Entrepreneur Rami Aladdin and model Shikin Gomez share their love story as they approach their one-year marriage milestone. photo: AZLINA ABDULLAH/The Star
The handsome couple radiate a genuine warmth as they welcome us into their home, offering us coffee while their rescue pet, Gula, a fluffy tri-coloured feline, eyes us curiously.
Shikin Gomez, a well-known name in the fashion industry and runner-up on Asia’s Next Top Model Season 5, sits down with entrepreneur husband Rami Aladdin, to talk about their relationship, careers and their future.
This being a Valentine’s Day-themed issue, and with their one-year anniversary coming up at the end of February, it was only appropriate to delve into how they complement each other.
Evidently very much in love, big smiles plastered across their faces as they reflect on their journey together, Gomez begins by saying, “We’re like yin and yang.”
“I’m very relaxed and very chill. And he’s more organised and scheduled and he has his lists, and I’m more ‘go with the flow’,” says Gomez, the third of four children, who studied communications and media.
The couple got married in Langkawi last February. photo: Bthology Studio
Frenchman Aladdin, whom one would assume would possess a serious demeanour, having started a software agency right out of college and later expanding to Malaysian shores, is communicative and contemplative.
“We appreciate that we know our strengths and our weaknesses,” says Aladdin, 34, managing partner of tech company Twine. “We listen to each other, because we know that okay, she’s way better than me at relaxing and enjoying herself. So, when the time comes to take it easy, she’s the boss, and when we need to get certain things done...” he trails off, and they both burst out laughing.
With their busy schedules, they make sure that they set aside time to spend together.
“Rami is very much of a list person; he has a google calendar invite for our date nights. Every Tuesday at 7pm it’s date night,” laughs Gomez.
“It’s so easy to take things for granted and to think ‘when there’s time, we’ll spend time together’ so we make sure that we carve out time for each other,” says Aladdin, youngest of three siblings, who spent a chunk of his childhood in France.
Love in the time of Covid
The couple met in the “most 21st century way ever” – they matched on a dating app.
“It was during the first lockdown, where we couldn’t go anywhere or meet anyone,” recalls Gomez. “And we matched on Tinder, and we began doing Skype dates.”
Aladdin chimes in, “I heard about this game, called ‘The 36 questions that lead to love’, and on our first date on Skype, I said I’ve always wanted to do this.”
Psychologist Arthur Aron came up with the questions, in a 1997 study where he explored whether intimacy between two perfect strangers could be accelerated.
“I thought it was going to fly by,” says Gomez, “But it took us four hours, and it didn’t feel like four hours, we were just talking and talking and talking.”
During that conversation, they learned a lot about each other, for example, that they both come from similar mixed-religion backgrounds.
Gomez looked stunning in a gown by Alia Bastamam. photo: Bthology Studio
“It was interesting, I wasn’t looking for someone who had a similar background as me, I thought me and my siblings were the ones who understood what if felt like to be doing Christmas and Raya, and then when he said he had a similar background, it was like ‘excuse me, what?’” says Gomez.
A few months into their online romance, they finally got to meet in person when dining spots opened up, albeit with strict regulations.
“In the beginning, she was really controlling the pace of things,” recalls Aladdin. “We wouldn’t talk every day, and I got frustrated in the beginning but she said ‘no, I like missing you’. I really felt like I was in high school, having a crush and wondering when I was going to see her again.”
Over the next few months, love blossomed and Aladdin remembers the exact moment when he really fell in love with Gomez.
“One day, she told me that she had made nasi lemak at home, and at the time, I hadn’t really had a good one. Wearing a very girl-next-door type of outfit, she asked me if I wanted some, and I just thought, wow I love this girl. And then she gave me the best nasi lemak I’ve ever had in my life.”
For Gomez, it wasn’t one moment that made her realise Aladdin was the one – it was a combination of all the thoughtful things he does on a daily basis.
“He’s very consistent, I guess, that is one of the many things; like he made sure that I felt safe. He ensured that I was comfortable when we were out with his group of friends. He was supportive of all of my endeavours and I felt like he is behind me all the time,” says Gomez.
In many ways Aladdin proved to be the one and Gomez began to realise that she had fallen in love with him.
A well-executed proposal in Langkawi – on a yacht during a shoot where Gomez had been hired to be the main model – led to an idyllic wedding on the same island.
As amazing as the wedding looked, with Gomez looking stunning in an Alia Bastamam gown as she walked down a Plexiglas isle, guests and grooms dressed all in white, planning a wedding during Covid times proved challenging.
The couple matched on a dating app. photo: AZLINA ABDULLAH/The StarAmid locking down a venue, figuring out their guest list and hoping that no one would get infected (and making sure they themselves steered clear of Covid), Gomez’s father passed away a month before they were meant to hold the reception.
“It felt rushed, and I didn’t feel right, to be celebrating, so we had to push it and then the date 22022022 (Feb 22, 2022) came up and we thought, why not? And that’s what we did,” Gomez relates.
It was a bumpy ride, but it all worked out in the end.
The road aheadHaving established herself as a top model in Malaysia and regionally, Gomez has set her sights on furthering her career in Europe.
Last year, she took a leap of faith and decided to start over from scratch in unfamiliar territory.
“In Malaysia, it’s simpler, because you kind of know people and these people know other people. So, I’ve gone back to zero and started all over again – at 30.
“It’s very tough to start again. You know, like when, when there are new kids on Tik Tok suddenly becoming popular, and you wonder, how do I stand out? In an industry where they see age first, if you look young, it’s easier.”
A decade of experience in the business is definitely a plus, and during her time in Barcelona, Gomez landed an editorial spread in a Spanish magazine named Mujer Hoy.
“I feel like my journey to expand my career in Europe is going in the right direction thanks to this spread,” she expresses. “It’s such a big area. And in every city, they are looking for different things. I tried Paris, Barcelona was good. So next would be to try out London and Milan, and see how that can be for me. I just want to dip my toes in all the markets to see which one works.”
While Aladdin’s business will still have a foothold in Malaysia, he too will be moving to Europe and establishing a base there.
“We have some European clients for our company here. But we really want to grow our business in Europe as well,” explains Aladdin. “And so, Shikin wanting to go to Europe is making it easy for me to also take that leap, and my business partner wants to stay here. So, we are planning to have two big antennas and we’re thinking of Portugal. Because Portugal is really trying to attract people and if we’re in Lisbon, for her, it’s really easy to fly into different cities for jobs.”
Both have had their fare share of moments to reflect on the future, especially during the extended lockdown periods.
“Lockdown was an opportunity to slow down and think about my priorities and what we really wanted to do business-wise,” shares Aladdin. “It was deciding what was important for me, and for me it was the freedom to be able to work from anywhere, thinking of a software business that wouldn’t tie us down to offices, places, factories.”
For Gomez, lockdown was a sobering time for her – with no runways to walk down or photo shoots happening for months, she was fortunate to have the chance to try her hand at conceptualising, styling, directing, and modelling in her own shoot for the Malay magazine Glam.
“The runway shows, that all stopped, I couldn’t see when it would all pick up again and I didn’t know what my career would be like in the future,” explains Gomez. “One of the highlights of this period was being given the chance to shoot my own cover – I did my own hair and makeup and shot the cover myself, based on a theme. It was a big accomplishment for me to be able to do this on my own, and it gave me a lot of reassurance about what I can achieve.”
Rising to the occasion, together
Daunting though it is to start over, Aladdin and Gomez are looking forward to their new normal with optimism.
In fact, Gomez’s positive outlook on life is what Aladdin loves most about his wife.
“The other day my mum and I had errands to do, and we had to spend the day at a mall waiting for something. I had to work so Shikin took her on a little shopping spree. My mum told me afterwards, that she had an awesome day.”
“She’s so down to earth, she can turn an annoying afternoon, a day of waiting around, into a fun little day. That positivity, her enthusiasm, optimism and also the resilience – I feel like what she’s done in Europe, there were times of uncertainty that would have broken someone,” he says, tears welling up in his eyes.
“I think what I like about our relationship is that we’re happy for each other, we support each other in our careers and in our individual lives,” he adds.
Gomez feels like the reason their relationship is secure is because they spent a lot of time talking during the lockdown, focusing on getting to know each other instead of casually dating other people and getting distracted.
“I like that he keeps me grounded,” she says.
