A fitness influencer in a rivalry with her competitor was afraid he was trying to steal the secrets to her success, but it turns out he had a very different goal in mind.
Heidi Somers, from Houston, Texas, began bumping into Christian Guzman at fitness expos that both of them attended to promote their rival brands.
Christian soon began quizzing Heidi, 35, about her female athletic clothing business Buffbunny Collection - which she mistook as him trying to get business intel and failed to realize he was far more interested in dating her.
She was initially so suspicious that her assistant would strip all business notes from boards and stash them away in case Christian was fishing for ideas.
Despite rebuffing his advances at first, the pair ended up going on their first date eight years ago - and Heidi admits the 'healthy competition' between them made him all the more attractive.
It really was true love, and Heidi moved to live with him after dating for two years and the couple got married in March 2024.
Now, the ambitious pair regularly enjoy flirty work 'date nights' that help them rake in more cash.
Heidi Somers, from Houston, Texas , began bumping into Christian Guzman at fitness expos that both of them attended to promote their rival brands
Heidi said: 'When we started dating we were like "that's great we're both in the same field," but we realized we're actually competitors.
'It's attractive being a bit competitive.
'The way he got me to go on a date with him was he would ask me about business. I wasn't interested at the time. I was like, "No, I'm going to focus on my business and my career."
'But he started asking me questions about business. I started answering him back and it did naturally fall into a really great conversation.'
Now, Heidi calls them 'a power couple.'
She said: 'I think that we lean on each other. Instead of being competitive with one another we try to give each other insider notes.
'Dating each other was such a breath of fresh air because I was always told that I work too much, that I'm obsessed with my career, that I'm obsessed with business and that's all I care about.
'But I just really love what I do and meeting him and dating him, I just felt that same energy from him.
'We love what we do and we have that healthy competitive vibe. I did tell him that's what I found so attractive in him.'
Heidi and Christian, who is CEO of his own athletic wear company Alphalete Athletics, often have work dates at home to help motivate one another and work together.
Despite rebuffing his advances at first, the pair ended up going on their first date eight years ago
Heidi said it can sometimes be a struggle to switch between CEO and wife
She said: 'If we're at home or if it's after hours we might be like, "do you want to have a glass of wine, prop up the laptops and have a little work date?"
'We chat and talk but we still hone in and focus on the craft. We motivate each other to do better, we make it fun.
'Some people might be like, "that's so toxic" but we love what we do and we can do it next to each other.
'It's almost like having a second pair of eyes and that second pair of eyes really cares about your business just as much as you do.'
Although the two are very happy together, Heidi said it can sometimes be a struggle to switch between CEO and wife.
She says: 'When I'm at the office I'm the alpha woman, I'm the boss, the leader, the CEO.
'When I come home, I joke around like I'm just a girl. I want to be able to relax a little bit. I'm making dinner and I'm being that wife.
'But sometimes even I struggle, I still want to talk about business and work.'
Now, Heidi describes herself and her husband as 'a power couple'
Heidi continued: 'As two CEOs that live together it's trying to find the time and trying to find the boundary of "it's time to turn off and not talk about work" and talk about silly things and joke around and flirt.
'I think that's a struggle that a lot of founders and a lot of CEOs deal with, they don't really turn off. They love what they do and they love the game and they love their business.
'You definitely have to create some boundaries. We have separate offices. So Monday morning comes, I go to my office with my team, he goes to his office with his team.'
The fitness buff added: 'At the end of the day we'll come home and I'll make dinner, or sometimes he makes dinner, and we talk about our day. The annoyances and the wins.
'On the days where one of us has a harder day, the other one will help pick up what we can and uplift the other.
'We're going eight years strong and we're super happy and we love our companies so I think we've figured out the boundaries over the years.'
