I don’t watch a lot of TV. But when I do, I will watch anything from documentaries, to true crime to romance to comedy.

My biggest vice is watching the reality show,  “Love is Blind”. The premise is simple: go on dates with strangers without seeing what they look like. The objective is to focus on the emotional aspects of a person rather than becoming too focused on their appearances – a major downside to today’s dating world with the use of phone apps. The contestants date through a wall.

For the past few years, I’ve joked with my husband and my friends that this is my favourite “trashy” TV Show. That I know the show is ridiculous but sometimes that ridiculousness balances out the seriousness of the rest of my life.

However, truth be told, my reason for enjoying this show goes beyond this.

As a reflection on Valentine’s Day, I’d like to share a open letter to my amazing husband – to provide some context as to why I like this show and how him loving me the way he does has taught me so much about marriage and life.

Dear Husband,

I used to hate the word “lucky”. I hated when people would say “you’re so lucky to have found your soulmate”, “you’re so lucky to have gotten that job” etc – to me, the word would undermine the hard work people would put in to make a relationship work, to secure a job. It wasn’t a word that made any sense to me.

But I do feel lucky to be married to you. I feel lucky every day.

How we met was so random but I wouldn’t change the uniqueness of it at all. Our love story began in such a special way and it’s a story that I cherish every day.

We met at a quiet karaoke bar. I was alone having my own time because I’d been applying for jobs all day. Music had always been a big part of my life – I had sang since I was only 5 years old, I had dreams to be a singer/songwriter. That night, all I did was google karaoke places.

That simple search led me to you.

You made the effort to tell me to join your friends. You were so humble, telling me what you did for a living. You were so caring – listening to me speak about the work I was doing with young people and the challenges I faced in the role.

We were engrossed in conversation for almost an hour – talking about life and what was important to us.

We exchanged numbers but I wasn’t ready to take a chance at that point in my life. I knew I needed to focus on me.

Even as the months past and we didn’t stay in contact, I never forgot you. I remembered how down to earth you really were.
Something about you just striked me differently.

The next time we met, I knew you were someone I wanted in my life. I just didn’t know in what capacity yet. I was in a very dark place, I felt confused and lost about where my life was heading – both personally and professionally.

But you never stopped listening. You were my friend but you would always tell me I was caring, smart, funny and you even managed to slyly add in that I was pretty too. You always made me feel good when you knew I needed it. You never crossed any lines. You were always respectful.

You encouraged me about the book I was writing. You checked in about how I was doing at work. You checked in about the personal challenges I was facing.

You were there for me when I didn’t believe in myself. You didn’t allow me to disempower myself – you empowered me to learn to stand on my own two feet again.

I know you hate “Love is Blind”. I know you think the show is ridiculous. But I also know how much you love me. Because even when it’s ridiculous, you will sit and try to enjoy it with me. The enjoyment doesn’t last long at all! Haha.

I love “Love is Blind” because it reminds me how I feel in love with you so easily.

You are so much more to me than my hot husband. You are the intelligent man who leads a team of staff in such an admirable way. You are the loving man who left beautiful flowers, specially packaged chocolate, my favourite food and a card with a loving message inside on our bed today.

You are the person who told me to leave that job because I was so miserable.

You are the person who helped me to set better boundaries with other people.

You are the person who told me very early on that you could see I would be a great manager.

You are the reason I am an Acting Manager now.

You are the person who loved me so much that I learnt to truly love myself.

It is easy to believe in falling in love without seeing a person’s face because I always saw you, all of you.

It wasn’t just your face I fell in love with, it was your heart, your intelligence, your humour, even your stubbornness.

I love everything about you. I love that you understand me, that you love me even when I’m tired, I’m hungry, I’m stressed or I’m grumpy.

I love that sometimes you really do know me better than I know myself. (This is rare though!)

Thank you for reminding me every day that true love is really about who someone really is – their values, how they treat others.

Thank you for reminding me that the way I have always lived my life – focusing on the important things – is the way we can truly leave behind a positive legacy.

My love for you and your love for me reminds me every day that our time on Earth is short. That we must cherish the time we have together. We must never waste it on unnecessary disagreements, on things that won’t matter even in days to come.

You are, by far, the best person I have ever known and loving you is easy.

I feel so lucky to be your wife every day.

Happy Valentine’s Day, my amazing husband. Thank you for reminding me every day what truly matters in life.