Japan’s Princess Mako married her ‘commoner’ fiancé earlier this week. Because of that, she had to lose her royal status. Under Japanese law, female imperial family members forfeit their status upon marriage to a ‘commoner’ although male members do not. The princess also skipped the usual rites of a royal wedding and turned down a payment offered to royal females upon their departure from the family. She is the first female member of the royal family to decline both, according to BBC. Her relationship caused quite a stir but the princess was relentless with her choice of love over royalty. The things some people have done for love overtime range from inspiring to outrageous and sometimes appalling. Some are willing to go to any necessary extremes to make love work, even when the sacrifice is a life-changing one. Couples have had to make some sort of sacrifice to sustain their relationship. Photos/Net Lynnette Mutoni, a university student, believes that love has no limits, for some. It will travel as far as you let it and that for this reason, many people have gone to the extreme to make their relationships and significant other happy. She observes that many times, couples, whether married or still dating, have had to make some sort of sacrifice to sustain their relationship. “I respect people who make extreme sacrifices for love, but from experience and what I have seen, I would think twice before making a life-altering decision because of love. People change and I wouldn’t want to look back and see my life in regret,” she says. It’s only on rare occasions that such stories end in happily-ever-after, says Kelia Umutesi. “I would rather love with caution than do the extraordinary over someone I am not sure of, or who they will be years from now,” she says. Simon Kalisa, a marketing officer, describes love as personal, diverse and multifaceted. When a couple is still dating, it’s important to hold on to some bits of yourself, he says. He thinks going to the extreme for someone you have just met isn’t reasonable, however, it is very acceptable with someone you are sure to spend the rest of your life with. “You may be very open and clear on your rules, beliefs, values, dislikes and family, but reserve those matters that are personal, until you are at least engaged. So many things have to change after putting a ring on, this is when all boundaries should be thrown out of the window. At this point, walls should be crushed and share everything, I mean everything. For me that’s what I believe in,” he says. Henry Malumba, an architect, believes that when people are in a relationship, especially when they truly love each other, it’s easier to go to any sort of extreme for love. He, however, thinks making a relationship work goes beyond sacrifice. It requires both people to understand what the other needs, he adds. “Both parties need to understand the likes and dislikes of the other. The biggest mistake ladies make is to pressurise men either financially or socially. However saturated your love might be, that is one major issue that should be dealt with. Men really yearn for undivided respect and trust, loyalty and peace-of-mind from the ladies we love,” Malumba says.
