Office Romance Diaries: I Met My Husband at Work

Love in the office might come with rules, but for Mojola and her partner, the heart followed its own policy, and it led them to forever.

As I wrap up the Office Romance Diaries series, I am ending on a story that feels like something out of a Nollywood rom-com, only this one is beautifully real. Grab a drink, settle in.

Congratulations on the wedding, MJ! Your story is honestly one of the few I know where someone actually met and married their “work husband.”

[Laughs] Thank you so much. Trust me, I didn’t see it coming at all. I mean, I came to that bank to chase KPIs, but life had other plans. It started so subtly that even I didn’t realize when it got serious.

That’s just beautiful. Anyways, give me the tea. How did you meet your husband? Was it love at first sight or a slow burn?

I think it was a slow burn. We worked in the same bank, just in different departments. I was in Marketing, and he was in Operations. I think we must have walked past each other a hundred times before we even said "hi." But one day, we were both having lunch at the cafeteria, and that’s when we spoke. We started talking over jollof rice and zobo, and that was it; we clicked.

So, love at first chow. Lol. At what point did you realize this could be something more?

I don’t want to sound cliche, but see, when you know, you know. He was thoughtful, intentional, and did I forget to mention he’s super fine? Omo dun! Of course, I wanted more.

Nigerian banks are quite strict with dating policies. How did you manage that?

Ehn, it was like mission impossible. You are not allowed to date a colleague in the same branch, so we were careful at first. Only two of my closest friends at work knew, and even that was after like 4 months of dating. We used to laugh about how our relationship had more NDAs.

So, how long did you two date before you could “go public”?

We dated for a year. He had relocation plans and was actively processing it for us. Marriage conversation had entered the group chat, and even then, we didn’t immediately start shouting from the rooftops. I think we were just so used to being private.

We got married around the time of his resignation.

What’s one thing you’ve learned from falling in love at work?

That real love is calm. It’s not always loud or dramatic. Sometimes, it’s just someone who sees your tired eyes on a Tuesday morning and tells you to take a break. It’s support, friendship, and laughter, even when you can’t post about it.

If you could advise someone in a similar situation, what would it be?

Protect what you’re building. It’s okay to keep things private while they grow.

Not everything needs to be for public consumption. But also be honest with yourselves and have a plan. Love is sweet, but HR isn’t smiling.

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