Chelsea and Cole DeBoer Recount Their Sweet and Hilarious Meet-Cute

Before their big family, before a farm full of animals and before they were tapped for their new HGTV series Down Home Fab, Chelsea DeBoer (née Houska) of Teen Mom 2 and Cole DeBoer were just two strangers at a gas station in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It might not be the typical setting for a “meet-cute” — a.k.a. an adorable story about the moment two lovers meet — but for the design guru and the builder, there’s no spot more nostalgic than the one next to the gas pump.

“I was getting gas one day and [Chelsea] came pulling up and got gas at the pump next to me, and we just kept staring back and forth the whole time,” Cole tells HGTV. “I remember being like, ‘Wow, she’s really cute.’”

They parted ways from the gas station — their wordless exchange didn't go further than stealing a few looks at one another. That's when the magic happened. The pair lived in the same direction, they realized, as they drove the entire way home side-by-side on the highway.

“We kept passing each other,” says Cole. “I’d drive by and peek [over] and then she’d drive by and look.”

Chelsea says, “I went home and my friend was there and I was like, ‘Oh my god. I just saw the cutest guy at the gas station. For the days following, I would talk about ‘the gas station guy.’”

A few days later, Cole found Chelsea on Facebook and reached out. “I was freaking out because the gas station guy messaged me!” laughs Chelsea.

“I was the gas station guy,” says Cole. “And now we have four children and we’re doing this.”

Catch more of Chelsea and Cole, their fun family and their edgy-glam style on Down Home Fab — premiering on HGTV January 16 at 9|8c. You can follow Chelsea and Cole on Instagram at @chelseahouska and @coledeboer.