The internet was fully invested in Ainee’s love story (Picture: TikTok/ttbcatwoman)
‘Ok TikTok, do your thing,’ wrote Ainee Suhaidi, as she uploaded her video. ‘Help a sis out.’
That evening, the 33-year-old went to bed with 80 followers on the social media platform – when she woke up, the video had been viewed 700,000 times.
The 10-second clip Ainee posted shows her dancing like nobody’s watching at a bar in Mykonos, when suddenly she bumps into a tall, dark and oh-so-handsome stranger.
Whether you believe in love at first sight or not, the chemistry is undeniable. It’s the sort of meet cute the average single girlie only dreams about: the pair lock eyes, it’s as though no one else is there, and you’re pretty much willing him to get down on one knee, there and then.
And of course, TikTok went wild for it. At the time of writing, it’s been viewed a staggering 17.2 million times.
Ainee told Metro.co.uk about that fateful night: ‘I live in Malaysia, and I’d been visiting friends in London, when we decided to book a last minute holiday to Greece.
‘We’d spent that evening bar hopping and we were heading back to our Airbnb when I heard ABBA’s Gimme Gimme playing in a nearby bar.
‘I ran straight in and just started dancing. I didn’t even realise my friend was filming me.
‘To be honest, when I bumped into the guy, I didn’t really think anything of it.’
It was only when the friends returned to London, that Ainee watched the video back. She says: ‘I remember thinking, “wow, that guy is actually quite good looking, maybe TikTok could find him for me.”
‘I also had no idea that he’d looked back at me after he’d walked away.’
Ainee was in Mykonos with her friends when she bumped into Gio (Picture: Ainee Suhaidi)
‘But anyway, I posted it with zero expectations, at the most, I thought the few followers I had would just enjoy watching it. Damn, was I wrong about that!’
Overnight, Ainee’s video went viral, with commenters insisting she’d met the love of her life. ‘It’s like his soul is saying, “There you are”,’ wrote one lovestruck viewer.
And, while TikTok had fallen head over heels, Ainee, who has been single for six years, allowed herself a glimmer of hope.
She says: ‘The last relationship I was in was very serious. We were supposed to get married.
‘After it ended, I became quite depressed. I was living in London, and moved back home to Malaysia.
She didn’t expect her video to be so popular (Picture: Ainee Suhaidi)
‘But it’s very hard to be single here in your 30s. I get lots of questions from friends and family about when I’m going to meet someone. It’s considered to be quite abnormal.
‘I believe in astrology and twin flames, and there was a part of me that wondered, “Is this really happening for me?”‘
With Ainee’s phone blowing up – she had to charge it three times a day – the world wanted an update. ‘I posted another video, but the problem was, I didn’t have anything to say,’ she laughs. ‘I still didn’t know who this guy was.’
That is, until she was tagged in a video. Stitched with her original clip, the mystery man – real name, Gio – finally appears: ‘I’m here,’ he says with a smirk.
‘I couldn’t believe it,’ says Ainee. ‘I found his Instagram and sent him a DM but I didn’t even know what to say. I didn’t know if he’d be angry about the video, or think it was weird.’
But soon, the pair started messaging. ‘Gio was lovely,’ says Ainee. ‘He’s a waiter in Mykonos. His English wasn’t great but we managed to chat and tell each other a little bit about ourselves.
‘I was coming to London again later in the year, and I thought if things went well, I could fly out to Greece to meet him.
‘But I wanted to have a FaceTime with him so that we could speak properly.’
And that’s when the things started to go south.
‘He was really hard to pin down,’ says Ainee. ‘He said he was too busy, or he’d postpone our call at the last minute.
‘It was so frustrating. I’d been so excited, and there was a lot of pressure from TikTok too, because everyone was so invested.’
Now, she’s back home and says she learnt a lot from the experience (Picture: Ainee Suhaidi)
And, in a scenario that many daters will be all too familiar with, that chat fizzled out, the pair never had their FaceTime, and the love story ultimately came to an end.
But, Ainee doesn’t regret her experience.
‘It would have been such a good story to tell the grandkids,’ she says. ‘But I’ve learnt a lot because of it.
‘When I posted the final update – telling the world it didn’t work out – a lot of people commented “If he wanted to, he would.”
‘And they’re totally right. It reminded me to never accept anything less than you deserve.
‘Also, before the video, I hadn’t really felt like I was ready to date. I had Bumble, and would chat to people, but I never really met up with them.
She still gets butterflies watching the video back (Picture: Ainee Suhaidi)
‘But I was willing to literally fly to the other side of the world to meet this guy. It made me realise that maybe I am ready for a relationship.’
And, rather than make her feel disheartened, Ainee says her meet cute showed her romance isn’t dead.
‘I sometimes watch that video back, and I still get butterflies,’ she says. ‘It’s nice to know that those sparks can still fly, and if I can feel that way about a guy I met for a few seconds, how could I feel about someone I really got to know?’
For now, Ainee is happy living her best single life. She says: ‘I’m having so much fun, and I don’t want to rush into anything. I know people who have been married for a long time, and it doesn’t mean life is perfect.
‘The nice thing about the TikTok video was that I got lots of comments from other single girls – it was nice to know I wasn’t actually the only one left!
‘I might not have met my future husband because of all this, but it’s a memory I’ll never forget.’
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‘I watch the video back, and I still get butterflies.’
