Which game to start with?

My boyfriend and I have played BG3 to death and are trying to decide if we should play Divinity Original Sin 1 or 2 on PS5.

Are the stories noticably connected?

Does one have major issues that the other does not?

Does one have more variety in mechanics than the other?

Which one should we play, assuming we won't play the other (even though we probably will just way down the line)? Does it even matter?