Ciara and Russell Wilson Really Do Have One of Those Fairy-Tale Romances: How Love Conquered All for the Newlyweds

Their relatively whirlwind romance resulted in the singer and the football star marrying in England

By Natalie Finn Jul 06, 2016 7:00 PMTags
Russell Wilson, Ciara, 2016 Grammy Awards, CouplesJordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Every so often, a celebrity couple comes along that makes us believe.

Believe that it doesn't matter how recent the previous breakup was, or how messy. Believe that the new guy truly loves his girlfriend's kid like his own. Believe that the honeymoon period might last.

Such a rarity. But Ciara and Russell Wilson—aka Mr. and Mrs. Russell Wilson—are that couple.

The singer-actress and the NFL star got married today at a historic castle in Cheshire, England, after having a rehearsal dinner in nearby Liverpool—a city certainly known for football, albeit not Wilson's brand of the game. And while we could say that their nuptials are the culmination of a relatively whirlwind romance, their love story is just beginning.

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Ciara & Russell Wilson's Cutest Pics

And not just because it's time to really get their freak on. 

Whether or not they stuck to their vow of abstaining from sex before marriage (with each other, that is—Russell was married before and Ciara's a mom), what is now their wedding anniversary marks one year since Wilson revealed they had made such a pact and humorously asked for prayers to give him strength to abide.

But as tends to be the case, the majority of those prayers may have been needed elsewhere.

Their bond itself has grown stronger by the day, perhaps in part because finding each other didn't mean all other problems fell by the wayside. Their wedding, attended by a small group of nearest and dearest, took place abroad while drama still simmers at home between Ciara and her son Future Jr.'s father, rapper Future (born Nayvadius Wilburn).

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Ciara and Russell Wilson's Famous Friends

Ciara and Wilson have had to tune out a lot of noise over the past year, including Future's public remarks making it clear he wasn't pleased that Wilson was spending so much time with his son. 

It isn't always easy to carry on a mature, stable relationship when there's subtweeting and he-said, she-said going on in the background; but throughout, Wilson has been the solid, attentive guy Ciara needed (and envisioned being with, for that matter), and who, better yet, also adores her son.

At first it might have seemed too good to be true, or too convenient, the football stud and the smokin' hot singer, neither far removed from long-term relationships. The handsome pair have made for a picture-perfect couple wherever they've gone, from their public debut as an are-they-a-couple at the 2015 White House Correspondents Dinner to their perch courtside at the NBA Finals last month, as well as on every red carpet in between. The talk about celibacy and feeling destined to meet each other probably caused a few eyes to roll.

?? #CavsVsWarriors

A photo posted by Ciara (@ciara) on

But darn it if these two couldn't convince the most jaded of skeptics that sometimes two people are just meant to be.

"He's really the best friend I could possibly have," Ciara told E! News about her quarterback beau last September, and that's such a better recommendation for a relationship than so many other things you hear these days.

Wilson and Ciara get silly with Future Jr., they regularly visit Seattle Children's Hospital to meet with the young patients, they write inspirational and supportive messages to each other on social media, Wilson thanks heaven for his good fortune (i.e. his hot fiancée)... 

"Love is the most powerful drug." #HeavenSent

A photo posted by Russell Wilson (@dangerusswilson) on

We like it. We like all of it. Because for all the talk about how people make things work, there's really nothing like being on the same page.

"Marriage is something I look forward to. I believe in family, and the beauty of two people committing to spend their lives together. We talk about everything," Ciara, who got engaged to Wilson in March, told Essence a few months ago. "To me, to both of us, that's the foundation you need for love to flourish and reach its highest place. I want to live with as much lightness as possible, so I can stay focused on my love of God, and being the best mom, and the best person, I can be."

They didn't even hit a bump (not a visible one, anyway) when Wilson's Seattle Seahawks struggled this past season and finished short of what would have been their third straight Super Bowl.

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Inside Ciara and Russell Wilson's Road to Engagement

"I keep most of it private. My private life is my private life, but at the same time, there's no fear or anything like that. I'm grateful for the people I have in my life and the surroundings from the team to my friends. I'm sure you're referring to Ciara, too; she's an unbelievable person," he told the Seattle Times in November in response to speculation he was distracted off the field or feeling major pressure after signing a new contract. "That's a part of, but I think ultimately when it comes down to football, the focus is on football. That's just how it has to be and how it always is."

Like Ciara, Wilson is deeply spiritual, and faith is obviously another part of their lives they've been able to share. And just as Wilson has chalked up being intercepted in the final seconds of Super Bowl XLIX to being "part of God's plan," so too was meeting Ciara.

"I knew God had brought me into her life to bless her and for her to bless me and to bless so many people with the impact that she has and I have," Wilson told Rolling Stone last summer. "He has anointed both of us—he's calling for us to do something miraculous and special." Quoting the book of Romans, he added, "'For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.'"

And yet they'll be forgiven if carnality gets the better of them tonight.

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Ciara Gushes Over 2-Year-Old Future and Wedding Planning
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