Influencer Jess Val Ortiz Calls Boyfriend Henry Kerns Her ‘home’ As They Go Public With Romance (exclusive)

The content creator revealed her new beau to the world on Instagram on Aug. 26

NEED TO KNOW

• Jess Val Ortiz met her boyfriend Henry Kerns on Hinge and had a spontaneous first date the same day
• Ortiz describes Kerns as kind, romantic, and creative, saying their connection feels magical and like “home”
• The influencer announced her new relationship months after healing from her January breakup with Alexei Mitchell

Jess Val Ortiz has a new man in her life!

The 28-year-old content creator took to Instagram to hard launch her new relationship on Aug. 26, writing in the caption of an Instagram post featuring photos of her new beau.

“My favorite collab ♥️,” wrote Ortiz in the caption, tagging her boyfriend, Henry Kerns.

Of the moment she met Kerns in person — at a wine bar in Brooklyn — Ortiz tells PEOPLE that the two “locked eyes” and felt something she had “never experienced before.”

“I always knew meeting my person would hit me like a ton of bricks... but somehow life with Henry feels even more magical,” she says. “He is kind, romantic, passionate, brilliant, goofy, creative and caring. Most importantly, Henry is home.”

The pair met on Hinge and ended up going on their first date the same day that they matched. Says Ortiz: “It was completely spontaneous and exciting, and I don’t think either of us could have expected the night to unfold the way it did.”

After hitting the wine bar together, the two went up to Kerns’ rooftop, where Ortiz recalls it beginning to drizzle “ever so slightly.”

“It felt like we were quite literally in a movie, experiencing the feeling of falling in love with each other for the very first time,” she gushes.

Kerns adds that it feels like he and Ortiz are “meant to be.”

“She brings out the best in me and everyone around her,” he continues, sharing that the couple both knew “right away that we have something very special together. Jessica is so creative and has the biggest heart.”

Ortiz’s new relationship announcement comes after the influencer said she split with her ex-boyfriend, Alexei Mitchell, back in January.

In May, while chatting with PEOPLE on the Broadway Breakout Brunch red carpet in New York City, the influencer gave an update on her dating life. The content creator is known to her over 11 million followers for her online parody videos and comedy sketches.

Speaking with PEOPLE, the content creator appears to be entering a new chapter in the dating world. “I’m open, you know, my heart is open,” she says.

“I’m open to love, you know, but I, I’m in a really, really good place,” she continues, adding that, since the breakup, she feels “healed” and “very optimistic.”

“I’m focusing on my career right now, but my heart’s open, so I feel good about that,” she says.

In a TikTok video updated and posted to her account on Sunday, March 1, the influencer did her makeup and addressed how she had been healing in the wake of the separation, as well as offered insights into what the last month had been like for her. “It has officially been over one month since my breakup,” the content creator began her video as she applied foundation to her skin.

“I’ve been doing a lot of therapy, been doing a lot of soul searching, spending time with my family and friends,” she continued. “It’s been a bit of a tumultuous month, not gonna lie. But I have officially found peace with myself and with the breakup.”

Ortiz went on to reflect on her “adult relationships,” saying that, having been in two “serious” ones so far, she thinks she is able to say that she knows what she is looking for in her “forever person.”