The Marriage Avowal Series - Talli Roland - Patience is definitely the key!

Talli Roland says of herself on her blog, "When I'm not slurping coffee or wine, I write humorous romantic fiction." Her best selling novels, The Hating Game, Watching Willow Watts, and Build a Man, are available on Amazon. She is also the author of the 24 HOURS travel guides under the name Marsha Moore. Enjoy her marriage avowals below.

How did you meet your husband?

Ayman and I met my first week in London, on the South Bank. I’d just arrived from Canada and was completely overwhelmed by everything involved with settling into a mega-city without knowing a soul! A transplant to London himself (from Egypt), Ayman quickly became my guide to the wonderful city of London, and I fell in love with both the metropolis and him. Eight years later, I’m still head over heels.

How long have you been married?

We’ve been married for almost three years now, although it feels like longer (and I mean that in a good way!). He is one of the few people I feel completely comfortable with and he knows me so well – which unfortunately means I can’t BS him about much.

How did your husband propose?

It was complete shocker, which I love. I had no idea it was coming! On the night of the fifth anniversary of us meeting, he recreated the whole evening. Then, as we were walking by the Thames in the falling darkness, he brought me to the spot where we’d first kissed, dropped to his knees, and popped the question. I was so stunned, I asked if he was serious.

What is your favorite part about being married to your husband?

Hm . . . I’m going to be completely untraditional here and say that marriage hasn’t added anything to our relationship – it already felt complete without the official ‘contract’ (I’m sorry, I know that sounds clinical!). However, I did love getting together with family and friends and showing the world just how much we want to be together. I guess being married has given our relationship validity in the eyes of society. I’d enjoy being with Ayman just as much even if we weren’t married.

What is the hardest part about being married?

The hardest part of being with someone is all those little things that may seem so innocuous in the beginning, but with time can become very annoying: leaving unwashed dishes in the sink (me!), not returning CDs to the proper cases (me!), and gathering a collection of unwashed coffee mugs on your desk (again, me!). Seriously, though, it’s learning to adjust your way of living and sharing space with another individual that I’ve found the hardest.

What do you think is the “key” to a successful marriage? 

Living with another person is going to be hard, no matter how much you may have in common. I would say patience is definitely the key! Being from two completely different cultures (Canada and Egypt), we’ve also had to learn be very understanding of differences.