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Woman weds fiancé she left to marry herself after self-marriage helps with her insecurities

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A woman who called off her wedding and married herself instead has come full circle - tying the knot with her original fiance and vowing to celebrate the anniversaries of both her nuptials, which fall just days apart.

Nicole Russo, 39, was delighted when Paulo de Souza, 35, asked her to marry him in October 2013, just two and a half years after they met when he worked as a cleaner at her office.

Plagued by insecurity a year later, the wellness centre boss broke off their engagement.

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"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'," says Nicole. 

On 4 October 2014, Nicole decided to marry herself - reciting her vows into a mirror and even buying herself a ring. 

She says, "It just represents to me always committing to honouring my own needs and wishes. And always committing to stopping and listening to what my own needs and wishes are.

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Self-marriage worked miracles for Nicole, whose insecurities were banished. In March 2018, she rekindled her romance with Paulo, now a construction worker, and on some months ago, they said 'I do' in front of 100 loved-ones.

Still honouring her marriage to herself, Nicole chose to also commit to Paulo.

"A couple of years ago when I talked about it I felt very weird and funny because it was sort of like nobody talked about that stuff, and nobody really did that stuff. But now it's trendy and cool," says Nicole.

"Everybody wants to know the story and everybody wants to know how I got there and what I did. So it's one of the reasons why I'm sharing it now because I feel like it's things that other people have gone through and other people could use help with," she adds.

Compiled by Phelokazi Mbude

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