Interracial Marriage

Zukiswa & Omar -
Phalaborwa, Northern Province, South Africa

Engaged April 2017

She Liked His “Sincere Bravado”

Just before meeting Zukiswa on our site, Omar was nearly ready to write off his quest for love. “My enthusiasm was low,” he says, to put it mildly. “I’d tried several sites and was about to give up!”

In fact, he even reached out to our customer service representatives for help. As Omar remembers it, “I wrote to you in frustration, but you encouraged me!”

That’s the big takeaway for Omar, and one he wants to communicate to singles who feel as though their search for love isn’t getting anywhere. “Work hard and communicate with the site for advice,” he suggests. “I nearly gave up! Be patient, accept setbacks and have faith that love is around the corner. The Internet does the spade work!”

Zukiswa, the woman who turned it all around for Omar, remembers how this story started for her. She says she posted a profile on our site because her busy schedule demanded it. “I could not find time to go out!” she laments. “So I thought I’d try Internet dating and see if it worked…” Even so, she didn’t have a lot of optimism. Quite the opposite, in fact. “I had little hope,” she tells us.

About two months into Zukiswa’s membership, Omar reached out to her. His profile had been posted for 20 days at this point. Hers blew him away. Omar was ready to reach out. “I had seen enough on the website to make my decision,” he explains. “So I wrote to Zukiswa and got a response a few hours later. A few messages later, after about three days, she gave me her cell number.”

Zukiswa liked Omar’s introductory message and adds “the photos helped to complete the picture (no pun intended).” Many factors contributed to their initial attraction, but Zukiswa lists “maturity and dress sense,” while Omar highlights “her devotion to God and respectable appearance.”

Then, as the pair interacted online and via phone, more positive traits emerged. Her soothing voice and easy laughter” put Omar at ease. His “sense of humor, sincerity and intellect” impressed Zukiswa. The more they communicated, the more they liked each other.

The time eventually came to take this long-distance relationship to the next level, so the newly minted couple met at Pietermaritzburg Lodge and spent two nights there. “It was a thrill to come face to face,” Omar beams. “I thought she would be different from her photos, but she was exactly the same, except her height.” She says that in that first joyful moment she “jumped into his arms!”

Neither person expected that their conversation would flow so easily or that they’d be so comfortable sharing each other’s company. “We took to each other like we met 10 years earlier!” exclaims Zukiswa. “We have to thank the site for building the connection.”

During one of many long walks, hand in hand, their bond felt solidified. “No doubt,” Zukiswa confirms. “It was sealed the minute we met!”

But did any obstacles arise, along the way? “I never had any, and it’s unbelievable!” marvels Zukiswa. “He is all I wanted.”

Omar is overjoyed to have met his match. He describes the feeling of having this essential part of his happiness squared away. “You see the value in each other,” he says. “You savor the feeling of having someone who enjoys your attention, and you want to give it to them… I could not have asked for anything better.”

Eventually Zukiswa started dropping hints about marriage. “I closed my eyes and threw the ball in his court,” she laughs. Omar was ready. “I threw caution to the wind, mixed with sincere bravado,” he says. “She told me not to struggle trying to prove myself, because it is all right!”

Now that they’re engaged, the couple seems excited about what the future holds. “I am on cloud nine!” proclaims Zukiswa. Her fiancé says that thanks to this relationship, he is now “grounded and focused.”

Here are Omar’s parting thoughts to those on our site. “If you are determined to work through adversity, it should not be impossible,” he reflects. “At the end of the day, we all have weaknesses to accept. Accept each other’s.”

His bride-to-be has this to say. “Never give up, be positive and honest. Response is vital, any way you choose [to proceed].”

For this couple, the only obstacle was taking the first step. So forge ahead!

Click here to read more inspiring interracial marriage stories.