Tyrese Gibson Opens Up About 'Perfect Storm' of His Relationship with Girlfriend Zelie Timothy

Tyrese Gibson is giving a glimpse into his relationship with girlfriend Zelie Timothy.

As the couple approaches the two-year anniversary of when they became official, Gibson opens up to PEOPLE exclusively about how he and his model girlfriend first met and how their relationship is the "perfect storm."

Gibson and Zelie first started talking after the Fast & Furious actor, 43, sent her a direct message on Instagram.

"I don't remember exactly what my pickup line was, but I sent her a DM, and I just remember complimenting her," he says. "When I got on the phone to talk to her, one of the things that was shocking was she just had such a sweetness. Her energy was just so soft-spoken."

Since then, Gibson, who split from wife Samantha Gibson in December 2020, says his relationship with Zelie has been the "greatest gift."

Recently Gibson and Zelie, who calls the beginning of their relationship "beautiful," vacationed in Turks and Caicos, where they were finally able to accomplish the photo shoot they'd been "planning for a very long time."

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The couple tried for their perfect photo shoot several times while on the island but kept having to cancel due to weather and other conflicts.

"Not only did the two photo shoots get canceled because of weather but now, the day before I'm supposed to leave, I'm supposed to spend eight hours on Zoom doing a jury selection for a divorce trial," Gibson recalls. "But it got canceled. So I woke Zelie up and I said, baby, you will not believe what just happened."

The pair then scrambled to make an appointment with their photographer that day, book the location and try to find a white horse to include in their shoot.

"We get ahold of the one and only horse company that can make themselves available on a Sunday. They say to me, 'We got a horse. Matter of fact, we got four horses.' And then they said one of the horses is white," the actor says. "Not only is the horse white, but the horse is actually albino. It doesn't have one speckle of any other color."

"When I say the perfect storm, it's not only connected to how [Zelie and I] met and the timing of how we met, but everything about this photo shoot, I want the world to know that they're looking at a photo shoot with a white horse that was albino, the one and only in the entire Caribbean Island."

As the couple prepared to leave for the shoot, a storm came in, leading Gibson and Zelie to think they would have to cancel yet again. However, to their surprise, the photographer assured the couple that there was no storm at the location they would be taking the photos.

"We got to the beach and I'm telling you, everything about the stars lined up," he continues. "It ended up being a photo shoot that we've been talking about for at least a year and a half. It was a perfect storm."

Gibson and Zelie went public with their relationship in March 2021 when they were spotted together in Atlanta at the NBA All-Star Game, Essence reported.

Their relationship came after the actor and Samantha announced that they were separating after nearly four years of marriage and welcoming a daughter named Soraya, now 4. Gibson is also dad to 15-year-old daughter Shayla from his previous marriage to Norma Gibson.