A Nigerian couple, Dr. Emmanuel Joseph and his longtime sweetheart, Grace Akpan, have captured hearts across social media after walking down the aisle, 18 years after they first met as teenagers in secondary school.
The lovebirds, who met in SS1 back in 2007, sealed their union on October 11, 2025, in a colourful ceremony held in Akwa Ibom State, surrounded by family, friends, and well-wishers.
To mark their inspiring love story, the couple recreated one of their earliest photographs taken during their secondary school days. The recreated picture, shared by Grace on Facebook, has since gone viral, attracting admiration and emotional reactions from users nationwide.
In an emotional post accompanying the photos, Grace flashback about their teenage years, recalling how Emmanuel’s “cuteness and intelligence” first caught her attention when he transferred to her school.
She posted,” My SS1 LOVER till Jesus comes..He kept to his words..
“He told me I would be his wife, the statement has turned into reality.
18years ago, This man came to our school to start his senior secondary school classes. I couldn’t help but notice his cuteness and intelligence.
She recalled being smitten by Emmanuel’s “cuteness and intelligence” when he transferred to her school, adding that his persistence and charm eventually won her heart.
“Everyone had something good to say about him. Back then in class, this young man didn’t allow me rest, he was always looking towards my direction, smiling at me each time we had eye contact.”
Grace said that despite teenage fears of “getting pregnant and ruining her future,” she kept Emmanuel close as a reading partner, a friendship that deepened over the years.
“Begging for my notes when he had nothing to copy🤣🤣🤣. His boldness and aura didn’t start today. I fell in love with him the first day he walked up to my locker in class and introduced himself. His voiced stirred up something in me. The day he wrote me a letter to be his girlfriend, I couldn’t sleep, I read the letter at night over and over again, smiling at each words in it but I still made him begged for it😂 atlast i accepted to be his reading partner n friend. This is because my mum had told me if i have a boyfriend in sec sch i will get pregnant n my future will scatter, mehn, i kept emma close. From class prefect/assistant to school prefects. We became the talked about couple of the school.
“I remember when i went home from school to tell my Aunty (my second mum) aunty Ofonmbuk that I’ve a new friend that he is very intelligent n i will love to be reading with him, aunty ofon ask me to invite him home so she can check if he is a good boy cuz she doesn’t want anyone spoiling her daughter, so i invited him n my Aunty called him EBE EYEN on their first meeting then 2017, chai
“Dearest Aunty Ofonmbuk thanks for supporting us n always advising us to be good n make u proud, today you are not here to witness our union 😭😭😭😭 but I’m sure you are proud of us… we love u my Aunty n Mum.
“This young man has showed me nothing but true love for the past 18years. In his words he will always say ‘Baby please don’t go anywhere, I am your husband’.
“They say men are Scum, but he has proven otherwise. Thanks for staying true my king.. Thanks for 18 years of Undiluted love and Understanding. It has always been you from the beginning now let’s make it a forever deal.”
Dr. Emmanuel, now a medical practitioner, and Grace, a businesswoman, have been praised by many Nigerians for their loyalty and perseverance.