Nicola and Antonella had been married a short time, but their “dream” already seemed to have faded away. She was focused on her pregnancy, and he on his father’s illness. They were close, but their hearts grew farther and farther apart.
“Our marriage had become oppressive, something I wanted to escape,” Nicola says. After 7 years and two children, they separated. Nicola had a five-year relationship with another woman, but in the end, it all fell apart: He couldn’t find happiness there either.
Nicola fell into a depression, but precisely in the darkest moment… “The Lord opened my eyes: I’d been searching high and low for love, but the woman who gave me her love had always been near me.”
Antonella and Nicola decided to try to rebuild their marriage with the help of Retrouvaille, a Christian association for couples in crisis. Antonella said, “I wasn’t able to go back to being with Nicola because I felt it in my heart, but because I’d made a decision.” They learned to dialogue, to share their deepest feelings.
They renewed their wedding vows before God, because only He could give them the strength to forgive and love each other every day. They’ve been back together for six years: “A relationship can have a major crisis, but if you face it, it can become more beautiful than before. As in the Gospel of the Wedding at Cana, the best wine is the one which is served at the end.”