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Cher turns out to be mystery masked woman who snapped viral photo of couple

"Wow! So we really did meet CHER! This night will certainly be remembered forever."

Leslie_Katz.jpg
Leslie Katz
Leslie_Katz.jpg
Leslie Katz Former Culture Editor
Leslie Katz led a team that explored the intersection of tech and culture, plus all manner of awe-inspiring science, from space to AI and archaeology. When she's not smithing words, she's probably playing online word games, tending to her garden or referring to herself in the third person.
Credentials Third place film critic, 2021 LA Press Club National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards
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couple

Syndie Germain and Tehran Stokes got quite the surprise on Monday. 

 Cher/Twitter

You're out celebrating your birthday when a masked woman asks if she can snap a photo of you and your boyfriend. You say yes, and the next thing you know, your face is all over social media. That's what happens when the masked woman who snaps your pic turns out to be Cher. 

Getting photographed and complimented by a pop legend is quite the birthday present. 

Leaving a Houston movie theater after seeing West Side Story, Cher tweeted Tuesday that she spotted a beautiful couple. "He was taking her pic, she had flowers. I said, 'Can I take your pic?' Had my mask on so they didn't know who I was." 

The photo started making the rounds on Twitter, because Cher, and the couple, lifestyle blogger Syndie Germain and her boyfriend Tehran Stokes, saw it. 

"Omg! That's me," Germain responded, "and it was my birthday! Wow! I can't believe it!" 

Stokes channeled similar excitement. "Wow! So we really did meet CHER! This night will certainly be remembered forever," Stokes tweeted. 

The pair says they didn't recognize their impromptu photographer as Cher because she was standing far away, it was dark, she was well covered up and they weren't exactly expecting a megastar to help them capture their celebratory moment. 

They seem to be fully embracing Monday's serendipitous encounter in Houston's River Oaks District. Germain posted a YouTube video all about the experience, and Stokes now describes himself in his Twitter bio as "the realtor Cher photographed."