“Forever”’s Michael Cooper Jr. and Lovie Simone Reveal the Funny Way They First Met But Didn’t Realize It (Exclusive)

• Michael Cooper Jr. and Lovie Simone star in the new Netflix adaptation of Judy Blume’s 1975 novel Forever as childhood friends who reunite as teens and fall in love

• How the actors met for the first time is actually something of a rom-com in itself, as Cooper Jr. and Simone tell PEOPLE about the silent plane ride they took seated next to each other before they were both cast in the series

• “I felt like from the beginning it was just giving the Keisha and Justin parallels of their dynamics,” Simone says

It seems like fate played a role in Michael Cooper Jr. and Lovie Simone embodying Justin and Keisha in the new Netflix adaptation of Forever.

Cooper Jr., 23, and Simone, 26, star in Mara Brock Akil’s adaptation of Judy Blume’s 1975 novel, and the way that they first met — before either realized they were in the running for the roles — was something out of a rom-com in its own right.

“So, Lovie is actually from Atlanta as well — we were both living in Atlanta at the time — so we sat on the plane next to each other, not even knowing who each other were [on the way to L.A.],” Cooper Jr. tells PEOPLE.

“We had our headphones on, locked in. So we literally sat by each other, did not speak a word. Isn’t it crazy?”

Related: Judy Blume Talks Inspiration Behind Her Controversial Teen Novel Forever, and the Change Happening at Home When She Wrote It

The actors only put it together when both of their cars departed LAX and arrived at the same hotel, piquing both of their interests.

“My car dropped me off at the hotel and her car pulled up right after. We both kind of looked at each other like, ‘Wait, what?’ It was a whole thing.”

Simone recalls the plane ride similarly. “My first impression of Michael was, this guy gets the window seat? Okay, all right. And then it was, wait a second, he’s also going to the same hotel as me? What’s going on?” she tells PEOPLE.

Cooper Jr. eventually suggested that they run lines together, because he saw other actors vying for Justin and Keisha pairing off to do the same to try to “bond” and develop “chemistry.”

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By the time they both ended up doing a chemistry read with each other, a few rounds in, Simone says, “We kind of had a rapport similar to how Justin and Keisha knew each other when they were in elementary school. Going into the chemistry read, it was like, okay, this is like, we kind of know each other — but I hope you get it. I felt like from the beginning it was just giving the Keisha and Justin parallels of their dynamics.”

“It’s insane because it’s also like, okay, so maybe things are destined to be,” Simone says.

Cooper Jr. agrees, given they were on the journey together “from the get-go.”

“It’s incredible,” he says. “That was an exciting time.”

Simone learned that she had been cast as Keisha before Cooper Jr. got the call about Justin, and he recalls the actress, who is “notorious for sending memes,” sending him some funny texts. “She’s sending me memes and stuff and we just start freaking out over text.”

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In Forever, the actors play childhood friends who are reunited as teens and “fall deeply in love, experiencing the joy and heartache of a first romance that will change their lives forever.”

In real life, though, Simone says her dynamic with Cooper Jr. is “very cool.”

“It feels like a big sis-little bro [dynamic] in a way,” she says. “He’s just so open. So I appreciate my relationship with Michael. It’s fresh and fun and exciting and unpredictable.”

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Forever is now streaming on Netflix.

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