Our story technically began in February 2017, when I joined Andela. We both worked there, but we only knew of each other—we never actually spoke during my nearly two years at the company. So, truthfully, our story didn’t begin until September 2020, when he walked through my door. (And yes, you now know what to say when someone insists, "You can’t meet your husband at home." 😉)

He was on a mini Euro tour, and a mutual friend mentioned that he’d be visiting Munich. I had a game night planned, so I invited him over. Needless to say, I won—not just the game, but also the heart of a certain man.

The day after game night, I offered to show him around Munich. We started at my place, where I noticed he was clearly unprepared for the Munich winds. So, I gave him the biggest sweatshirt I had, and off we went. We explored Nymphenburg Palace and Hirschgarten together, feeding the deers and seeing the sights.

When we returned, I made him tea and gave him some of my food, and we settled in to watch Peter Pan . Horrified by the racism of early Disney but still happy, we had a memorable evening.

After that, we kept talking. He’s great with languages, so he helped me with my German assignments. By December, Munich had gone into full lockdown again, and we decided to take a leap: we’d spend the lockdown together. During that time, we realized that this works.

We managed long-distance for four months, and then I moved to Berlin for work. (Let me emphasize: I moved for work! 😅) Our relationship was filled with all the ups and downs that come with learning each other along the way, but it was beautiful.

Four years later, Rotimi decided he was tired of being called “boyfriend.” After a brief five minutes as my fiancé, the man couldn’t wait to be called “husband.” And honestly, I’m terrible at saying no to him, so here we are.

There’s a saying—I’m pretty sure I didn’t make this up—that wherever your relationship is going, it will get there faster on a tandem bicycle. For us, that tandem bicycle was the decision to spend lockdown together. Difficult and unorthodox as it was, I’m grateful for it. I’m grateful that our relationship grew and evolved at its own pace.

I wish I could share every memory, every moment of our story, but my editor insists I keep this brief.

I first met Delores at Andela in 2017. I remember being stunned by how pretty she was, but at the time, I had other worries—like finishing my simulations and checkpoint project—so love was on the back burner. We knew each other because we worked at the same company (duh), but we weren’t close at all—just the occasional random "hello" or "hi" here and there.

I remember when she moved to Germany in 2018; I was genuinely happy for her because moving abroad was such a big milestone. In 2020, I moved to Berlin, and during my first vacation in September, I took the opportunity to travel around Germany. I visited five cities—Frankfurt, Mainz, Heidelberg, Munich, and Cologne. Knowing Delores was now in Munich, I told her I was in town, and she invited me over for a game night at her place. It was so much fun, and I had a great time. I remember being pleasantly surprised at how hospitable and kind she was to me, especially since we weren’t close then.

After I went back to Berlin, we kept in touch. It was surprisingly easy because I could tell she was interested in me—she would randomly send me messages throughout the day, which quickly became the highlight of my day.

By December, when another lockdown was announced in Munich, we decided to take a leap. Delores came to Berlin to spend Christmas with me. 🌚

Since then, it’s been an incredible journey with her. She’s a wonderful, funny, brilliant (and sometimes annoying smh) person to be with.

I can’t wait to build a future with her, to share our dreams, and to call her my wife. My heart is full of gratitude that fate brought us together, and I’ll spend the rest of my life making her as happy as she makes me.

Love you, Schatz. 😘