StateIn Operator only emits the initial value

Question

when I use the combine operator with the stateIn operator to combine two flows to one state flow in the view model, using clean architecture and MVI pattern I only get the initial value of the stateIn operator.

my code is this:

@HiltViewModel
class UserViewModel @Inject constructor(private val userUseCases: UserUseCases) :
    ViewModel() {

val userState = userUseCases.getUser()
        .combine(userUseCases.getPreferencesData()) { user, prefs ->
            UserState(user, prefs)
        }.stateIn(
            viewModelScope,
            SharingStarted.Eagerly,
            UserState(initialUser, initialPrefs)
        ) 

}

in both of the view model test class and the main activity the value of userState is the initial value I've also debugged the app; combine seems to work fine (UserState data class gets populated) I appreciate any suggestions and solutions