Couple celebrate 31 years after meeting on POST’s Lonely Hearts

WHEN 15-year-old Zulfia responded to the POST’s Lonely Hearts column in 1993 “just for fun”, little did she know she would meet Fazil, her future husband.

- MONISKA GOVENDER

Now, 31 years, two children and one grandchild later, they share their amazing love story and attribute their lasting love to that fateful column.

Fazil, 53, and Zulfia Abbas, 48, celebrated their wedding anniversary on March 26.

Due to ill health, Fazil retired early but always had Zulfia to fall back on for love and support.

Now living in Phoenix, the couple first met in 1993 when Fazil was 20 and Zulfia was 15. Zulfia was originally from Tongaat, while Fazil was from Howick and worked as a truck driver. Their love story started when Zulfia was still in school.

She said she was curious about the POST’s Lonely Hearts column, which everyone was talking about.

“At that time, I was in Grade 10, and baking.”

Two months later, she received a brown envelope with 11 replies but only replied to one.

“I only wrote to them to school the next day to show my friends. Well, from all those 11, I chose only one to reply to as I was attracted to him because of his description. He said he had long hair and that used to be a ‘thing’ back in the day. Our correspondence wasn’t intended for love or marriage. But that’s where it ended,” said Zulfia. They met after she responded to him.

“He came home to see me. My parents were not pleased, but after much convincing they allowed us to meet under their supervision in our yard through the chocolate. We had lunch and got to know each other. After that, we spoke late into the night a bit. He visited me every weekend with friends and me either. They also wrote love letters to each other daily. I remember showing my friends months after we got married.”

However, her parents were upset with her choice.

“They wanted me to finish school and then think about marriage. My parents were not too happy with the decisions I made but I insisted, and they finally gave in and let me live my life,” she said.