A 77-year-old American woman from Ohio has fulfilled her long-time dream by marrying herself.
Dorothy ‘Dotty’ Fideli celebrated self-love during a wedding ceremony at her retirement home on May 13.
Dottie, a mother of three and grandmother of several, was first married in 1965 but it ended nine years later.
However, after being single for 40 years now, he finally did it for self-love.
Fideli told US NBC affiliate WLWT Five: ‘It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I wanted to get married and live a happy life but things didn’t work out that way and now I have a second chance to do something that will make me happy.’
The wedding took place at the O’Bannon Terrace Retirement Home in Goshen, Ohio, in an emotional and symbolic ceremony attended by family and friends.
Fideli was initially advised to marry himself by neighbors who heard about a woman doing the same thing on a talk show, reports WLWT Five Channel.
She said in an interview with US Today: ‘I do some crazy things to make people laugh. When I see them all in trouble, I put on one of my dresses and come down dressed and they all smile.’
But their plan to cheer up the residents of the retirement home on Saturday turned out to be an emotional and symbolic event.
For her first wedding in 1965, Fideli and her ex-husband married in a courthouse, but shortly after the ceremony he went to work and Fideli returned home.
Fideli joked: ‘I wore black so I was doomed before I even started.’
Fideli added that she had always wanted to have a ‘big wedding ceremony but then thought it was ‘too late.’
But the dream was made possible by his daughter, Donna Pennington, who cooked all the food for the big day and decorated the retirement home’s community room with balloons.
Fideli wore a white wedding dress with long sleeves and a silver sash with a white mesh embellished veil attached to a headband.
He told TODAY: ‘I told my daughter it was the best thing that ever happened to me after my children. This is what I always wanted and I am very happy that you gave me this (gift).’
Like any bride, the 77-year-old woman was a bit nervous before her wedding, but in the end, she is now truly happy to be married to herself.
According to TODAY, the ceremony was officiated by the property manager of the retirement home, with Fideli holding white lilies as a symbol of self-love.
He said, ‘Every bride has lily flowers in her hands. And they go about their lives and they think they’re happy and everything is going to be like the Hanky Dory song, but they don’t think about the little petals inside it all.’
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According to him: ‘It’s what’s inside that matters. This is where God’s love comes from. This is where you get wisdom and it gives you hope. And no one takes the time to think about it.
‘So that’s what I did and I’d appreciate it if you all would do that and think about it that way.’
After devoting most of her time to raising her family, Fideli said she is at a point in her life where she should do what she wants to do.
According to him: ‘Love, affection is the most important thing in this world and if you love God and love yourself, this world will become paradise.’
She added that she hopes her story will inspire others to find themselves.
According to him: ‘If it is not their priority to do that, then there is something that will fill their lives with happiness and they will be able to find themselves in life and fulfill their soul.’