From AS to Always: "We stopped talking for a while when we found out we were both AS. A gentle nudge made me retake a genotype test and now we’re here."
When Ademola met Gbemi while she was cleaning church, his first thought was, “Who’s this fine girl cleaning church? She looks like wife material.” From that awkward introduction to a genotype scare and a COVID-era friendship, their love story blossomed—rooted in trust, godliness, and deep intentionality.
In this episode of Church Boy Meets Church Girl, we sat down with Ademola and Gbemi as they shared how their journey from strangers to lovers was shaped by friendship, accountability, communication, and divine timing. They gave us the tea on fears, finances, and navigating young love in the church.
How did you guys meet?
Ademola: I saw her one Sunday morning before service. She was wearing a green blouse with a black camisole, cleaning the church. I just thought, “She’s a fine girl o. Who is this fine girl cleaning the church? She looks like she’ll be wife material.” I walked up to her and introduced myself after asking for her name.
Gbemi: I don’t even remember what I was wearing that day! I had just joined the church then, not yet a worker. I only attended service early because of my sister and was about to start membership class. That morning, I decided to help with the sanitation unit. He walked up to me and said, “My name is Demola.” I was confused, like, “Okayyy… why are you telling me your name?” I didn’t remember him after, but that intro stuck with me.
Interesting! Looks like I need to start cleaning church 😅 So how did things move forward after that?
Ademola: I kept looking out for her in church, but she had a clique, and I didn’t have the courage to approach her around them. Then COVID happened, and we started streaming services. We were in the same MAP (Meet and Pray) group and used to attend services from our centers. I was in the photography unit and saw her at one of our meetings. I took her picture and used it to start a conversation. After service, I looked for her and we exchanged IG handles, but didn’t talk much at first—I’m a patient person.
Gbemi: I remember seeing him at that MAP meeting and instantly remembered that first interaction. We didn’t talk much on IG, but I remember when we started talking on the phone.
There were robberies going on in Agbado, where I stayed, and my best friend asked for prayers from our MAP group. He reached out to check on me and said he’d call after service. That short call turned into even longer calls.
Love in a pandemic! What happened after that?
Gbemi: I liked him from that MAP meeting. He could sing, and I remember thinking his voice was finer than his face 😂. He studied Chemistry and was doing ICAN, so I thought, “This guy must be smart.”
Our calls confirmed my feelings—I could tell he liked me too, but thennnn...
Ademola: Let me take it from here. I really liked her too. One day during a conversation, she mentioned she wasn’t feeling well. I asked if she was AS because I am too. She said yes. My heart broke.
I stopped talking to her. I felt like the only way to get over it was to distance myself and move on. Then someone else came into the picture...
Gbemi: Omooo! Men!!!
Ademola: Wait oo! Before you judge me, it was COVID—everyone was bored 😅. I met someone else on Twitter, we got talking, but it didn’t work out.
Gbemi: I was hurt that he ghosted me. I started to move on. Then one day, I decided to take a genotype test and my friend followed me. Turns out, I was AA! I didn’t even know how to feel. My friend told me to send it to him and change my WhatsApp status to show it only to him. He responded immediately and came to see me that same day. That’s how we started talking again.
From AS to AA! Shoutout to that friend! 😅 So how did things progress from there?
Gbemi: After that, we started talking again. It was clear we still liked each other, but I needed time. I was already moving on when he ghosted, so I had to think. He told me he wanted to see me after church on November 1st, and I suspected he was going to ask me out. Then he sent me an email instead—I replied that I needed time to pray.
Ademola: I had prayed and spoken to people I trust, and I was convinced she was the one. I sent the mail because I didn’t have the courage to ask in person—I for just dey ramble 😂. Glad I went with the mail.
Hard girl! What did you do before saying yes?
Gbemi: I asked questions. Lifegiva blog had this list of questions to ask before entering a relationship—I asked all of them. I said yes in January 2021.
What was dating like compared to the talking stage?
Ademola: It was tough at first. We weren’t friends for long before dating, so we had to build friendship in the relationship. We had personality differences—she’s a chat person, I’m a call person. I even thought, “Shey this girl doesn’t like me ni? But she said she likes me now” 😂
But it wasn’t toxic. I knew she was kind, stable, and godly. We spoke about our vision for the future. She was the first person I shared my music with. She shared her passion for makeup. Those tough times built our bond. We were accountable and dated for 3 years.
Gbemi: It was new terrain. He’s expressive, I wasn’t. He’d expect a paragraph for “how are you?” 😩 it wasn’t something I was used to but I learnt. My mindset was: if we’re both in it, then we’ll make it work.
How did you know it was time to propose?
Ademola: I always knew I was going to marry her. From the beginning, I was 80% sure. Dating her sealed it—she was patient, didn’t pressure me. In this generation, that’s rare.
Did you have fears about marrying young?
Ademola: We dated for 3 years and it would’ve been sooner if I had money 😅. But no major fears.
Gbemi: Me, I had fears o. I never planned to marry young. I wanted money and a car. I told my course mates I’d marry after getting a car.
In 2022, I started desiring marriage and prayed about it. God told me 2023 was money year, 2024 for marriage. I had trauma from my parents’ marriage and growing up. But God showed me money isn’t everything.
That year, my business won a grant. Then he texted that he wanted to marry me in 2024. I still has fears but I held onto God’s word.
What does support look like for you both in marriage? And how have you handled finances?
Ademola: We’ve been building together since. I was earning 100k, she was jobless, but we still talked about marriage. She believed in me. I believed in her. We’ve watched each other grow and seen God do wonders with our lives.
Support looks like meeting each other’s needs. She wakes early to cook even though it’s tough. I have chores too, except cooking😂
Support is about preferring the other person.
Gbemi: I believe in him so much. I’ve always known he’d blow. I decided to support him however I can. Marriage is about giving your best at every time. Reently, he’s been the one doing the most support. I woke up one morning and I saw that he restocked something. He’s been so helpful. My goal is to give my best to both him and his ministry.
What advice would you give to church boys and girls entering or already in a relationship?
Ademola: Love each other. A lot of us are coming from trauma - out of 10 people, maybe 8 didn’t grow up in perfect homes and it affects our relationships. Relationships expose our flaws. It’s important to heal from trauma.
Love the Lord and choose His word as the law over your home. Fear God and genuinely love your partner.
Don’t be playing games, you’re too old for that. If you’re not ready, break it.
And if you try, e no work out, please break the relationship.
Gbemi: Find God. Find yourself. Heal, learn, grow. Embrace your season—you’ll cook food tire and answer questions 😂. Enjoy yourself. It’s the good version of you someone will fall in love with.
On a scale of 1–10, how would you rate your love life?
Ademola: 10/10—but it’ll only get better.
Gbemi: 10/10. I absolutely love this man.
You can always tell CCI people easily. Lover reading this! Strong homes in motion❤️
My chwest. This was a beautiful read!