Terrell, 21, and Haley, 18, met when he was a senior at Jemison High School and she was at Chilton County High School.

They were at a county basketball tournament one night and noticed each other.

Terrell, a basketball player, had the night off from games.

“I wasn’t playing that night,” he said. “I actually saw her at the concession stand. We pretty much just made eye contact and exchanged names and numbers, and it just went from there.”

Although they didn’t know each other previously, Terrell and Haley seemed to make an instant connection.

“I thought she was pretty and wanted to get to know her better,” he said about the night they first met.

Haley said Terrell’s personality and sense of humor drew her in.

Despite their instant attraction to each other, Terrell said Haley didn’t agree to go out on a real date with him until about a year into their relationship.

“We exchanged text messages and talked on the phone,” Terrell said. “She wanted to know me real good before she went out with me anywhere, so it took me about a year to take her out on a date.”

They went to Ruby Tuesday’s in Alabaster for their first date.

“I was excited,” Terrell said. “I just wanted to show her how good of a gentleman I was and just wanted to make that good first impression and show her I would treat her well.”

Haley said she was excited and ready, too.

“I just like to get to know people better,” Haley said. “After waiting so long, it felt like a relief.”

After that, Terrell said he and Haley saw each other often and continued going on dates out to eat or to the movies.

“When we first started talking, I wasn’t thinking, ‘Oh well she’ll be my wife three years down the road,’” Terrell said. “But about two years after we were together, that’s when I started to realize she was the one.”

In August 2013, Terrell took Haley back to Ruby Tuesday’s to propose to her.

“The proposal was pretty neat,” he said. “I thought about it for a while, and after I got the ring, I thought about our first date at Ruby Tuesday’s.

“I thought it would be pretty nice to go back to Ruby Tuesday’s three years later and propose to her there. I was very nervous, and she didn’t know it was coming.”

Haley agreed and said she was surprised when Terrell got down on one knee at the restaurant and asked her to marry him.

“I was in shock,” she said. “I was just basically trying to get him up off the floor.”

In October 2013, Terrell and Haley were married at the Chilton County Courthouse.

They said their parents and friends have been supportive of their relationship.

“Nine times out of 10, it wouldn’t have bothered me either way,” Terrell said. “We’re happy with each other and we’re going to be together. My mother raised me that I didn’t see any color. God created us equal. As far as my side goes, everyone is fine with it.”

Haley said her grandparents initially expressed doubt about their relationship but grew more understanding after spending more time with Terrell.

“At first they were skeptical of it, but once they got to know him better, they don’t really say anything,” Haley said.

The couple said they sometimes get strange looks from people in public places, but never to the extent they feel threatened.

“It doesn’t bother me,” Terrell said. “As long as the both of you care and feel about each other the same, then it doesn’t matter about skin color.”

Terrell and Haley are expecting their first child in April and plan to raise her with the same open mindset they have.

“I’m going to raise my daughter the same as my mother raised me,” Terrell said. “This day in age, it’s pretty normal to see an interracial couple.”