Sometimes, a bit of self love is all you need. A bride called off her wedding to “marry herself” in a move to boost her self-confidence. Now, years later, she has married the same man she was originally engaged to.
Nicole Russo (39) became engaged to Paulo de Souza (35) in October 2013, after two-and-a-half years of dating. However, the wellness centre boss struggled with many insecurities that eventually lead to her ending their engagement.
“I remember at one point looking at that ring on my finger and thinking to myself, ‘wow how could I have gotten so far along in myself and almost committed to this other person before I had committed to myself and my own needs and listened to who I really needed to be inside’,” Nicole told Metro UK.
She called the wedding off and married herself instead, reciting her vows in her mirror on October 14, 2014. Years later, the pair reconnected and fell in love once again. This time, Nicole already had love for herself and was able to accept Paulo’s love.
The pair tied the knot of October 12, 2019, just a few days before her fifth wedding anniversary to herself. Nicole sees the two as very different weddings.
“My marriage to myself is not the same as my one to Paulo. It’s not a legal marriage, nor a traditional one with a church and big white dress. Rather, it’s a way of committing to and loving myself.”
Some may find the idea of self-marriage strange, but Nicole believes it changed her life for the better.
“As women, the old-fashioned view of marriage can feel like you are giving part of yourself up to your husband, but we should value ourselves and a self-marriage ceremony is a great way to do that.
“I’d encourage people to give it a go, even if it does feel a bit silly. There were times where I thought I was nuts and that nobody else in the world did this sort of thing. But once you learn to love yourself, it ripples out, and makes being kind to others come naturally.”
“Marrying yourself isn’t easy. There are a lot of tears and forgiveness involved, but it’ll also be the most fulfilling thing you ever do.”
Feature image: Unsplash
