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Critics Called Her “Desperate”, “Crazy”, “Bitter”, but Woman Who Married Herself Says She Wanted to Celebrate Self-Love & Respect

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Yasmin Eleby

Kindergarten teacher Yasmin Eleby celebrated her 40th birthday in a unique way my ‘marrying’ herself. Missed the story? Click here.

In an interview with The Root, the teacher, who hadn’t been in a serious relationship for six years, explains her motivation behind the ceremony – showing herself self-love and self-respect.

Here are some excerpts:

The Root: I’ve read about a couple of other women who decided to marry themselves. In 2012 there was Nadine Schweigert in North Dakota, and in 2014 Grace Gelder from the United Kingdom did it as well. Were they your inspiration?

Yasmin Eleby: For a few years leading up to my 40th birthday, I’d been joking that if I didn’t have a wedding by 40 that I would just have one myself without a groom. I thought having a wedding ceremony would be a unique way to celebrate my 40th with my family and my friends. And the closer that it got, I realized I had to put up or shut up.

The Root: A lot of people have assumed that marrying yourself was an act of desperation. What exactly was the ceremony about for you?

Yasmin Eleby: The ceremony is not about me being bitter for not having a man. It wasn’t like, “OK, I’m upset that I’m 40 and don’t have a man.” I wanted to show myself my self-love, my self-worth and my self-respect. It was always about me loving me. When God sends me my husband, he will come, but until then, I’m OK with it just being with me.

The Root: What do you think of the reactions to your ceremony?

Yasmin Eleby: It has been blown way out of proportion. From the few comments that I’ve read, they’re trying to paint me as crazy or bitter about not having a husband, and that is so not the case. I’m not bitter, I‘m not crazy. I’m just a fun-loving unique individual, and I just wanted to do something special and different.

You can read the whole interview on The Root

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