‘I don’t know why IT’S a Taboo’
Sevil Thomas, 42, lives with her partner, personal trainer Leighton Smith, 35, and their daughter Kiara, 21 months.
Deep down, I know I don’t need a wedding to know we’ll be together forever, but there is still that girly part of me that wants to be a princess on my big day. I don’t believe there are girl jobs and boy jobs anymore. That’s why I reckon, just as I take the bins out, so should I be able to propose. Plus, I don’t think my partner is going to pop the question any time soon.
We met in a gym eight years ago when we were both studying to be personal trainers. We got together about four months later. I proposed shortly after we found out we were having a baby. He probably wasn’t expecting it. But I was shocked when he said no. He explained he doesn’t believe in marriage. Since then I’ve proposed at least once a year and he says no every time.
I understand why he doesn’t want to wed. He’s seen so many marriages break up. And we’re already there for each other, for better or worse. But I will keep on proposing to him! Nowadays, it is fine for the mum to be the breadwinner and for society to accept stay-at-home dads, yet when it comes to proposals, we’re stuck in the Middle Ages. I don’t understand why there is a taboo around it.
Leighton says: I’m traditional and normally it’s a man who asks his other half to marry him, not the other way around. But I think marriage is a waste of time. We’re really happy together. I believe in the saying, ‘If it ain’t broke, why fix it?’