The ‘Hi’ Couple

The ‘Hi’ Couple

February 14, 2022 0 By Horace Mills

From a conversation to a marriage within months, Kemar Marshall and Roshelle Roberts have no regret doing it.

“I think it is our destiny,” Roshelle postulates.

Her husband agrees: “It is one of the best decisions I have ever made.”

The couple’s journey to forever started August 7, 2020 when Kemar, while browsing Facebook, saw Roshelle’s profile and became love-struck.

He messaged her: “Hi.”

She didn’t see it until six months later.

“Hi,” she replied.

“Hi,” he responded.

It didn’t take Cupid to feel where the conversation was heading – and the two Jamaicans went straight along.

Roshelle originally is from Lluidas Vale; Kemar is from the Wakefield area of Linstead – both in St Catherine. Kemar played cricket for Jamaica’s national team and is now an information technology engineer in America.

Roshelle was living in Jamaica and Kemar in the United States when they started communicating.

Within two weeks, things progressed from lengthy telephone calls to a rushed air travel.

“She asked how she could see me in person… I booked my flight same time and leave for Jamaica, rent a car and picked her up straight at her job,” Kemar said.

The two realized quickly that they had a similar struggle. They, separately, were grieving.

Kemar had lost his previous wife to an ailment over a year earlier, and Roshelle’s only son was shot dead recently on the outskirts of Jamaica’s old capital.

Even before meeting Kemar, Roshelle, in her thrust to heal, was planning to give Jamaica a break. Their meeting, however, was a much-needed accelerator.

Roshelle recounts: “Kemar said I should come and live with him in America and build a life together. I wondered if he was really serious.”

Three weeks after the lovebirds first met in Jamaica, they were nestled in each other’s arms in the Big Apple.

Roshelle wedded Kemar in August, five months after she left Jamaica.

“I used the boldness in me and I did it. I have no regret,” she said. “Not that we don’t have arguments as there is no perfect marriage, but we communicate a lot… If you are not communicating, that is going to be a big big blunder.”

Roshelle’s husband ensured that her transition to the United States was… as smooth as he is.

“He took the time off from work to teach me how to take the train,” she explains. “I didn’t like the weather especially in January, but he taught me how to dress for it. The support I get from my husband makes the transition super easy for me.”

Roshelle, amid New York’s cold, is basking in the warmth of her matrimonial family – and so is Kemar.

The two intend to have a grand wedding reception in Jamaica… and to also have a baby (or two) together.

Already, Roshelle has a daughter. Kemar has three daughters and a son.

Like his wife, Kemar has much to be thankful for, not least among them is perhaps Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder of Facebook.

“Not everybody on Facebook is bad although not everybody is good, but life is about taking risks if you want good,” said Kemar, sounding more like a philosopher these days.

He continued: “My wife took a risk by coming to live with me in the United States and look at us now. We definitely have many more years to go together.”

By Horace Mills, Journalist


WE also do obituaries, advertisement, and special coverage of funerals, birthday parties, weddings, and other milestones. Call or WhatsApp us at 876-305-4574 or emaail us at jamaicabeaconnews@gmail.com.