The Real Housewives of Miami are lucky in love! The season 4 cast has hit the ground running with their feuds but also prominently featured are their relationships. While I’m less than impressed with Alexia Echevarria’s fiancé (now husband), Todd Nepola, one “hosuehusband” seems to stand out. And he’s not even technically a husband yet.
Nicole Martin, a RHOM newbie, introduced us to her “unconventional” family with longtime partner, Anthony Lopez. While Nicole swore up and down marriage didn’t matter, that’s changed. As reported by People, Nicole and Anthony recently got engaged! Anthony, who shares a two year old son with Nicole, popped the question when they were all on a New Year’s Eve trip in Aspen.
Nicole said, “We’ve talked about marriage before. I think we both knew it would happen one day. I just didn’t know that day was coming so soon. It was a total surprise! It was simple and private, and nothing short of perfect. It was early morning on New Year’s Eve and we just woke up. We were cuddling in bed, watching the sun start to rise and glisten on the snow.”
Nicole explained, “Anthony isn’t the most emotional person, but out of nowhere he started sharing some really beautiful sentiments about our lives and relationship — honestly he kind of lost me at this point, because my heart started racing as I realized what was coming, and all I could think was, ‘Oh my god, oh my God … is this really happening right now?!'”
She continued, “The next thing I hear is him say, ‘I don’t want another year to go by without making sure you know that I love you, and I want to spend forever with you.’ And just when I thought my mind was blown, he pulls out the most stunning ring.” Anthony presented her with an antique cushion cut stone on a band of pavè diamonds.
Nicole gushed of the ring, “He knew that it was my favorite cut of diamond. I’m obsessed. The ring is elegant and sleek. I’d call it simple, but it’s hard to use that word when describing a 10-carat stone.” That’s a big ring. But I guess not for Miami standards.
The couple, who have been together for 7 years, met when they were both visiting Las Vegas in 2015. While they didn’t know each other, their friend groups bumped into each other. Said Nicole, “We were walking through the lobby of the Wynn hotel when we ran into some friends from Miami. Anthony, luckily, was part of that group. A few days after returning to Miami, he found my number and reached out. To be honest, I wasn’t interested at first, but after some persistence, I said yes to a date. And after date No. 1, I was hooked.”
But despite being together for so long, Nicole wasn’t totally sold on the idea of marriage. She’s mentioned in confessionals on RHOM that her parents didn’t have a great relationship. And she was married when she was younger but it obviously didn’t work out. Nicole noted, “I’ve never been opposed to the idea of getting married, I just think a lot of people put too much pressure on the concept of marriage and use it as a means of creating security and happiness. Those things don’t come from marriage, they come from inside you.”
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She added, “In my own personal experience, marriage did not mean happily ever after. So instead of focusing on getting married again, I focused my time and energy on what truly matters — being happy and creating a life I love. That has really been my priority these past few years — Anthony and I have a great relationship, we wanted a family and have an amazing son we adore, we are established in our careers, we remodeled our dream house, we traveled and have made incredible memories. Neither of us has prioritized marriage because we have been busy enjoying our lives.”
As far as their engagement is concerned, Nicole admitted, “honestly, nothing has really changed in my eyes. I’m always looking forward to spending time together as a family and making new memories.” Congrats to the happy couple!
TELL US – ARE YOU SURPRISED THEY GOT ENGAGED AFTER HOW MUCH NICOLE TALKED ABOUT THEM NOT WORRYING ABOUT MARRIAGE? DO YOU LIKE NICOLE ON RHOM?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
