I know some people are already feeling like, “Oh so it was pre-destined all those years ago and she knew it,” so if she knows who he is first and then falls in love with him, it’d sorta feel like she was talking herself into fulfilling an obligation, as opposed to genuinely falling in love. Even as someone who has shipped it since it was pure crack, I think it’d make the whole storyline less satisfying.
What would make the storyline fun is if we the audience are aware of who he is, but Regina has no clue. We can watch him chip away at her walls and see her reluctantly considering taking the chance of letting herself fall in love again. Then when she finally does give in, and she’s tearing his shirt off for the first time ever, she’ll see the tattoo and be all O_______O “It’s you?!”