Love can be sweet and love can be hard. You only have to watch the relationship between Kenyan Instagram influencer Amber Ray, born Faith Makau, and her on-off fiancé, Kennedy Rapudo without personally learning the love lessons.
For a handful of times, this couple has broken up, aired their dirty laundry online for all and sundry to see, pleasing critics who tend to wait for the relationship to end in light of Amber’s colorful past with men.
But like lizards that grow back their tails when not killed, this couple often get back together to the chagrin of invested netizens, leaving them wondering just what it is- aside from their children- that keeps bringing Kennedy and Amber back together in the face of stunning revelations about their relationship- including that one time when domestic violence happened.
Yes, relationships are sometimes hard and can be even harder once you commit because much more than exciting love is expected of you. Of course, this all depends on who your partner is, what their personality is and what their individual expectations of you are. These expectations tend to set the rhythm of many relationships. They can determine if a relationship will be stable or rocky.
And because it seems that Kennedy and Amber have a relationship template that works for them, here’s a few lessons men can learn, especially from Kennedy, in how to maintain relationships with women who live lives similar to Amber’s…
- You must have a courageous and persevering heart. Dating a woman like Amber who is high profile and bodacious will attract many things in your life. You will have unwanted attention on your relationship be it from admirers, flirts or haters and they will not shy off from expressing their sentiments. Your privacy will be as good as nonexistent but you will have to be courageous to face all this and keep the relationship stable and functional.
- You must cultivate a heart of allowing yourself to be emotionally vulnerable when the need arises- whether in showing your affection or defending yourself in the face of trouble. Kennedy has never shied from expressing himself or his love when it comes to Amber; and stating his position when their dirty laundry is aired publicly. Men must learn that keeping emotions bottled up only hurts them when the pressure becomes too much to be contained within. There is no room for ‘mwanaume ni roho juu‘ in some instances!
- You will need a lot of money. If there is something Amber has never shied from expressing is that she likes money and enjoys being the wife of a rich man. See, being an influencer, club promoter and a social media model all need finances to manage and maintain a certain lifestyle. Kennedy ended up being questioned about his finances when it came to the ownership of his high-end vehicle as well as their blended family having to downgrade to a smaller house after moving to an expensive duplex. In the end, he had to ‘prove’ he has money, hence the Sh 420k shopping spree and spending lavishly on Amber. If you want a woman of Amber’s caliber, you need to have very deep pockets or people will start coming out of the woodwork to woo your woman- just as Jimal Rohosafi and his money did when Amber and Kennedy were on one of their breakups.
See, relationships need compromises. Sometimes, these compromises will not be in your favor if you really love your partner and want to spend your life with them. If you have a woman on your hands who leads a life like Amber Ray, or is aspiring to have the same one like hers, dear men, prepare yourself because you are signing up for a lot.
By Winnie Mabel