P-Square recorded Aly’s proposal to Sylvia

His story
Word has been making rounds that you proposed to Sylvia. Is this true?
Yes, it is. I proposed to Sylvia on July 24.

Congratulations. How did the proposal go?
On that night I proposed, I told her to dress up because I wanted to take her out. Before we left the house, I played a clip on TV that had a personal message recorded for her from P-Square and shortly afterwards, I got down on my knee and asked her to be my wife.

How did you get P-Square to record that message?
I had previously flown down to South Africa for the MTV Africa Music Awards and had met P-Square. Since Sylvia loves the duo, I had them record a clip of her favourite song, No One Like You. After the song, they said: “Sylvia, Aly has a very special message for you, so listen to what he has to say.” It was shortly afterwards, that I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me.
Sylvia: I was so confused at the time. I did not know what was going on. He had to do a take two (propose all over again).

How were you feeling at the moment?
I was a little nervous but I think every man proposing to his girlfriend has to be. But all in all, I was prepared to do it and she said yes.

Before I forget, I read somewhere that you also had an engagement party shortly afterwards. Is this so?
Yes, we did. There were two engagement ceremonies. A traditional visit (kukyala) at her father’s house and the other was an engagement party hosted by my parents.

Were all the engagement ceremonies held on the same day?
Yes, on August 14. Shortly after the kukyala, we went to my parents’ house.

How did you tell your parents about the relationship?
I just told them that I was dating someone.

How did they react?
They were very supportive and they wanted to meet her. They all got along so well afterwards.

Now that the proposal and engagement parties are done, is there going to be a wedding?
Yes, we will be getting married next year.

That aside, let’s go back to how this whole relationship started. How did you two meet?
We met at a party hosted by a mutual friend. We got along from the beginning. We chatted the whole night.

When was this?
That was in early 2011.

Was there anything that struck you about Sylvia that night?
Yes, obviously Sylvia is beautiful but it was her charm and sense of humour that struck me the most.

How did things go on from then?
Eventually, we became good friends and stayed that way for three years before we started dating. We were actually friends before she became Miss Uganda in 2011.
Sylvia: He was one of the people who encouraged me to contest after stating that I was one of the most beautiful and intelligent girls he had ever met. That I was the kind of girl they were looking for and all I had to do was contest.

At what point did you tell her that you liked her?
There was a night we went out, had an amazing time and we totally hit it off. By this time, we were both single. So we expressed our feelings towards each other. I think we both knew that we were attracted to one another, so it made things easy. Since then, we have never looked back.

When was this?
It was early 2014.

Did you ever tell her about your past relationships?
Of course, we both knew about each other’s past relationships. It is important to be transparent with your partner.

By the way, which nationality are you?
I am Canadian but I have been living in Uganda for more than 12 years. My stay was influenced by the constant visits I made to my father who was living between Uganda and Canada.

For the time you have been here, have you experienced any culture shock?
Not anymore. I have been here for so long now.

So far, have you encountered any problems as an interracial couple?
We have not faced any major challenges as yet. We know that we are happy together. So, what other people say or think about our relationship does not bother us.

Where are you planning to stay once you start a family?
Definitely here. Uganda is my home away from home.

Her story
The Sylvia I see in the papers is quite different from the one I am seeing right now. Are we missing out on anything?
I am expecting. I am some few months along now.

How many months exactly?
About five.

And how are you finding the experience so far?
At times, it is funny when you see your body changing and you are like: “What’s going on?” But Aly is very supportive. He has bought me books; we have gone through parenting stuff on the Internet as well as gone for counselling together since this is to be our first child.

Was having a baby a decision that you both made?
Yes, it was.

Back to you and Aly. How did you break the news of the relationship to your family?
Aly and I first discussed the issue of involving parents once we were very comfortable with the relationship. We actually wanted to break the news to our respective families last year but then my father and his parents were not around. So, we pushed it to January this year. I simply told my father that I had been seeing someone and that we were now in a committed relationship. In addition to that, I told my father that I wanted them to meet.

How did your father respond?
My dad was very concerned. Of course, being a pastor, he wanted to meet this Muslim man I was dating. He asked about his background and what he does. I explained and afterwards my father stated that he was interested in meeting him.

How did they meet eventually?
I actually met his parents first before he met my father during an arranged dinner.

What sort of questions did his parents ask you during that first meeting?
They were interested to know what I do, my passion in life, my background, family, interests, if I am a serious person with their son, things like that.

Experienced any culture shock yet?
Not really. Aly comes from a very English family and they are Ismaili Muslims. I have not found any problem with their culture or religion.

How would you describe Aly?
He is very interesting and fun to be around. He is the kind of person who wants to see other people happy. He will do anything for his family and friends. Aly is such a caring and kind person. He is an awesome person.
Despite the good bits about him, is there anything he does that irritates you?
His work sometimes spills over to our personal time. For instance, there are times we are out together and suddenly, he gets an emergency call and his phone just won’t stop ringing. Sometimes, I even wish that people would just stop calling for a moment because my goodness, his phone is always buzzing. Aly is a total workaholic. But despite that, he is very hardworking and passionate about his work.

Speaking of work, what does his job entail?
As the chief executive officer at Talent Africa, part of his work involves managing artistes, among other things.

What have you learnt about love so far from this dating experience?
I have learnt that we tend to waste a lot of time with the wrong people and yet the right ones are just there right in your face. I mean, Aly was right there all the time. We only had to put our fears aside and then take it from there.

You mention fears. What were you afraid of?
The media mostly. We kept the relationship under wraps for so long. We had to first tell family, friends second before eventually letting it out there. We did not know how the media would take it. But surprisingly, we have not really received any sort of negative feedback. The other thing was the perception that the public had about Aly. They termed him as this bad boy. Meanwhile, most people did not really know much about me. So they kept weighing, is this a good or bad match? Are they serious?

Your thoughts on that public perception about Aly being branded a bad boy ...
If you do not know Aly, you will take what the media portrays him to be. Most of the stuff they say about him is false. People misinterpret his association with artistes by saying all sorts of things, including dating them. They say this just because he is always with musicians and at times takes pictures with them. But if you know him personally, he is different. I know this because I have known him for quite a while now. Besides, I am not a fan of bad boys. I have never dated one either.

By the way, do you call him by his name when you are together?
I do not normally call him Aly. I call him babe and he calls me the same. Sometimes we call each other meep, which is a cartoon.

What’s babe’s favourite food?
It is Sunday Chicken. It is prepared with corn sauce and cooked in a unique way. It was a delicacy that used to be prepared by his grandmother before she passed on.

Do you have any relationship mentors?
My father and uncles advise me from time to time. But at the end of the day, a relationship is between two people. They are the ones who make or break it. You do not have to let so much of the outside dictate how your relationship should be.

How do you deal with conflict in your relationship?
We talk about stuff. We have learnt to air out our issues in a calm loving way. There is no need to always be confrontational because at times, situations can get misinterpreted.

As we wind up, where do you see yourselves in the next, say five years?
Obviously we shall be married by then with either one or more children.