These Five Words Made A Groom Cry During His Vows
If you've been keeping up with social media, you might be familiar with the now-viral video circulating of a couple embodying black love goals. The bride was a statesque goddess, her crown of afro hair surrounding her like the queen she was. And her groom who surrendered to the emotions of the moment as he cried tearfully in the middle of his vows. It was a beautiful sight for sore eyes and a beautiful reminder of the power of love.
The couple featured in the video were newlyweds Chris McFadden Jr., 32, and Nicole McFadden, 28. One conversation with the Philly couple and you understand how much of each other's yin is in tune with their yang, a rhythm. Like soul speak.
The couple's love story has humble beginnings. After meeting through a mutual friend while doing volunteer work at a local food desert, Nicole decided to shoot her shot with Chris over Instagram and a couple of strategically placed likes. They felt like home for one another from the jump. Found comfort in their similarities, and security in the fact that they knew they were each other's one.
"I think what I saw in her was what I wanted in a woman and I knew I didn't want to be without her. I saw the passion that she wanted in a relationship and out of me as a man, and I wasn't that person that she wanted as a man, but I saw that she just wanted to pull that out of me," Chris said. "I was looking at her like she wants me to be this person for her, and she really, really, really wants me and I really, really, really want her so I'm gonna be this guy. And it wasn't like a fake the funk vibe, but it was like…I want to grow to this place, so I could be a better man for myself and for her."
On November 11, 2017, the couple said, "I do" under the eyes of God and surrounded by friends and family. Like their love, a particular moment from the ceremony, lives on in the form of a viral video. The 15-second clip spread like wildfire on social media on gossip site pages and black love pages, and showed the blushing bride and her groom as he read his vows. While reading his promises to his wife-to-be, Chris could be seen falling to pieces, overcome with emotions.
It was the official start of their forever. And the gravity and the reality of that could be felt by Chris in that instant. "I was at the last sentence of my vows," he recalled. "It wasn't like I was emotional to the point where I was about to cry while reading my vows. I literally was thinking, 'Let me just get through these vows so I can kiss the bride and we'll be on our merry way. We'll go to the reception, we'll have a party.' But that last line hit me, and it hit my soul like whoa…we're about to get married. I'm spending my life with the woman I love."
Chris continued, "So after, I don't know if you can see in the video, I was kinda trying to be macho, but it was a subconscious thing like whoa, this feels kind of like a soul cleanse. That cry was like clearing up a lot of old me and I just turned into a new me and a new man I'm about to become after I say my vows and kiss the bride and all of that. That's all it was. Like legitimately, it felt like I was shot."
The line that brought him to tears was, "And forever isn't long enough." It struck a chord with him because those five words were a true embodiment of how they feel about their love.
"We said it in both our vows," he said. "I was about to say forever isn't long enough, but I broke down right before I said that."
Despite the attempt of the public to gain control of the narrative, the moment was an emotional time for Nicole as well. In their wedding, the couple had their bridal party walk in to the ceremony to the skits from Lauryn Hill's Miseducation where the students answered the question of, "What is love?" From there, they took a seat on lounge furniture couches. At the altar, on her side, she had her two brothers, and on his side, he had his two sisters. They were the only people standing at their wedding. For them, it symbolized the love they had all their lives from their siblings who always had their back.
"When he broke down, his sisters began to console him and honestly it just all came full circle for me," Nicole explained.
"To see his sisters have his back in that moment, I felt that it would have been selfish for me to interrupt, because I don't know if they feel like I'm taking their brother or they're gaining a sister."
"I saw a moment happening and I respect them too much to interrupt. I'm actually crying in the video. And I look away, because I began to cry more and I look to my brothers, who were behind me, and I look to my bridesmaids, I turn back around…and then like I'm holding my hands really tight and I wanted to touch him, but I know him and if I would've touched him when he was crying, I just felt like a lot of emotions…a lot more emotions would have come about. But the biggest, biggest piece was I saw his sisters consoling him and I didn't want to interrupt that moment. I have the rest of my life to console this man and to take care of this man and to cherish this man. And I know that that was a special moment for his sisters to stand next to him, specifically on that day. I would do the same thing again, despite what people think."
Nicole and Chris made it clear that despite some of the backlash and the unsolicited criticism of their marriage after a weekend reposted on a prominent Instagram account, that their foundation isn't shook. They've spent years cultivating and nurturing their love – people who mind don't matter. "We lost nothing from that day; we had an amazing honeymoon in China and in Thailand. We have amazing careers and we're happy. We just want to change the narrative. We found that a lot of people are reaching out to us just flat out stating like trolls ruined your wedding day, but it's like… no, that still happened. That was amazing, you know what I mean? The internet is not reality. Social media for us has been one of the biggest hurdles of our marriage and we jumped over it easily, in our opinion."
Walked around it, over it, and ultimately through it. A month and a little over a week since making it official, Chris and Nicole are very happy about what spending the rest of their lives looks like. With flourishing careers, a fulfilling home life, dedication to self-work, and traveling every other month – the two soulmates who are lucky in love are ready for wherever life takes them. No timeline necessary.
Congrats Chris and Nicole!
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ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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You're Catching Feelings For Your Guy Friend. Now What?
Let me just start this all off by saying that I will never be the kind of person who thinks that men and women can’t be friends (or that single people and married people can’t be friends). Choosing friends is about looking into someone’s character and how they complement your life; it should never be about their gender or relational status. Don’t get it twisted, though — in order to properly navigate the dynamic between a man and a woman, there are some things that should be pondered and then discussed.
For instance, is the relationship truly platonic? Even though our culture has reduced that word to simply mean that two people are friends and nothing more, the actual definition is that BOTH individuals do not have any type of sexual interest or attraction at all; that only a spiritual kind of love exists. Is that possible? I have a few male friends where that word applies. I won’t lie, though — most of my (unmarried) male friends are more in the lane of, “You could get it. We just value the friendship too much to explore it”…and no, it hasn’t been “game” whenever they’ve brought it up.
Contrary to the notoriously toxic belief of so many folks out here, not every man has coochie on the brain 24/7 and/or lacks self-control and/or is willing to risk it all in order to get some. In fact, not one man in my life is even remotely that shallow.
Now, that doesn’t mean that I don’t get that the line between just friends and possibly more isn’t a tightrope for some friendships from time to time. Like, what happens if the person who ends up “with a little extra,” as far as emotions go for a friend, ends up being you? Even further, what if that question isn’t even close to being rhetorical because it’s something that you’re experiencing right at this very moment, and you’re not exactly sure what you should do about it?
If that’s the case, have no fear. I think I might be able to offer up a bit of insight that can get you through the (potential) internal stress of what happens when you look up one day and it really does seem like, out of nowhere, you suddenly want your guy friend to become something…more.
What Kind of Friendship Is It?
GiphySo before we talk about anything else, the first thing that you should get clear on is the type of friendship that you’re in. What I mean by that is, although we tend to use “friend” to cover all of the bases of someone who we’re not romantically involved with (or isn’t a relative or we can’t stand — and chile,don’t even get me started on frenemies), the reality is that friendships definitely have levels to them (check out “Always Remember That Friendships Have 'Levels' To Them”).
Like,is he a work friend? Is he a church friend? Is he someone you’ve recently gotten to know over the past couple of months? Is he an online friend? Or is it deeper, like a guy who you’ve been friends with for a couple of years now or someone who you used to have in the friend zone (check out “Before You 'Friend Zone' Someone, Read This.”)? Or — and lawd have mercy, if so — is he your best friend, and you’re starting to see him in a completely different light?
Do you see how, just breaking down some of these friendship dynamics, the situations are quite different? For instance, if you have feelings for a co-worker friend, you’ve got to take into consideration what your work environment will be like if the two of you date and it ultimately doesn’t work out. If he’s an online friend (especially if he’s in another city, state, or country), the risk of potential rejection probably won’t be as impactful as if you have to see him every weekend at church.
If he’s someone you already put into the friend zone, I’m gonna tell you right now that if he has any sort of self-esteem, you’re gonna have to eat a few slices of humble pie to get him to entertain being more than friends (because guys tend to move on once they find out that they fall into that space). And if he’s your best friend? Well, while it probably won’t cost you your friendship, it could make things awkward for a while at best or shift the relationship a bit at worst.
That’s why I definitely think that getting real about the kind of friendship you have with the guy is what you should get mentally cleared up first. Then, we can move on to the next thing.
What Do You Want to Come from the Matter?
GiphyAnyway, because I do have a nice circle of male friends, many of whom are single or divorced, I get asked often if it’s hard to be just friends with them. It’s not because I really like what we have as being friends only. There is a type of intimacy and balance of energies that come from a male-female friendship that you can never get from same-sex ones. I value it all too much to risk it. What I want from my male friends — a certain level of protection (because I’m single), insight from a male perspective, doing things that my female friends may not want to do, etc. — I get…and that’s worth more than seeing if the sex would be bomb or if we should try something more and it end up being a bad decision that we can’t come back from.
That’s me, though. That doesn’t have to be you and your guy friend. For example, what if what you want is to explore a sexual relationship (check out “5 Things You Should Ask Yourself Before Having Sex with A Friend”) because you can’t seem to get sex with him out of your head? For better or for worse, chile, back when I was out in these sex streets, that was pretty much my pattern: sex with close friends (check out “14 Lessons I've Learned From 14 Sex Partners”), and it’s not an impossible feat.
You’ve just got to be real with yourself about whether that’s truly all that you want and if you can handle it gracefully if things don’t go as planned (check out “How To Preserve Your Friendship After BAD Casual Sex”) or the sex is so good that now you can’t decide if you’re into him or just into…it. Oh, and don’t even get me started on if he’s seeing other people (because all you wanted was sex…right?). Yeah, a movie that I like calledSleeping with Other People has a scene where a woman is mad that her casual sex partner is sleeping around. His response was on-point: “Keeping our arrangement doesn’t make me an as-hole, but it does make you a liar.” #checkmate
That’s just one example to emphasize the point that, yes, you need to figure out what you want to come from your more-than-just-friends feelings. Do you just want to get it off of your chest and you’re not sure if you want or need to do anything more than that? Do you want just sex? Would you like to go on a few dates to see ifthe chemistry is mutual? Are you “deeply in” and you’re hoping that he feels the same way so that you two can have a full-blown relationship?
Listen, I have watched enough relationships in my lifetime to know that when it comes to something that needs to be as thoughtfully approached as this, it’s not fair to share your feelings with someone and then expect them to know what you want to come from doing so. You need to know…first. So before bringing it to him, figure it out on your own.
Tell Him the Deal. No Hinting Around.
GiphyAlthough timing and delivery matter, I don’t know one man who isn’t a “straight no-chaser” type of individual. This means no hinting around. No guessing games. No 50 million questions to try and see if he likes you first. I promise you that all of these approaches are off-putting to guys and will get them to mentally and emotionally tap out before you get around to making your point. Besides, if he’s a FRIEND friend, you should be able to express your genuine feelings — and honestly, this is a huge plus to telling him: you will be able to see how mature he is when it comes to handling matters of the heart.
Can there be a reason to not tell your guy friend how you feel? I mean, honestly, if you’re avoiding it, I’m assuming that it’s mostly due to fear, and trying to maintain anything with fear as your “fuel,” ultimately, isn’t going to get you anywhere. Plus, the more that you suppress what is going on inside of you, the more it’s going to alter the energy between the two of you, and that could cause unnecessary stress and strain to where either you start unnecessarily projecting things onto him, or he wants to spend less time around you because you’re making him feel as uncomfortable as you are.
Are there any exceptions to this? Eh. If you’re more like good acquaintances than actual friends, perhaps. Personally, though, I think that solid friendships are rooted in honesty — and how can you claim that you’ve got a healthy friendship with someone if you’re holding something as big back as having feelings for them away from them? Logically, it just doesn’t make much sense.
Prepare Yourself for His Response. And Don’t Penalize the Friendship If He Doesn’t Feel the Same Way.
GiphyOnce you tell him, for the most part, there are three ways that telling him can go: he can like you back, he can want some time and space to consider the possibilities, or he can not be interested. Let’s briefly unpack all three.
Liking you back...
So, what if you tell him how you feel, and he feels the same way (or something close)? My two cents would be for the two of you to still go slowly. Where I’ve seen many mess up is they think that they can go from friend to more-than-friends in two days or less, and that’s super unrealistic. Meaning, someone having feelings for you, too doesn't mean that they can, should, or will automatically stop seeing other people or that you two can or should immediately start becoming intimate.
Take some time to really discuss each other’s feelings, thoughts, and expectations — and what you guys should do trying to move into a different relational space ultimately proves to not be the best thing for one or both of you. If anything should take the “ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” approach, it’s friends who are transitioning into something more — or else.
Wanting time and space...
Going from friends to potentially something different is a lot like shifting gears in a car — and if you move too fast, you can strip them. That said, just because you’ve been sitting with your feelings for a while, it’s not fair to want to rush him after he finds out. Whether he wants time and space to figure out how he feels about your feelings or time and space from you altogether — both are warranted.
Should it be for weeks with no contact? Not if he’s a good friend. On the other hand, should you pressure him into making you feel at ease about what he’s just now learning? Eh. You might want to go to another friend to help you out with that. I mean, how would you feel if the shoe was on the other foot? Right…exactly.
He's not interested...
No one likes rejection; that’s real. At the same time, though, it’s not fair to penalize him if he doesn’t feel the same way that you do. Clearly, if he’s your friend (especially a close friend), he adores and values you on some level. However, if that’s not romantically, try and be emotionally mature enough to know and then accept that not wanting all of what you desire from the relationship doesn’t mean that he doesn’t want you in his life at all.
At the end of the day, if it’s too hard to be his friend when you want something else, you’ve got to do what’s best for you. Just make sure that you’re not going to lose a great person in your life because your ego got bruised or your pride couldn’t handle him not reciprocating what you were offering. It’s not fair, and it could end up costing you…A LOT. Take the kind of space you need to redirect your focus. If he loves you, he’ll be there when you get…back.
___
I’ve developed feelings for a friend before; more than once. Was it always easy to work through? Not always. My friendships always survived it, though — whether the feelings were reciprocated or not. And it was because we valued the friendship too much to lose it.
And honestly, I think that is one of the best things to come out of having feelings for a friend: you end up finding out just how solid the bond actually is. And in a world where really good friends are hard to come by…that can never not be a good thing.
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