TikTokers Tyler Bergantino and Gabby Gonzalez Reveal Who Slid into Whose DMs Before Viral Meet-Cute (Exclusive)

"I still think I'm going to wake up and be like, 'Oh, that was our dream,' " Bergantino tells PEOPLE

Millions saw them meet in person for the first time on TikTok, but now Tyler Bergantino and Gabby Gonzalez are opening up about what happened before their viral meet-cute.

Speaking exclusively with PEOPLE, Bergantino says that he followed Gonzalez first, but she was the one who slid into his DMs.

"I DMed him after he followed me," says Gonzalez, 21. "It was at the top because he’s verified...and I was like, 'Who is this?' Then I [clicked] on it and I was like, 'Oh, he interviews people and he's tall. I interview people and I'm tall.' "

Acknowledging that "so much stigma on guys sliding into DMs," she says that because all he did was follow her, his interest in her content seemed genuine. So she thought, "Cool, we're both creators, whatever," and made the slide.

But the couple, who are both managed by Mase Talent Group, insist that at the time, neither had romance on their mind. Bergantino, 31, says he "wrote off dating for 2024," while Gonzalez thought it would be "a decade" for her.

"When we were DMing, it wasn't like, 'Yo, what's up? Let's go to dinner, blah, blah, blah, blah,' " he explains.

Instead, they realized they had more in common than just their height — "We're basically the same person," he quips — and decided to collaborate in Miami.

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But when it was time to get on camera, things changed.

"In the moment it was like everything kind of just froze," Bergantino recalls. "In the first video, and I think that might be one of the reasons why it went viral, there's an eye lock that we have. And it was at that moment I was like, 'Wait a minute, this girl's different.' "

In the original video, which was posted to Bergantino's channel on June 2, the conversation between the pair quickly got flirty when Gonzalez was asked about her ideal height for a man. Gonzalez, who is 6'1", ended up picking 6'9" — his actual height.

She then asked Bergantino to answer the same question, to which he responded, “How tall are you again?”

After the cameras cut and they kept talking, Bergantino tells PEOPLE he wanted to "play it safe." So instead of asking if she wanted to go on a date, he recalls saying, "Let's do a part two."

When sparks continued to fly between the pair in that follow-up TikTok, he decided it was time to just ask her out.

From there, they continued to document their courtship on TikTok — and on June 25, the couple confirmed with PEOPLE that they had made things official.

Related: TikTokers Tyler Bergantino and Gabby Gonzalez Document Their First Few Dates After Meet-Cute in Viral Video

"The way this all happened feels borderline miraculous," the couple said in a statement at the time. "It's changed the way we view social media, and the support we're getting by just being ourselves is heartwarming."

Now, they tell PEOPLE it's not unusual to run into strangers who stop them to say, "We're rooting for you guys."

Related: Bride 'Definitely Teared Up' After Groom Goes Viral for Stranger's Recap of His Bachelor Party (Exclusive)

And even though life now does consist of attending some higher-profile events, like the premiere of A Quiet Place: Day One, Gonzalez says a typical night for them can just be doing laundry, talking, and enjoying each other's company at home.

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"That to us is our special time," she says. "Not the movie premiere, not all the craziness."

Related: Texas Couple Who Met Through Blind Date Photoshoot Are Engaged — and Their Photographer Wants to Be in the Wedding!

As for how they got together, well, Bergantino says, "it still blows my mind."

"I still think I'm going to wake up and be like, 'oh, that was our dream,' " he adds. "That's really what it feels like...It's just been wild."

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