You know how in the movies the guy always seems to catch his girlfriend by surprise when he drops to one knee and presents her with a gorgeous, probably way out of his budget diamond ring? Yeah, that's not really how life works.
Sure, sometimes it can be a total "oh-my-gosh-I-never-saw-that-coming!" moment, but for the most part couples don't just get engaged when one person decides it's time.
After all, if someone just springs a ring on their partner without any notice or forewarning, that's just asking for a rejection. It needs to be the right moment for both of you.
Again, it's not just up to one person to decide the relationship is ready to move forward into a marriage. You can't just expect your partner to read your mind and go out to buy you a ring when you haven't made it crystal clear that's exactly what you want from them.
Communication, as always, is key.
For one woman, the waiting game simply became one she had no interest in playing anymore. And after eight long years of waiting for her boyfriend to drop down to one knee and propose, she decided enough was enough.
She was going to take matters into her own hands...by filing a lawsuit against her cold-footed beau.
As the news outlet Tuko reported, the wannabe-bride didn't just conjure this idea of an eventual marriage out of nowhere. In fact, she's been led to believe that's where their relationship is heading.
As she told a Zambian court, her 28-year-old boyfriend had actually promised he would marry her one day.
More than that, Gertrude is tired of living at her parents' home with the child that she and Herbert had together, while he lives by himself in his own home.
In fact, the two have never stayed together in the history of their 8-year relationship.
“He has never been serious," she told the court, "that is why I bought him to court because I deserve to know the way forward and our future."
Gertrude told the court that her beloved Herb has not been faithful. In fact, she revealed that he's been sending text messages to another woman behind her back.
So not only is he refusing to marry her, but she also claims that he's being disloyal to her, too.
Known as a "lobola", this is meant to be a type of fee paid to his bride-to-be's family to show his appreciation for how well they raised her. Typically the lobola is in monetary form if provided in urban cities, and livestock if the exchange is made in rural areas.
However, when it came time for Herbert to defend himself before the court, he explained that he still has every intention of marry Gertrude, the mother of his child. But the problem is that he doesn't have enough money right now to afford a wedding.
However, despite the cases made by both individuals, there wasn't much the Zambian court could do for the couple, since they aren't married.
In fact, the only real advice the presiding judge could give to Gertrude and Herbert was to try and reconcile their differences themselves outside of court.
This all took place earlier this month, so perhaps soon we'll learn whether Herbert finally proposed to his impatient bride-to-be or if he's continued to drag his feet.
But until we know for sure, we're curious to know what you think about this one! Have you ever heard of someone taking their partner to court for not proposing? Was Gertrude acting crazy or has she definitely waited long enough? Let us know!
h/t: Tuko
