We have a new love story for you all. I hope you enjoy this new Couple Spotlight with Diony and William. 

What are your names?

Our names are Diony and William.

How did you meet?

He is 42 I am 31. We met years ago but we were in different relationships. I would see him around with mutual friends, but we lost touch over the years. One day, my best friend and I went to the renaissance fair – it is a big event down here. That’s where I saw him again. He still had the same smile and laugh, he forgot my name due to time going by but I remembered him. I yelled his name and walked up to speak with him. We flirted with each other and I demanded a date out of him. He agreed. We were both surprised because I was so forward. Fast forward to now, we have a beautiful son and we’re getting married in December.

What are your cultural/ethnic backgrounds?

He is Irish, Scottish, French and Acadian. I am African American, Cherokee and Creole.

Did either of you find the dating process challenging?

He did not find the process of dating a challenge, but I was worried due to racism in my past relationships. His family welcomed me instantly and his parents love my attitude and humor. The fears were completely on my side but everything has worked out. I refuse to pay attention to the racism and ignorance of others.

Given the current political climate, was dating interracially challenging? Did you find that your political leanings were a barrier at all? 

Political barriers are non-existent for us. We both agree on our disdain for the current administration. We do not have as many challenges with dating as I once did in my past relationships, I do worry for my son, as he is biracial. Like me, he will deal with racism from all sides unfortunately.

For the lady, did you ever find that you had a dry spell in the dating process? If so, how did you get yourself out there again?

The dry spell was basically me staying single until I was ready to date again. I was in an abusive relationship and had a miscarriage from the abuse and stress. I needed to heal and love myself more before loving my future partner. I went to therapy, wrote in my journal and stayed away from negative people. It was not enjoyable but it was necessary. Hanging out with my best friend definitely helped me move forward, and the elderly ladies at church definitely dropped knowledge for me. I am not crossing them at all! I basically hand picked a village and I grew from the love that they gave me.

For the lady, do you feel that your skin tone made it challenging to date as a whole? If so, how did you overcome that?

My skin tone presents many challenges in my life but with my fiancé it has no bearing on him, nor our relationship. He is mature and loving and will not let anything stop him from loving our son and me. In the past, my skin tone affected everything. I looked too white for black people, too black for white people. I basically towed a line alone but I became stronger. I overcame that with music. Once everyone heard my voice, they did not care what I was or how I looked. 

Where are you now in your relationship?

Our relationship status now is that we are engaged! We will be getting married soon and we are so excited!

When did you know it was going somewhere?

I knew three months in. My feelings were becoming stronger but I fought them out of fear of rushing and repeating the past. I held off, and he did too, but in the end I could not fight it. He is such a nerdy gentleman and we connected on so many things. He was waiting until 6 months and out of fear he started to pull away. It hurt my feelings a bit so I talked to him. We put our feelings on the table and decided that we could get through the fears together. We managed to do so with a lot of conversations and patience.

Do you feel that your location is really welcoming of interracial couples?

We live in Louisiana, in the South. Given the awful racial history, we know and can feel that not everyone is welcoming. However, we do not care about that. I am too old to worry about the ignorant opinions of others. We are staying in the USA, but we definitely plan to travel soon. 

What is your ideal date?

My ideal date is a simple and romantic dinner, a movie and lots of ice cream and cake!

What is the best thing that you like about each other?

The best thing I love about him, is his rationale and his ability to figure things out quickly. His humor is top notch. He can give and take jokes so well. Sometimes, he gets confused when my New Orleans accent comes out and he needs to process what I say, but we get along really well. 

What is the best part about being together?

The best thing about being together is the calmness. We get to close the doors and settle down knowing that we make our house and hearts each other’s home. We rescue each other. I get misty eyed just writing this. 

What is your favourite shared memory?

Our shared memory is meeting again, and me telling him I was pregnant. Our son is a miracle; and he is an amazing father.

Thank you so much for reading this story. That is all for today. Please visit the blog again for the second half of this couple spotlight. If you are interested in participating in this Couple Spotlight, contact Christelyn, leave a comment below, or e-mail me at [email protected].