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In News

Couple with Down Syndrome celebrate 28th wedding anniversary

September 11, 2020 No Comments

The world’s longest married couple with Down Syndrome have reached a new milestone. The pair are celebrating 28 years of marriage, and are more in love than ever.

Gareth Tobias (56), and wife Deana (58) have been together ever since they met as teenagers at their local community centre in 1981, reports The Sun.

“I thought he was nice and he liked me because he thought I was good looking,” Deans told the outlet.

“We got engaged when we were on holiday in Blackpool, it was on my birthday and it was me that proposed to him, but I knew he wanted to get married.

They tied the knot in 1992 after an 11-year relationship and have lived in Penrith, Cumbia ever since. Like any couple, they have had their ups and downs. However, the good far outweighs the bad.

“We are together all the time except when he is at work and we have lots of laughs and we look after each other,” said Deana.

Gareth added: “When I’m not working we go to the club together and play dominoes. I like a pint of bitter and Deana has a Wkd Blue. We’re very happy together.”

Their neighbours and community have embraced them too. Gareth’s sister Julie Titterington explained that the couple are famous in the area.

“They’re well known in Penrith and people look out for them, especially at the club and The Lounge where they also like to pop in for a drink. As the years have gone on they do a little bit less than they did.”

Congratulations to the happy couple!

Picture: Pexels

In News

New South African wedding show causes controversy

September 11, 2020 No Comments

A new South African wedding show that premiered on Sunday [September 6] on popular channel Moja Love is caught up in controversy as a young writer is alleging the channel stole the concept from her. She is now considering taking legal action against the channel.

‘You Promised To Marry Me’ is Moja Love’s latest offering. Hosted by rapper turned on-air personality Jub Jub Molemo Maarohanye, it helps disgruntled individuals confront their romantic partners over why they have not fulfilled their promise to walk down the aisle. Host Jub Jub brings the bride, dressed in her wedding finery, to her hesitant groom to confront him and the drama ensues.

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However, upcoming TV writer Masilive Tati from Durban alleges she was the original creator of the concept, and the channel stole it from her after she submitted a proposal to them twice in June.

“Early in June I saw an advert that Moja Love needs proposals for new TV shows. I ran the idea past my younger sister and I thought it was a good idea since there was nothing like that on television,” she told The Star.

“The show was to provide a platform for women to ask the question undishada nini (when are you marrying me) and to find out if they’ve been living on empty promises in those long-term relationships.”

Head of Moja Love Bokani Moyo denied Tati’s claims and says that none of the proposals submitted during June have been processed as they receive a large volume every day

“From the proposals submitted thus far the channel has not selected any. As the amount of proposals is overwhelming and we are in the process of setting up a dedicated committee to manage the workflow,” he told The Star.

“The channel has been working on the show format for You Promised to Marry Me since last year as a spin off of Uyajola 9/9.”

Tati is adamant that they have stolen her idea, but admits it was not protected by copyright.

“I didn’t think it would have been necessary at that point and I don’t have any knowledge on how these things work. I am definitely seeking legal advice on the matter. I am hoping that Moja Love can credit me or compensate me.”

Picture: Pexels

In Celebs

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively celebrate eight years of marriage

September 10, 2020 No Comments

Actors Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively recently reached their eight year wedding anniversary.

The private pair have not shared any pictures or sweet messages to one another on social media, but we’re sure this fun-loving couple is celebrating in secret.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BmehTFVje2P/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

The famous lovers met and became friends on the set of their 2010 film Green Lantern. A year later, they accidentally started dating through a double date.

“We went on a double date. She was on a date with another guy, and I was on a date with another girl — and that was, like, the most awkward date for the respective parties because we were just like fireworks coming across,” Reynolds told Entertainment Weekly’s SiriusXM show

They married in 2012, controversially choosing South Carolina’s Boone Hall Plantation as their wedding venue.

Since then, the pair have welcomed three daughters: James (3) Inez (1) and the latest addition to their family, Betty. The couple seem as loved-up as ever.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1l_7IRhWH7/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Feature image: Instagram / Blake Lively

In Celebs

Lily Allen and David Harbour tie the knot in Vegas

September 10, 2020 No Comments

Tinseltown has a newly married celebrity couple. Singer Lily Allen said ‘I do’ to Stranger Things star David Harbour in a secret Las Vegas ceremony on Monday, September 7.

They celebs exchanged vows at the Graceland Wedding Chapel. In true Vegas fashion, they even had an Elvis impersonator officiate the wedding. This wedding location proves popular with celebs, as both Jon Bon Jovi and Billy Ray Cyrus have tied the knot here previously.

Allen and Harbour took to Instagram to share some snaps from their special day.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CE7KngMnprf/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

The singer went casual with a boat neck double-breasted Dior dress and tulle veil for the nuptials. Harbour wore a simple black suit.

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It seems the pair took their informal reception to popular burger joint In-n-Out.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CE7G0FfM6MX/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Allen and Harbour, who plays Hopper in popular Netflix show Stranger Things, made their relationship public in 2019.

This is Allen’s second marriage. She was previously married to Sam Cooper from 2011 to 2018, and they share two children named Ethel (8) and Marnie (7).

Congrats to the happy couple!

Feature image: Instagram/Lily Allen

In News

Meet the real ‘Runaway Bride’: Jennifer Wilbanks

September 9, 2020 No Comments

Megastar Julia Roberts is a fan favourite across the world. She has starred in iconic films like ‘Pretty Woman’, ‘Erin Brockovich’ and ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’.

Interestingly enough, her 1999 film ‘Runaway Bride’ seems to have inspired some real life events. In 2005 a woman named Jennifer Wilbanks left her then-fiancé John Mason days before they were meant to say ‘I do’, and her story of what happened is truly wild.

Wilbanks and Mason had planned a lavish affair, featuring a 28-member wedding party and over 600 wedding guests.

Jennifer Wilbanks and John Mason. Credit: Pinterest

It seemed like tragedy struck when the bride suddenly vanished without a trace in the days leading up to their wedding. Her disappearance sparked a nationwide manhunt, with family and friends expressing that Wilbanks is simply not the type to just run off.

It turned out her family was wrong.

A few days after her disappearance, Wilbanks called her fiancé on a pay phone and told him she had been taken hostage while out for a run. She alleged a couple had driven her from Duluth, Georgia to Albuquerque, New Mexico where they proceeded to sexually assault her in a van. Her kidnappers allegedly released her a few days later.

However, this harrowing tale was not true. Wilbanks later recanted her story once the FBI got involved, and admitted she had left Georgia willingly on a bus due to personal issues.

Her false abduction story earned Wilbanks two years of probation, 120 hours of community service and ongoing mental-health counselling. She also had to pay back some of the costs the sheriff’s office incurred while searching for her. Today reports that the search party cost the sheriff’s department $60 000.

Mason moved on from the ordeal and married a woman named Shelly Martin in 2008. Wilbanks appears to have gotten her happily-ever-after too. She has been in a long term relationship with a man named Greg Hutson since 2010.

Feature image: Pinterest

In Celebs

Princess Beatrice’s wedding dress to go on display

September 9, 2020 No Comments

Eager fans of the British monarchy may now witness another famed Royal wedding dress up close. Princess Beatrice’s vintage wedding gown will go on display at Windsor Castle later this month.

The exhibition will be available to the public from September 24 through November 22. Both the dress and a silk replica of Princess Beatrice’s flowers will be included in the exhibition.

Almost two months after their planned wedding date, Princess Beatrice and entrepreneur Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi tied the knot in a small, private ceremony at Windsor on Friday, July 17 at the Royal Chapel of All Saints. They had their closest family members in attendance, including her Majesty the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, and the Duke and Duchess of York.

For her big day, the Princess wore a stunning vintage dress by Norman Hartnell and accessorised with the Queen Mary diamond fringe tiara, both belonging to Her Majesty the Queen. The tiara was worn by Queen Elizabeth on her wedding day in 1947.

She carried a bouquet of trailing jasmine, pale pink and cream sweet peas, royal porcelain ivory spray roses, pink o’hara garden roses, pink wax flower and baby pink astible. Of course, she had a sprig of myrtle in it as well to continue royal tradition.

The wedding dress had been slightly altered and modernised for the big day.

“The full-skirted silhouette was softened to give a more contemporary, simplified shape, and the underskirt and petticoats were recreated and bound with silk tulle. Short sleeves of triple organza were added to the straps and embroidered with vintage diamantés to match the original Hartnell embroidery design,” reads a statement about the new exhibition.

Feature image: Instagram / The Royal Family

In News

Newlyweds pose for extreme photoshoot on cliff edge

September 9, 2020 No Comments

A wedding is an exciting day, one that you’ll (hopefully) want to remember forever. This newly married couple made their wedding photoshoot even more memorable with a thrilling location and heart-racing idea.

Adventure-seeking Arkansas couple Ryan (30) and Skye Myers (28) were forced to downsize their wedding amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Having sacrificed a lot on their big day, they wanted something bold for their wedding photoshoot.

“We wanted a big wedding, but had minimal time to plan it because Skye started nursing school, and with the pandemic regulations we were having difficulties deciding on how to proceed with a wedding,” Ryan told The Daily Mail.

“That’s when we started looking at gorgeous iconic spots for an outside ceremony, so that it would be magical and memorable.”

The pair travelled to the popular Hawksbill Crag Cliff on the Whitaker Point hiking trail after their union. Captured by photographer Mason Gardner, they posed for some daring images at the cliff’s edge. In one image, Skye leans dangerously over the edge. In another, it was revealed she was wearing a safety harness underneath her gown.

Posted by Mason Gardner on Tuesday, 18 August 2020

According to Ryan, everyone present for the shoot was well-trained in climbing.

He told The Daily Mail: ‘Our crew was made up of myself, my best man Gage, Skye and her sister Summer, one rappelling expert and our photographer, who was amazing!’

Picture: Unsplash

In Legal & Administration

Concourt to rectify legislation regarding black marriages

September 8, 2020 No Comments

The Constitutional court of South Africa will meet later in September to discuss the legislative issue related to marriages between black couples that took place before 1988 in which they married out of community of property.

In the late 1980s, Apartheid was still formally in effect and this legislation on marriage fell under the Black Administration Act (BAA). This legislative anomaly goes against South African law that stipulates couples automatically enter into a marriage contract in community of property, unless another option is chosen.

The Legal Resources Centre (LRC) is bringing this issue to Concourt on behalf of 72-year-old Agnes Sithole, a housewife in Kwazulu-Natal. Sithole is in a dire situation and faces a major financial loss.

Sithole married in 1972, and only discovered their marriage contract was out of community of property in 2018, reports IOL. Her husband is now threatening to sell their family home, and the law is technically on his side because of their marriage contract.

The LRC is taking the matter to court to have the legislation struck down for being unfairly discriminatory towards women, specifically women of colour. They also want all marriages entered into under the BAA to be declared in community of property. Those who want to remain out of community of property should be given the opportunity to opt out.

For many who married out of community of property under the BAA, the women were adversely affected. The LRC argues that black women in particular were unfairly discriminated against in comparison with other women through this.

“The BAA unfairly discriminated against black women compared with other women,” said the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) in papers it filed at the apex court for the matter.

“Under Section 22(6), the default position for black couples was marriage out of community of property. By contrast, the law regulating civil marriages between couples of all other races provided that the default position was marriage in community of property,” they wrote in court papers filed on the matter.

“The BAA had the result that black women were afforded less protection than other women.”

They estimate that 400 000 other African women married before 1988 could be in a similar situation to Sithole.

“The amendments have failed to bring real, effective or meaningful relief to black women married subject to Section 22(6) of the BAA,” the LRC said.

Picture: Unsplash

In Celebs

Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka celebrate sixth anniversary

September 7, 2020 No Comments

Actor Neil Patrick Harris and his partner David Burtka recently celebrated six years of marriage.

The loved-up couple took to Instagram to write sweet messages of devotion to one another on their special day.

“Six years ago. Perhaps the happiest day of my life. Since then, thousands of memories. No regrets. Thank you, David, for both creating and rocking my world. I am forever #grateful,” wrote Harris.

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Burtka brought the love with his own sweet words: “Six years ago today @nph and I got hitched. Thanks for dancing into my heart. I can’t believe you stuck around after all these years of me annoying you. ? You have made my heart complete. Thank you for the best times of my life.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CEzyGDOBiNj/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

The pair met in 2004 and quickly became friends. Burtka eventually called it quits with his long-distance partner and the pair went on their first date to see Taking Lives starring Angelina Jolie. Thereafter, they quickly became inseparable.

Burtka proposed to Harris in 2007 on the street corner where they met for the first time. “We were on our way to an event at an Indian casino 45 minutes out of town in a limousine, and David wanted to stop for some reason that I didn’t quite get … And then he got on one knee and proposed, and I was so freaked out by it that I said, ‘Yes,’ but I didn’t know what it meant. Then I got the ring and loved it,” Harris told Out Magazine.

Since they hadn’t yet married, Harris proposed to Burtka the next year on Valentines Day. After two years of being engaged, the pair welcomed their twins, son Gideon Scott and daughter Harper Grace.

They finally tied the knot in a wedding ceremony in Perugia, Italy in 2014. Elton John performed, and both grooms wore looked amazing in Tom Ford tuxedos.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BnZQILmB0oo/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Feature image: Instagram / Neil Patrick Harris

In News

Engagement rings survive San Francisco wildfires

September 7, 2020 No Comments

The California wildfires left devastation as it burned through various parts of the state. In San Francisco, a couple and their children lost everything when flames taller than trees engulfed their home in August. However all was not lost, as they recently discovered their engagement rings survived the fire.

Jason and Chloe Caroll were forced to evacuate their Vacaville home with their two young sons as the LNU Lightning Complex fires ravaged the area. In their haste, they left their wedding rings behind in a basket in their bathroom. When they returned to retrieve the rings two days later, they found their home had burnt down to the ground.

They thought they lost all their possessions but while sifting through the rubble, Chloe’s aunt Denise discovered their rings exactly where the bathroom once stood.

“I didn’t imagine something can be discovered, and I believed if it was discovered, it would be melted to nothing,” Jason told LadBible.

“I thought for sure they’d be gone. I thought they’d be melted,” added Chloe. “I acquired one thing that I believed was utterly gone. It offers you a bit of ‘we can do this’. It offers you a bit of hope.”

Picture: Unsplash