She said ‘Yes!”…How Jite Met Her Mr. Right

The new belle of the season, Onajite Emerhor of The Tony Elumelu Foundation, is definitely a blushing bride-to-be, and we thought to share her romantic love story to all this season. Jite will be getting married first half of this year.

How did you two meet?

My sister invited me to a wedding here in Lagos, so I went with her. This was October 19th, 2013. I went to the wedding and then this guy comes up to say hi to her, and she was like, “Meet my sister, Jite…” He was her husband’s friend.

When he left, my sister said, “Don’t you think he is cute?” And I was like, “he’s not bad”.

Then she wanted us to talk with him, and I wondered why. Soon, I started talking with someone else, but he and my sister were gisting and laughing, and at some point, she smacked him and said “Don’t say that.” Apparently, he said something crude.

Later, we exchanged numbers. Honestly, the next day I could not remember what he looked like. Unfortunately, for him he hadn’t called by the next day. He bumped into my sister again at another event and she asked if he had called. He said he hadn’t, that he thought I would be with her.

He finally called the following evening and asked me out.

What was the official first date like?

We went to TerraKulture for a late lunch. It was a terrible date. He was on the phone the whole time. He was always taking calls and apologising, and I thought to myself that I would never see him again. Then on the way home, we gisted some more.

He started singing and he forced me to sing. We ended up having a sing-along. I thought he was cool at that point, so I gave him the second opportunity to redeem himself.

Three things that made you say yes

His relationship with God really inspired me.

He’s very kind. He likes to think he’s not a nice person, but everyone thinks he’s very kind.

He’s very easy on the eyes (laughs).

He makes me feel really good. If I listen to everything he says, I would be flying all around.

Three things he likes about you

He says he likes that I am always dancing, that I burst into random dances. He says I am so free and all that.

He finds me attractive (laughs).

He says I am very hardworking.

Who’s the introvert/extrovert?

He forces me to be the extrovert. He’s introverted. He would rather just be looking around and observing.

Who’s the domestic one?

He’s an obsessive cleaner, but he can’t cook to save his life. I can cook, so we are balanced.

So…how did he pop the question?

(giggles) We’ve been dating for about three years. It was a very quiet proposal, which I really liked. Those Instagram proposals look really nice, but I knew I wouldn’t want one of those.

Basically, we went to church, then we went to have lunch and he came back home with me. He was acting funny. I think he had spoken to my mum earlier that he wanted to talk with them, because of the way my mum just grabbed him and went downstairs to speak with my dad.

I thought to myself that this was out of the ordinary but I figured maybe my mum wanted to pray for him, as they were close. I was getting agitated at some point. When he came back I asked him what that was about, but he said he was hungry. I organised some food and we ate. Then I asked him again if he was going to tell me what was happening. He said we should go and wash our hands.

I took him to my room to wash his hands. He took like hundred years to wash his hands while I was on my phone. Then he came back, took the phone from my hands and went down on his knees….on both knees, by the way! (laughs). He said the real reason he came was to ask my dad for my hand in marriage.

I was just like “ No…no…no!” I don’t like surprises, so I was upset. I started hitting him at some point. Then he brought out the ring and started saying all sort of things. I kept asking him to repeat it, because I did not hear a word. Obviously, I was crying. I used to think I was a hard babe, but I was crying like a baby…I said yes, and he put the ring on my finger.

Where are you planning for your honeymoon?

I have no idea yet.

Tell us about ‘the dress’?

My dress is A-line, ivory colour. That’s all I am going to say.

What  is your plan for Valentine?

Valentine falls close to his birthday so I handle his birthday and he handles Valentine.

How was it last year…?

Last year Valentine, we went to Omu Resort. It was really nice. A fun day out. We had dinner and by the end of the day, I was falling asleep (laughs).

This year, I hope he’ll surprise me. Valentine’s day has always been a day to show me how awesome I am to you (laughs)…I take full treatment…so I am waiting to be surprised.

How would one know when s/he is in love?

Let me not be too preachy. I think love is a feeling yes, but it is also a decision. When you have all the information but you are still willing to invest your time, your life, your energy, efforts into this person…when you take ownership of them as well…their issues are your issues, their joy is your joy.

What does Valentine mean to you?

I feel like everyday should be a consistent show of how much you love the other person.

Who do you hope would catch your bouquet on your wedding day?

Um…that’s a tough one. It’s difficult. If I can throw my bouquet to one person, I think I would go for my friend, Gloria.

Who’s next, people? Comment below: