US: 77-yr-old Ohio woman marries herself, says, 'This is what I've always wanted...': Report

A 77-year-old woman from the US state of Ohio married herself in a wedding ceremony surrounded by neighbours, friends and family. According to a report by Today.com on Tuesday (May 16), Dorothy "Dottie" Fideli, a resident of the O’Bannon Terrace Retirement Communityin Goshen married herself on May 13. Fideli asked Rob Geiger, the property manager of her retirement home, to perform the ceremony.

And as Fideli explained what she wanted to do, Geiger jumped at the chance to honour the 77-year-old who always brought joy to other people.

“I said, you know what, I’ve done everything else. Why not? I’m going to marry myself,” Fideli told Today. On the wedding day, she wore a white dress with long sleeves with floral detailing, as well as a silver belt and a veil with an embellished headband.

'I was really nervous, but then...'

Describing her feelings on the wedding day, Dorothy Fideli said she was nervous but then was really happy. When the 77-year-old first had the idea of marrying herself, she thought it might be “just one of my things that I normally do” to uplift other people in her retirement home.

"I do some crazy things around here just to make people laugh. When I see them all down in the dumps, I go get one of my outfits on and dress up and come down, and they smile,” she told Today.

During the wedding ceremony, Fideli held a white lily in her hand and used it as a metaphor for cultivating self-love.

“I said, ‘Everybody takes this outside lily. And they live their life and they think they’re happy and everything’s going to be hunky-dory, but they don’t consider the inside, the little petals inside,” she said.

Fidel got married once in 1965, but there's a catch

Dorothy Fideli got married once in 1965 but never had a formal wedding. Fideli said she and her ex-husband exchanged vows at the justice of the peace and right after the ceremony, “he went to work and I went home.”

“I wore a black dress, so I was doomed before I got started,” she added.

The 77-year-old wished she could have a big wedding, but thought it was too late for her. But as the wedding happened, Fidel couldn't thank her daughter enough for making her dream come true.

"This is the best thing that I’ve ever had, outside of having you kids. This is what I’ve always wanted and I’m so happy that you (the daughter) it to me," she further said.

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