Valentine's Day: Blogger Naomi D'Souza Jacob on getting hitched during a pandemic

Valentine’s Day 2021 has a special significance for award-winning Dubai-based content creator Naomi D’Souza Jacob, who featured in the #Hot100 most influential Asians & Influencers list by a local magazine in 2017, 2018 and 2019, and has other accolades to her credit. This is the first Valentine’s she will be celebrating as a newly-wed with her husband Jacob Thomas. Naomi and Jacob called off their dream wedding last year due to Covid but tied the knot in a simple court ceremony early this year. Naomi, a mechanical engineer whose day job is that of a Digital Strategist but whose passion is blogging on food and other lifestyle topics, opened up to us about how she plans to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year.

HOW I MET MY HUSBAND

Jake and I met first in 2010, as school kids. We just brushed shoulders with each other at a paintball gathering with mutual friends. We then first met (properly) on July 26, 2015, at the office, during our first job, as colleagues (he was an electrical engineer, and I was a mechanical engineer). For the first few weeks we did not speak at all, just looked at each other while passing through the corridor or at the pantry. It was only when our colleague introduced us during lunch that we actually started speaking. The conversations eventually grew, and we found out we both were dating other people. We helped each other out in bettering relationships; I gave him the woman’s point of view and he gave me the guy’s.

As we started getting closer, we started going out for lunches and desserts (we both LOVE desserts)! A few months later, our office had organised a desert safari, and that’s when we grew closer! We were coincidentally put together in the back of a Land Cruiser and were stuck with each other for hours. Jake and I spoke about everything under the stars, from horoscopes, music, mutual friends, ghosts, activities we like and dislike, career goals, relationships, everything! After the desert safari I could not stop thinking about the conversations we had in general, how responsive he was when I speak, how we could not stop talking for hours, and how a guy like this even exists! I felt I had started developing a tiny crush on him but brushed it off immediately. A few months later, we both left the company and we lost touch (I guess the quote ‘Right Person, Wrong Time’ was apt for this situation).

Fast forward to March 31, 2017, we planned to meet at a lounge. When I saw him I couldn’t help but give him the tightest hug! We hung out for a few hours that night, and from that day we only grew closer! We went for our first candle-lit date-night to the Burj Khalifa mid-April, and I was waiting for him to make a move (he didn’t), we went for sushi the next day (still didn’t make a move), and then went for breakfast (still made no move). The flirting grew, all types of kiss emojis grew too, my crush on him grew, and so did my impatience. Whoever knows me knows I’m not very patient, so I told him we needed to talk. We eventually did on April 19 2017, and that’s when we first started dating.

I GOT HITCHED DURING A PANDEMIC

Jake proposed to me on January 17, 2020, and by March 2020 we had decided on the venue, made the down-payment, and I was so excited I even finalised my dress. We were both optimistic that by the end of the year, things would be back to normal. However, in September 2020 we decided to call off our wedding. It was one of the hardest decisions to make. If we wanted to have a wedding, we wanted it our way, thus, for now we decided to do a court marriage instead of waiting forever to start our lives together. It was one of the most heartbreaking decisions to make. Needless to say there were many, many tears, lots of issues with getting refunds, and cancelling bookings with a heavy heart. We are waiting for the day things finally get better and hopefully once this pandemic ends and our close ones can travel again, we will definitely have a wedding!

MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH FOOD

Post getting my driving licence, I started exploring the different desserts available in town while I was pursuing my Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering. At that point in time two years ago, I did not know blogging was even considered a thing in Dubai. I created my Instagram account and posted everything I ate. That’s how it all started, the key was my undying love for desserts and love for eating! I just wanted everyone to see the amazing desserts I’m indulging in, in a similar fashion how we all would share our vacation/family pictures online.

Within a month or two, I started getting invites from several restaurants to try their food and desserts. This way, very quickly, the personal interest and fun in blogging expanded when my number of followers started to increase. I never expected my experience to reach so many.

MY COVID VALENTINE!

We usually get so caught up in our day-to-day activities that we forget to celebrate the ones we love. Valentine’s is just another day I get to celebrate my husband. Since we work from home every day we get to spend a lot of time with each other, so on Valentine’s Jake is taking me out for dinner (I don’t know the place yet ha ha!). Then next week we may go Kayaking to Hatta!

MY PERFECT ‘FOODIE’ DAY OUT IN DUBAI

10am: Breakfast at Arabian Tea House. It’s one of my favourite places for an authentic Emirati experience.

1pm: If I’m craving Indian, mostly Mint Leaf of London; 3 fils if I want some sushi, or Al Beiruti for delish Lebanese food. Alternatively, I love Afternoon Tea; At.mosphere at Burj Khalifa is one of my favourites.

5pm: If I had a tiring week, I would definitely book a spa for myself. My personal favourite is the Ottoman Spa at Zabeel Saray, Palm Jumeirah.

8pm: If we were out all day, we would most likely cook dinner at home. We prefer having at least one meal at home! If we’re looking for date night places, especially now in this weather, we would choose somewhere relaxing. La Mer, Jumeirah Al Naseem, Downtown Dubai, are some of our favourite areas.