This subject is very personal to me because I can relate to it significantly. Not only am I in an interracial relationship, I’m also in an age-gap one. My husband is Russian and I am Nigerian ( I know what you’re thinking, such a random combo right?!) Well sis! Let me tell you, the journey had not been a straight shot one but it’s certainly been worth it.
I was 23 years old when I met my now husband in September 2017. This was my last year as a college senior so I didn’t really plan to have anything serious. Our relationship literally snuck up on me and revealed itself as the one thing I never knew I needed. We talked every day and we finally decided to meet again in October. From then, it was a wrap! we began our long distance relationship ever since. I lived in North Carolina, USA while he lived in London U.K. We saw each other every 2-3 months. And let me tell you, those intervals felt like the longest periods of my life.
It felt as though we were constantly getting to know each other because we will only spend 7-10 days together when we meet and then resort back to our long distance tech based relationship. We always text throughout the day every single day and talk at night before we slept. I often envied other couples because I was not able to do simple things like hold hands, or get a random hug or kiss whenever I wanted with my then boyfriend. Technology inevitably had to become our ultimate friend to fill some of this gap. We FaceTimed often, we even figured out how to watch movies together! This rotation pretty much became the norm for the next 1.5 years. I know you’re probably wondering how we survived this lol. Honestly you have to put in that work if you truly believe in your love. Besides, whenever we saw each other it was an adventure because we were flying out to somewhere lovely!
June 2018
September 2018
December 2018
This cycle continued and the relationship became more and more serious. We decided we wanted to take the next step and move in together. (Now keep in mind I’m a whole Nigerian girl. Lol if you are African or know someone that is, you might understand my point here) I still lived at home with my parents so I had to officially break the news to them that not only was their innocent little baby dating, she was indeed dating a whole Russian WHITE MAN who was waaaay older than her. I deff was very anxious about this. My mum is my best friend so I came to her first and explained it. Shockingly she was fine with it! Like…. she literally supported me. This was very shocking to be honest. I really thought it was going to go completely opposite. It felt so good being able to share this news with my mother. Honestly, it felt like the whole world of strangers (and some of those people I knew) were judging me. When we go places together I noticed I got starred at for whatever reason (AKA young and black) and I know we have to put on the whole “I’m Tough” attitude but at some point it begins to get to you. So having my mother on board was a HUGE relief and space of comfort. Next was my dad – this is where it really got interesting!
Feb 2019
April 2019
We told my father together, and again! It went completely not like I imagined. He too was equally supportive! I couldn’t believe it. Everything seemed to be falling in place simultaneously. We decided we will actually get married and we haven’t looked back since. Not only was I now moving out of my parents house, I was moving out the country to go and become a wife. It felt so surreal. I never felt so loved and so blessed than I have throughout this whole relationship. Our travel journey of course continued! My baby took me to Switzerland and Greece to celebrate my 25th birthday!
July 2019
June 2019
And on that glorious day of August 31st 2019, we had our traditional wedding! The joy in my heart to see him engaging with my people, and being openly accepted by my community was unbelievable. I was the happiest girl on earth.
Raleigh, NC
August, 2019
As we plan our church wedding for June 2020, I wake up everyday and can’t wait to walk down the aisle to my Prince Charming 👰🏾🤵🏻
I end this blog with this piece of advice:
- Follow your heart
- Don’t box yourself in
People will always judge you. That’s inevitable. Your duty is to learn to live your life for you and no one else. Don’t block your blessings because you want to box yourself in. Explore new things, whatever it may be, and always remember that life only happens once.
Ciao my loves! Tune in next week for another write up 💗♥️💗♥️
Living With Steph 
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