ST. PETERSBURG — Moe Suliman has a history of whirlwind romances.

He married his first wife just three months after they met.

That lasted 10 years.

His second wife was his best friend of 15 years.

They dated for six weeks before he slipped a wedding ring on her finger.

They divorced less than two months later.

Suliman’s latest fast-moving relationship tops each, he said, and they think it could have a happily ever after.

He met Destiny Ploof in February and they were living together less than a month later.

Then, he was hospitalized with the coronavirus.

She is certain she had it too.

He thought he was going to die.

She thought she’d die without him.

They both survived.

So did their relationship.

And, after that ordeal, they are certain their love is real.

“It was eye-opening,” Ploof said. “You wait to meet someone like that and then they could be gone right away. I couldn’t believe we might not be able to spend more time together."

Moe Suliman and Destiny Ploof on one of their first dates. [ Courtesy of Moe Suliman ]

Suliman, a 40-year-old native of Egypt and former United States Marine who owns a cannabis production facility in Canada, has called St. Petersburg home since 1992.

Ploof is a 21-year-old New Yorker and cake decorator who relocated from Poughkeepsie to St. Petersburg last June.

They met, of all places, they laughed, on Tinder.

Their first date was at The Bends bar in St. Petersburg, a strategic choice of Suliman’s.

“There is a huge age difference between us and I wanted her to see me in my element,” he said. “I know everyone who works there, the owner, the patrons.”

But it was not just Suliman’s social butterfly personality that attracted her, Ploof said. “It instantly felt like we’d known each other forever. There was an instant connection.”

As for Suliman, “The first time we locked eyes it felt like someone hit me in the face with a burlap sack full of Mario stars."

That was on February 13.

Not long after, the downtown apartment across the hall from Ploof’s opened up.

Suliman moved in on March 10 and their two homes quickly became one.

“We were inseparable,” Suliman said.

Moe Suliman at St. Anthony's Hospital in St. Petersburg. [ Courtesy of Moe Suliman ]

Suliman was standing in the checkout line at a grocery store on March 18 when he first felt fever chills. It’s just a common cold, he thought.

He realized it was likely the coronavirus when his fever spiked at 105 degrees a few days later.

“I have no idea where I could have gotten it,” Suliman said.

Then came Ploof’s fever, 102 degrees, she said. It was gone around 48 hours later.

But Suliman, a diabetic with hypertension, wasn’t getting better, so Ploof stayed by his side.

“For a whole week she was taking care of me 24/7,” Suliman said. "She brought me three meals a day, checked my temperature, cold compresses on my head. The reason I didn’t get sicker sooner was because of her. She saved my life. There is no doubt in my mind. She absolutely saved my life. "

He was hospitalized on March 25.

Ploof took him to St. Anthony’s Hospital but was not allowed to accompany him inside.

“I sat in my car in a state of shock,” she said. “We’d barely had time to do anything together.”

Suliman said that even though his “brain was cooking and everything felt like a dream,” he had the same thought. “I was just getting to introduce her to people and my friends were just starting to like us together. Then it was all cut short.”

Moe Suliman was put on oxygen while being treated for the coronavirus at St. Anthony's Hospital in St. Petersburg. [ Courtesy of Moe Suliman ]

Diagnosed with COVID-19, Suliman required an oxygen mask. In posts that kept friends updated through April 1, there was talk of putting him into a medically induced coma.

He only had the energy to keep in close contact with two people — his mom and Ploof, but more so Ploof.

“I’d wake and see a text from her six hours ago and worry that she was worried about me,” Suliman said.

When they’d chat, Suliman promised Ploof he’d be OK, but, “I thought I was going to die,” he said.

Ploof admits she had “several nervous breakdowns” as she sat home alone in self-isolation. The shortness of breath brought on by one scared her enough that, at Suliman’s request, she was tested for the coronavirus at St. Anthony’s.

She tested negative, but Ploof said the healthcare workers think her previous fever was due to the virus and it was no longer in her system.

“Either that or I’m immune,” she said. “I was with him for so long, I would have gotten it.”

Destiny Ploof getting test for coronavirus at St. Anthony's Hospital in St. Petersburg. [ Courtesy of Moe Suliman ]

Suliman’s health took a positive turn and he was moved out of the intensive care unit on March 31, “which means I’m one step closer to seeing and touching her face again," he posted on Facebook.

Two days later, when he was discharged, they embraced in the parking lot.

“I held back my tears,” Ploof said.

At home, she is still nursing him back to health.

In return, Suliman laughed, he is teaching her about the Wu-Tang Clan and Lord of the Rings.

More than anything, Suliman and Ploof look forward to their relationship growing in a post-coronavirus world that they hope comes sooner than later.

“I have never experienced this kind of love and dedication,” Suliman said. “I have zero doubt in my mind this is real.”

Added Ploof, “This is something that did not exist in my prior relationships and I didn’t even know that it was missing until I found it.”

Moe Suliman and Destiny Ploof days after Suliman was released from the ICU due to coronavirus. . [ Courtesy of Moe Suliman ]

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