Sophie and Tzef Montana have the kind of love that can turn even the most hardened cynics into believers. On a breezy June evening, this particular cynic was strolling through a seaside town in Crete, where avant-pop musician Sophie—who has produced tracks for Madonna and was nominated for a Grammy last year—was headlining an electronic music festival called Nature Loves Courage.

Arriving at the night club, the pair ascended to the stage like queens. Sophie, in a regal Balmain blazer and chunky diamond-encrusted necklace, leaned over her DJ gear with an air of concentrated precision, Tzef swaying behind her in hip-bone-hugging jeans and a strappy black top. Together, they were a striking vision: two impossibly glamorous trans women and queer icons, traveling the world hand in hand. They spent the rest of the night locked in an embrace on the dance floor, lips grazing each other’s limbs under the flashing lights before they disappeared into the night.

Photographed by Evita Manji

A few weeks later, we met again at Tzef’s apartment in the suburbs of Athens, where the two are now living, having recently abandoned Hollywood for a quieter life by the Aegean Sea. The couple was dressed down for the beach in matching white shirts by Italian designer Stefanel and Greek ’80s icon Billy Bo, layered over black swimsuits they had picked up at the airport. After a quick swim, they curled up in each other’s arms and explained how they met: on a shoot for Charli XCX’s “After The Afterparty” music video in Los Angeles in 2016. Tzef, a model and dancer of Greek, Ethiopian, and Belgian descent, was cast as a zombie, while Scottish-born Sophie had produced the track.

“I looked in the mirror and saw her coming,” recalled Tzef. “I thought the way she looked was over the top—curly hair and high-waisted pants, like a hybrid of a cute poodle and Michael Jackson at his hottest.” Sophie burst into shy laughter and shared her side of the story: “The first thing Tzef said was, ‘why are you late?’ I couldn’t believe someone who didn’t know me would talk to me like that.” With a wry smile, she added, “We were both really annoyed by each other, and it stayed like that for a long time.”