Remember “African Bae”, the fine as wine entrepreneur whose “man on the street” photo went viral?
Well ladies, he’s finally found the woman of his dreams, and the newlyweds have ESSENCE to thank for that.
Nana Kwame first made waves on social media as the hunky entrepreneur walking the streets of New York City in traditional Ghanaian garb. Tons of virtual admirers flooded Nana Kwame’s inbox to shoot their shot, but only one woman was destined to steal his heart: a London-based accountant named Nafatarie who lived over 3,000 miles away.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bucdv7fndqd/
After coming across news that our beloved “African Bae” had fallen in love thanks to his feature on ESSENCE.com, we reached out to Nana Kwame and his new wife Nafatarie about their romance. If this doesn’t make you believe in true love, we don’t know what will.
Nafatarie told us that her admiration of her future husband went more than skin deep. “After reviewing his page (as we ladies do), I came across his ESSENCE interview,” she says. “I was attracted to his strong focus as an entrepreneur with his business Purple Moss Paradise, especially coming from a business background myself.”
Kwame had been getting loads of attention from his viral moment, but there was something about Nafatarie that stood out from the pack. “The main things that stood out when Naf reached out to me was her intelligence, level of confidence and nurturing spirit. She seemed to be the woman I was waiting to attract,” Kwame told ESSENCE exclusively. “She offered to use her skills as an accountant to help me with my business and that was amazing because I immediately saw that she would be a perfect balance for me even [professionally.] No one else even came close after that.”
After initiating conversations online and via phone, Nana Kwame flew to London to meet Nafatarie for their first date. “We had such beautiful conversation and bonded so well that we completely didn’t realize that the restaurant was closing,” she remembers. “It literally felt like we knew each other in a past life.”
“Naf is SUPER down to earth and has a genuine love for her culture and people,” Kwame says of his wife, who is of Jamaican and Guyanese decent. “As a result of that grounding her virtue stood out. It isn’t easy to trust someone that lives 3,459 miles from you in a relationship, but she made it easy because of her nature as a true Empress.”
Kwame and Nafatarie maintained a long distance relationship for three long years. Separated by two different times zones, Kwame decided it was time to take their relationship to the next step.
“I proposed at a family event,” Kwame says. “She didn’t think I would be present because I made her think I had to work. I surprised her with a ring I had hand crafted with Adrinka symbols while i was in Ghana. She was completely surprised, and the tears started flowing from her eyes. It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life.”
Nana Kwame and Nafatarie recently wed in a beautiful City Hall ceremony and are living in Florida. “We are planning our spiritual union thoroughly for the near future and the Essence family is certainly invited as our guests of honour,” Nafatarie reveals.”This magazine played a major role in us uniting and being one.”
P.S. – Kwame and Nafatarie are now partners in love and in business. Their company, Purple Moss Paradise, infuses Purple sea moss and shea butter for the ultimate skincare treat. They are in the midst of planning their official launch.
