Online love bears fruit offline – IMAGES

When Chris Njuguna was added to a Whatsapp group to help promote a friend’s music, he was all fired up to get things going. He was an active group member and very outspoken that it was hard to miss him. One other person, he noticed, matched his energy and would post and comment often in the group. Eager to know this other person, he sent a private message.

A student at the time, Tabitha Wanjiru or Shiey Tabz as her friends call her, had also wondered about the new addition to the group. “When he joined the group, he didn’t have any reservations as you would expect of someone getting into a new place,” recalls 25-year-old Tabitha.

When she got a message from him, she took things in her stride. That message sparked a conversation and soon enough the two were incessantly texting. This was in January 2016. Two weeks later, Chris invited members from the group to his church and it was the perfect opportunity to finally meet Tabitha.
“When I texted her, I didn’t think it would amount to anything because our initial conversations were about the group but things just flowed,” says Chris who is an event emcee.

When they met, however, it was as if a connection had been long established that anyone would be have been forgiven for thinking they had known each other for years. However, after that meeting, their communication took a hit for about a month.

“I felt that things were moving too fast. We hadn’t known each other for long yet we had gotten incredibly close,” explains Tabitha.

For Chris or MC Xtian, the hook had been sunk and he could not just let their connection die out. Thankfully, they were able to get things back on track. Although they don’t remember having a conversation about courtship, they both knew that they were headed for marriage. However, they had to wait for Tabitha to finish school that December.

They also encountered another hitch when Tabitha got a job in Naivasha the following year. For the whole of 2017, the two would meet once a month, which they admit was a challenge. “We decided that we had to keep in touch for the sake of our relationship even on days that we had an argument,” reveals Tabitha.

“We were just dating on social media where we met. To date, there hasn’t been a single day we did not text or call and I believe that, and trusting each other, is what helped us,” chimes in Chris.
Fortunately, Tabitha got a job in Nairobi in 2018 and relocated and they could now meet often.
In April 2018, Chris decided to pull a surprise engagement and had his friends from Crossover 101 invited Tabitha to sing on the gospel music show. During her performance, he showed up, got on one knee and popped the question to which a surprised Tabitha said yes.

“It was such a surprise because we’d spoken earlier that day and he’d told me that he was in Murang’a for an event. I had to call my dad after and tell him before he heard the news from elsewhere,” says Tabitha.

“Crossover was actually plan B. Plan A had backfired because she needed to travel home,” shares Chris laughing.

After that, wedding plans were in full swing with family introductions taking place soon after. Unfortunately, before dowry negotiations were complete, Tabitha’s dad passed on in August 2018, forcing them to halt their plans.

Having planned for a February wedding, the two picked up their wedding plans in November, which despite being a bit late, still worked. The two tied the knot on February 16, 2019 at Wadi Gardens, a few meters from Thika town, in front of friends and family.
“We really found favour with God because everything worked out in the end,” says Chris as Tabitha nods in agreement.