Just a child, I was forced to marry a STRANGER

Angela Johnson escaped a polygamous cult, then found love with the only person who understood

- ELEANOR OVENS, JOHANNA BELL

Staring at my ice cream, I couldn't bring myself to look at the boy sitting opposite me. It was May 2003 and, aged 16, it was the first time I'd met Cade, then 19, but while most girls my age would be nervous on a first date, for me, there was much more at stake. Although Cade was a complete stranger to me, in just two days, he'd be my husband.

Growing up in a breakaway Mormon sect - the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) – in Canada, I'd always known I'd marry young. My older sister had married at 15, and now, it was my turn.

The bishop of our 1,500-person community had matched me with Cade, but, as I picked at my sundae, the two of us hardly spoke a word.

When Cade dropped me off at home afterwards, I muttered my thanks and stepped inside, where my mum was waiting by the door. She could hardly contain her excitement, bombarding me with questions about my soon-to-be husband, but I didn't know what to say. Having been brought up being told not to talk to boys and to wear long-sleeved dresses that avoided showing any skin, the thought of getting married was so daunting.

I'd gone to the community's school, kept away from the rest of the world, and only ever left the compound for medical appointments.

Outsiders were called 'gentiles', and we were forbidden from associating with them. With no internet, TV or newspapers, we listened to music created by our own people, and we were told women should obey their husbands and have babies. It was normal for the men to have multiple wives, but I'd only have to marry one person - Cade.