More than a quarter-century after two young travelers met by chance in a Munich hostel, lost each other's contact information and faced the possibility of never seeing one another again, Tom Latkovic and Kim Latkovic are still together.
They have built a marriage, raised three children and given their daughter, Kate Latkovic, a love story she says has shaped the way she sees relationships.
But their life together might never have happened if Tom had accepted one awkward mistake the morning after they met.
Instead, he went looking for her.
Or, more accurately, he made sure she might find him.
The night before, in May 1998, Tom and Kim met by chance in the elevator of a youth hostel in Munich, Germany.
Kim was backpacking through Europe with a friend, while Tom was traveling alone. After crossing paths, they spent the evening together with friends, went to a nearby beer garden and stayed up talking late into the night.
There was a connection.
But by the following morning, they were preparing to leave Munich for different destinations. Despite spending hours together, neither had thought to exchange contact information.
Rather than simply accepting that their paths had crossed for only one evening, Tom decided to take a chance.
He went to a busy public area in the city center and volunteered with a street performer, hoping Kim might happen to pass by.
As their daughter Kate later shared with PEOPLE:
“He went to the most public place in the city center and volunteered with a street performer in hopes my mom would be walking around and find him. And she did.”
And she did.
What could have become a brief memory between two young travelers became the beginning of something much larger.
After finding each other again, Tom and Kim continued their travels together. When their time in Europe came to an end, they returned separately to the United States and continued their relationship long-distance.
They introduced each other to their families. About six months after meeting, they became engaged. Less than a year after that chance encounter in Munich, they married on Sept. 4, 1999.
Over the years, they built a family and welcomed three children: Kate and her two brothers.
Looking back, one of Tom's friends had apparently made a prediction before any of that happened.
The night Tom and Kim met, the friend wrote in his journal:
“10 bucks Tom marries her.”
Today, Kim still keeps the note Tom gave her on the morning they found each other again. The journal containing that early prediction has also become part of the family's story, with the entry now framed and hanging in their home.
For Kate, now 25, her parents' unusual beginning was only one part of what made their relationship meaningful.
Growing up, she had the opportunity to watch what happened after the chance meeting — through the ordinary days, the years of marriage and the life her parents built together.
“My parents are my best friends, biggest inspirations and ultimate role models — both as individuals and as a couple,” Kate shared with PEOPLE. “Their relationship has set the standard for the type of relationship I hope to have for myself.”
Eventually, she decided to share her parents' story on TikTok.
The video reached more than 1.9 million views, introducing the story of the two travelers who nearly lost each other after one night in Munich to a new generation of viewers.
But Kate's reason for sharing it went beyond the unusual way her parents met.
As a young woman navigating dating herself, she told PEOPLE she wanted people to see that the kind of relationship she had watched growing up was still possible.
“I wanted to give people hope and encouragement that it does exist. That it is possible.”
She also reflected on how different dating can feel for her generation.
“As a single girl in her 20s navigating the dating world, I've recognized how different things are from when my parents were my age.”
Sharing her own perspective with PEOPLE, Kate said:
“From my perspective and in my experience, there are a lot less men who want to pursue, to lead, to put in effort, to provide, to be vulnerable.”
The response to the video suggested that many others recognized the same concerns.
For Kate, that reaction reinforced why she had wanted to tell her parents' story in the first place.
“So many women are experiencing this too,” she shared. “I wanted to remind others to never settle for less than what they desire and to know that healthy, lasting love does exist.”
The video drew thousands of responses from people who said the story had made them feel encouraged and hopeful.
“I was ultimately just so happy to see the reactions and read through the comments and messages about others feeling encouraged and hopeful,” Kate told PEOPLE.
The chance meeting in Munich may have been what first caught people's attention.
But after nearly three decades together, it was the marriage that followed that seemed to carry the deeper message.
When asked what had helped keep their relationship together, Tom gave PEOPLE a remarkably simple answer:
“Work.”
Kim added:
“Forgiveness and work.”
There was no complicated formula behind their answer.
For Tom, a lasting relationship requires effort, but he believes the effort is worthwhile.
“I hope it inspires people to be more ambitious and loving in relationships,” he told PEOPLE. “Too many people are giving up. Love demands an incredible amount, but it's worth it.”
Watching her parents' relationship has shaped Kate's own understanding of what love requires.
“The biggest lesson I've learned is that love is a choice,” she said. “It takes work, forgiveness, humility, commitment, empathy, compassion, effort and investment.”
And she added:
“True, real love isn't just when life is fun or going your way. It's who holds you when you're drowning, who fights for you when you're struggling and who chooses you even when you're hard to be chosen.”
Their story began with something as ordinary as two strangers meeting in an elevator.
For a brief moment, it seemed their paths might separate just as quickly.
They had forgotten the one detail that would have allowed them to stay in touch. Both were leaving the city. Neither knew where the other was going.
But Tom was unwilling to let one missed opportunity decide the rest of the story.
He took a chance.
That chance led to another meeting. The meeting led to a relationship. And the relationship became a marriage that, more than 25 years later, continues to inspire their children and strangers who have encountered their story.
Perhaps that is what makes their story more than simply a lucky coincidence.
Chance may have brought Tom and Kim Latkovic together in Munich in May 1998.
But the life they built afterward required something else: work, forgiveness — and the choice to keep choosing each other.
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