singer and content creator, unexpectedly found love in Paris after relocating there during the pandemic Her romance with Thomas began serendipitously and blossomed despite their opposite personalities Cretan and Thomas' love story shares sweet similarities to the iconic Netflix gem,Emily in Paris Nina Cretan, a Paris-based singer and content creator — also known by her artist name, Soldana — never imagined that her move to Paris would lead to a love story straight out ofEmily in Paris. Originally from California, Cretan was living in New York when she received an unexpected opportunity to transfer within her consulting company toParis. But when thepandemichit, it threw a wrench in her plans. After months of navigatingvisadelays and border closures, she found herself on a detour that included sneaking into London before finally securing her visa and making the move to the City of Lights. Once in Paris, Cretan pursued creative freelance projects while sharing her journey on social media. However, it was her experience ondating appsthat would lead to a romance that would change her entire life. "Surprisingly, I didn't do a ton of dating apps in New York, but when you get to Paris, I guess it's hard to meet French people. It's easy to meet other foreigners," she tells PEOPLE. "As soon as you meet one American, they're like, 'Let me introduce you to all my other American friends.'"Dating across cultures can come with its own set of obstacles, especially when navigating language barriers. Although Cretan speaksFrenchquite well now, the initial adjustment was not without its difficulties."I spoke it [decently] when I got here, but in the beginning, that was also an issue," she admits. "Going on dates when I wasn't a hundred percent comfortable in French? That wasn't super easy."After two years of dating and exploring, Cretan eventually met Thomas onBumble.As fate would have it, Thomas also turned out to be living in her actual neighborhood. But if this isn't enoughEmily in Parischarm, he's also happened to be from Normandy, the same hometown asGabriel, Emily's love interest in theNetflix series. "Our first date was six hours long," Cretan recalls of their initial connection. "We walked all around Paris, we got coffee and then we liked it so much at the end, we got dinner together.""Then we were walking back home," she continues. "I was like, 'Oh, you don't have to walk me all the way back to my house,' and he was like, 'I'm also walking to my house.' We realized [our] two buildings [were] right next to each other."The 28-year-old singer admits that it worked out perfectly. Had it not, it could have led to someawkwardencounters. "I ran into him going to the Metro every day after that," she says.Between the accumulation of dates and natural chemistry, Cretan began to notice how much she truly liked him and how well they worked together, despite their differences. "It's funny because we're very opposite in terms of personality: He is super shy, introverted and to himself, and I post my whole life on social media, so it's kind of opposite," she says. "Surprisingly, we complement each other really well. I took him home that first year to California for Thanksgiving." Thomas eventually proposed to Cretan in London in 2024, and the couple had their civil wedding ceremony in March of this year. To celebrate, they later hosted a second wedding celebration in the South of France, where Cretan's family flew out to join them for the special occasion."We chose the Fourth of July because Americans don't have a ton of time off compared to Europeans," she says. "If they're going to come all the way out here, I want to make it a really nice long weekend." Read the original article onPeople
