In any relationship, you will most likely end up sharing numerous meals with your partner. While dining with your loved one can be a blissful experience, it can also introduce particular challenges. Perhaps each partner has unique dietary limitations? Maybe one despises Italian cuisine while the other adores it? Or potentially the most challenging scenario, where you relish dining out, but your significant other does not.

Finding someone who complements your culinary preferences and habits, such as cooking, snacking, and dining out, is undoubtedly a positive sign. As recently illustrated by the newly-engaged influencers, Alix Traeger and Zoya Biglary - renowned for their food-centric content including cooking videos, Traeger’s reviews of her erstwhile Buzzfeed Tasty recipes, and Biglary's exceptional talent at fruit peeling - an uncomplicated test may judge if your eating practices align: the shared experience of a pepperoni pizza.

Earlier this week, the couple displayed this via a video on Instagram dubbed "the pizza theory". In the footage, Biglary peels off her pizza's pepperoni and sets it aside for Traeger’s enjoyment, who then snaps up the remaining crust once Biglary is done. This perfect symbiosis demonstrates one person enjoying exactly what the other does not.

Is this a sign of compatibility? According to Traeger, “I wouldn’t say it’s a deal breaker, but it does simplify things! These small ways we complement each other, like puzzle pieces, make us feel destined for each other”. The couple enjoyed their pizza at the Little High Eatery, Christchurch, New Zealand - the establishment where Traeger reciprocally proposed to Biglary two months after Biglary's proposal to her. Biglary confessed that she often orders pepperoni pizza specifically so her intended can relish the topping, clarifying, “I don't really eat pork but I appreciate the spicy undertones it leaves on the cheese”.

Many avid followers quickly drew parallels between this clever metaphor and a beloved mid-2000s sitcom, How I Met Your Mother. The sitcom showcased “the olive theory” where one character despised olives, while his partner adored them - a perfect balance. This anecdote served as inspiration for Traeger and Biglary’s pizza theory. Traeger noted that “although we both like olives, we needed our unique theory, hence ‘The Pizza Theory.’ We believe other couples can create their analogs to their unique relationships”.

Acquisitions associate and food enthusiast Noah Goodman, often enjoys the leftover garnishes his fiancée Julia leaves behind – maraschino cherries and pickles. My sister, Ruthie Miller, appreciates her boyfriend's dislike for avocados, as it means more guacamole for her during their Tex-Mex outings.

Does this mean that every couple should ideally comprise one person who appreciates pepperoni and pizza crusts and one who doesn't? Certainly not. But it’s a pleasant reminder that couples don't need to favor the same food items for the relationship to flourish. In some instances, the difference is what ensures compatibility. I believe that every couple's unique "pizza theory," or their shared eating habits, serve as a symbol of their symbiotic functioning. In my personal experience, my boyfriend always reserves a bit of extra food on his plate for me, because he knows that I'll want a bite – even when I claim otherwise.