Mia and I got married on 29 August 2026, surrounded by around 100 family members and friends.
Six years earlier, we were two teenagers who had met through a group at Keech Hospice.
Neither of us imagined that one day we would get married!
Our first meeting
Mia and I were both diagnosed with serious health conditions when we were 12 years old. I have a life-limiting heart condition and Mia had stage three thyroid cancer.
After our diagnoses, we were both referred to Keech Hospice for support. At the time, the children’s team ran a girls’ group for young people living with serious and life-limiting conditions. It was a brilliant way to meet other girls our age who understood some of what we were going through, make friends and have fun away from hospitals and treatment.
We first met on a weekend trip to Center Parcs in 2019. We were only together for a day, but something just clicked. We became best friends, spending the next nine months going on day trips, having sleepovers and laughing together.
Eventually, we realised we were more than friends and started dating. We’d only been together for about a month when we started talking about getting married. We just knew we wanted to spend our lives together.
Saying yes
I proposed to Mia in May 2024, during a weekend away in Manchester for her 21st birthday. We’d talked about getting married for years, but we’d always thought we’d buy a house first. Then I started thinking about my health and realised that life doesn’t always go to plan. I didn’t want us to put off something important just because we felt we had to do things in the right order.
So, on the Saturday morning, I asked Mia to marry me. I hadn’t told anyone except one friend, so we got to share the news with our families afterwards. Everyone was so lovely about it.
We celebrated with dinner and partied till 4am!
There’s a tradition among some same-sex couples that both partners propose. A few months later, at Brighton Pride, Mia proposed to me too.
We got married at Aldwickbury Park Golf Club in Harpenden. Both our dads gave us away. It was exactly the kind of day we’d dreamed about. As part of the celebrations, we wanted to do something special to thank the charity that played such an important role in bringing us together. So, we put a fundraising collection box on the bar for our guests to donate to Keech Hospice.
The support that made such a difference
Keech was a huge part of my childhood. I received support there from the age of 13 to 18, including respite care and help with my education.
The respite stays gave my mum and me a break, and I have some lovely memories of the summer fetes. One of the volunteers was a maths teacher, and Keech arranged tutoring with them that helped me pass my GCSEs. I also had art therapy every week for two years. I loved it so much that it inspired me to want to become an art therapist myself.
The nurses were amazing, too. They taught me different ways to cope with my condition, and one even taught me to crochet, which I still do today.
Mia had music therapy at Keech, and we both made memories there that we’ll always treasure. It made a pretty rubbish time so much better and helped us see the sunlight at the end of the hospital corridor. But best of all, it brought me and Mia together.
Making the most of life
My heart condition is something I live with every day. I have regular assessments to monitor my health, and I’ll likely need a transplant in the future. Mia is thankfully in remission from cancer, although she’ll need thyroid medication for the rest of her life.
We know that our future might look different from the one other couples expect. We talk openly about the possibility that we might not get the chance to grow old together. We also have plans for our future, including buying a house and starting a family.
We want to make the most of every day we have together.
Watch Aaliyah's and Mia's interview on ITV Anglia West
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