Like so many who have come before them, Kyle Kuzma and Winnie Harlow’s romance was born in the DMs.
Only Harlow didn’t actually see the initial DM until Kuzma sent another one a year later. But love delayed is not love denied, and five years later, the couple got engaged.
As Harlow explained, she happened upon the athlete’s DM by chance.
“I got a DM a year prior from my boyfriend, and I’d never seen it,” she told Stephen “tWitch” Boss on a June 2021 appearance on The Ellen Degeneres Show. “I don’t know what the glitch in the system with Instagram is, but that never came up for me.”
Kuzma, a forward for the Milwaukee Bucks, popped the question in February 2025, reading a poem he wrote and presenting the model with an 8.5-carat diamond ring that she proudly displayed via Instagram that month.
Before the couple ties the knot, keep scrolling for a look back at their complete relationship timeline:
2019
Kuzma slid into Harlow’s Instagram DMs, hoping to strike up a conversation, but she did not see it.
March 2020
One year after sending his first DM, Kuzma tried again. This time, Harlow saw it.
“A year later, at the top of quarantine, he DMed me again,” she said on Ellen. “He posted a picture of me in an outfit and I was like, ‘Oh, hi!’ … and he shot his shot. He slid into the DMs.”
Harlow gushed, “That was cute, and I was like, ‘Oh hey, how’s quarantine been?’”
A handful of flirty DMs turned into FaceTiming every day as their long-distance relationship blossomed.
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April 2020
Shortly after they began talking, the couple were ready to take the next step. The only problem was that Kuzma played for the Los Angeles Lakers at the time and Harlow lived in Brooklyn.
“After a month of being on FaceTime for 24 hours every single day for a month, he was like, ‘You gotta come to L.A.,’” Harlow recalled in an interview. “And I’ve been in L.A. ever since. That was a year ago.”
April 2020
Kuzma casually dropped the G-word in a private moment with Harlow, marking the official beginning of their relationship.
“I had just been out here with him during quarantine and no one really knew at the time,” she told People. “I was getting ready for bed and my process is very long. I have serums. I have my bonnet. My shower takes half an hour. I’m just winding down. I was taking a really long time and he was like, ‘Can I cuddle with my girlfriend?’ And I was like, ‘Girlfriend. Oh, OK, sure. There we go. I guess it’s a wrap now. Hang up my jersey.’ [That’s] how we ended up in a relationship.”
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June 2020
Though Harlow and Kuzma were spotted out together between April and June 2020, they didn’t make things Instagram official until Harlow posted a pic of the two of them at the beach.
February 2021
Harlow acknowledged their first Valentine’s Day together with a lighthearted Instagram carousel, featuring some pictures of the pair together and a few goofy shots of Kuzma lying in bed, playing with his eye and staring deviously into the mirror.
“My Valentine 🥰 my sweet boy @kuz 🌹 yes you drive me nuts but you put up with my crazy so I think that’s a fair trade 😂😘,” she captioned the post. “Thank you for being a shoulder to cry on and a hand to hold. The best boyfriend a girl could ask for. Can’t wait for more adventures with you. Love you issha mi widdle daddy bear 🥺🤣🥰”
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April 23, 2021
On their first anniversary, Harlow posted a video of the couple sharing a kiss.
“Happy 1 year anniversary @kuz 🤍,” she wrote via Instagram.
December 2021
After months of speculation that Harlow and Kuzma had broken up, the couple were spotted holding hands in New York City. Two days later, Harlow posted a pic of herself at Madison Square Garden, watching her boyfriend face the New York Knicks.
July 2022
Harlow celebrated Kuzma’s 27th birthday in a heartfelt Instagram carousel that led with a shot of the two of them hugging.
“Happy 27th birthday my love @kuz never had a love like this 🥹🤍,” she captioned the post. “ITS LEO SEASON!!! 🦁🔥 I pray you receive every blessing in store for you because you deserve it. Thank you for being the best boyfriend in the world I love you 🤍🤍 thank you everyone who helped me put this together.”
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July 2023
As the couple enjoyed an Usher concert, the singer attempted to serenade Harlow, causing her to jump into Kuzma’s lap.
“She chose,” Kuzma quipped.
Harlow posted the video via her Instagram channel, captioning it, ”Figured out the secret to the Usher concert … sit in your mans lap Mamas 🤣🤣💘💘. He said ‘She Chose!!!’ Okayyyy.”
August 2023
What better way to show your love for your partner than with a tattoo? Harlow revealed that she had “Kyle” tattooed behind her right ear via an Instagram photo.
April 2024
On the couple’s fourth anniversary, Harlow shared a photo of them holding hands. Harlow has a “K” and a heart (signifying the king of hearts) on her hand, and Kuzma has a “W” with a heart on his.
July 2024
Harlow celebrated her 30th birthday with Kuzma, sharing a poolside photo shoot.
“Thank you baby for the best Dirty30 I could’ve ever asked for in my favourite place in the world 🇯🇲🦁🎂🎈❤️,” she wrote in the caption.
February 2025
Harlow and Kuzma announced their engagement via Instagram. Harlow detailed how it went down in an interview with Vogue.
Kuzma chartered a plane for the occasion, under the guise of a Valentine’s Day celebration. The plane was filled with roses, balloons, chocolate and champagne, and upon boarding, Kuzma read her a poem he wrote.
“For a split second in my head I thought, ‘This would be so cute if this was an engagement,’” Harlow said in the story published February 18. “But I’m also not the type of person who wants to guess or wants to spoil a surprise. So it just was a fleeting thought in my head.”
The last line of the poem was “Will you marry me?” and Harlow, of course, said yes.
