#BNCelebratingLove: Roxanne and Chaste Fell in Love at First Sight, Kissed Under the Fireworks & Got Married Within 16 Days

Roxanne and Chaste

I met Chaste through our mutual friend and inquired more about him. She said he was nice and friendly, but thought he was married. That has happened to me before, so I texted him and asked. He called me right away and we ended up talking for five hours about life, work, and everything. He was not married. The next day, he asked me on a date. I was booked for like two weeks with other dates and I told him that, but I cancelled the date I had for the next day.

There were not a lot of activity options at the time due to COVID-19, so he invited me to his place to visit the park close to him and have a chat, before going on a date on July 4th. Chaste showed up to our date with chocolate and flowers. The date was going well, and then he told me why he had never been married and how he stayed a virgin.

He had lost both parents, and he started crying. Then, I started crying too. It was a very emotional first date. I asked who was taking care of him while he was helping everyone else. No one, so I offered to take care of him. He says that’s when he knew I was his person. 

On our first date, I told him, “If you want to date me, you need to date only me.” We both deleted our dating apps that day.

We talked all night after the fireworks. I saw shooting stars. I don’t want to be cheesy, but it was one of those moments that made me realise that this is my person. I was 38. I didn’t know if finding ‘the one’ was just a fantasy at this point, but it just felt right. I ended up cancelling all other dates for the week. 

Then, the conversation started coming up about getting married. Should we do it for the sake of adventure? I had seen the movie Love at First Sight and he had watched the reality show Marriage At First Sight.

Roxanne and Chaste

If you can figure out as a couple how to make time for yourselves outside of work, and get past the first few speed bumps, then it’s amazing. You know that person better than anyone else and they know you better than anyone else. You can just kind of skip the bullshit and jump right into it. I never thought I would work with a significant other, but I’ve changed my mind about that. It’s amazing.

He spoke about his project on period poverty and that was a big turn-on for me; for a man to be concerned about women. I also spoke to him about my love for photography. He told me we could both build an empire, and, almost two years into the marriage, we both have a registered corporation called Sanicle and a photography company called Fotokopy.

Now we’re partners in business and love. I found love at first sight, went on a first date on July 4th, had our first kiss under the fireworks, tied the knot on the 20th of July, 2022, just 16 days after we met, and it has all been love beyond the moment.

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The #BNCelebratingLove Valentine Campaign is supported by Hingees – one of Nigeria’s finest clothing brands.