“She Changed the Trajectory of My Life”: Gent Shares Why He Married His Best Friend of Over 7 Years

• A South African content creator shared a section from his wedding speech about his wife
• He shared that he knew from the first time he saw her that he would know her for the rest of his life
• The video showed different scenes of the couple before they got married, during their relationship, and moments from his wife's pregnancy journey

A young man from the Eastern Cape shared his love story on his TikTok page, starting with how he met his wife, Anika, in their first semester in college. He shared the video about their love story on 8 October 2025 with the caption:

"7 years with my best friend. An extract of our story." The clip went viral, getting over 70,000 reactions and more than 300,000 views.

In the video, the young man explained that his relationship with his wife from Cape Town started out as a friendship before they became a relationship, which turned into a marriage. He quoted George Lopez from the George Lopez sitcom, who once said when asked about how he's so happy in his marriage:

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"I married my best friend. And that is what I did," he said, describing his wife as one of the funniest people he knows, after himself. "She's very funny and also a yapper. She's those people who says the first thing that comes into their mind. She's really loving and compassionate. She changed the trajectory of my life."

He shared an extract from his wedding speech.

"We've had ups and downs, but along the way, you've been my best friend. You're my favourite person in the world and my happiness. I am happy to finally say we are one because of you. From my side, I have become the best version of myself. I still want to be better. I love you now and will always love you till time stands still."

The video showed different scenes of the couple before they got married, when they were just friends, scenes from when they got into a relationship, and moments from his wife's pregnancy journey. There were clips of him recording her at odd times, them spending time with each other's families, and basically enjoying life together. You could see how close they are and how much they love each other.

Mzansi loves their story

People commented on TikTok user @sihledambuza's video, sharing their love for the couple.

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@Sindisiwe Shinga Ndlela said:

"Love is such a beautiful thing ❤️❤"

@Nozizwe Radebe wrote:

"Well, I'm watching this for the fourth time now 🥺🥰🥰Love is so beautiful 😍😍😍"

@King_Nolz shared:

"'I married my best friend' 🥺🥺😍"

@ma_xoli added:

"@TheCityMakoti may God continue to bless your marriage with many more years of joy, peace and many, many memories."

@Nomfundo gushed:

"This is so beautiful, oh my 🥹🥹❤"

@Poni joked:

"'She's the funniest person I know, after me'😭"

@mrsmatabeni said:

"We love you guys so much, happy life till..."

Why do people marry their best friends

According to BrightSide, couples who are best friends have happier marriages. A study showed that married people who have a close friendship with their partner get twice as many well-being benefits from their marriage compared to those who don't.

Researchers asked couples who've been happily married for over 15 years what the number one reason for the success and longevity of their relationship was. The most common answer among the participants was that their partner was also their best friend. The second most common response was that they liked their spouse as a person.

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Watch the TikTok clip below:

Other relationships making waves in SA

• Briefly News recently reported that South African podcaster Sol Phenduka shared his thoughts on Black Coffee and his new girlfriend.
• A South African man's American-Mexican fiancée was stunned to see cattle walking the streets of a township.
• A Cape Town woman shared her mother's beautiful traditional wedding as she remarried, with people flooding the comments saying they wanted the same thing for their own mothers.

Source: Briefly News