Principal of Curro Secunda High School talks about marriage

Famsa is focusing on Marriage Week for September and this week the community gets a peek into the principal of Curro High School, Ruan van der Merwe’s marriage.
Van der Merwe has been married to Chantel for seven years and the couple have been together for 17 years.
He said: “Our relationship is based on mutual trust and respect. It is far from the traditional view that a wife must be submissive to her husband type of relationship. Chantel is my life partner, and we support each other accordingly.
“When I am at my lowest point, Chantel is there to pick me up, and vice versa. Both our opinions matter, and both of us are equal stakeholders in our relationship and household.
We have a keen understanding of each other’s behaviours and reactions.
“It helps that Chantel and I have a strong friendship. We laugh together, have meaningful conversations, and can comfortably be vulnerable in each other’s presence.”
Quality time is important for this couple and they try to spend as much time together as possible and to enjoy each other’s company.
Van der Merwe reckons marriage is better than courting because a relationship only provides stability to a certain extent, which is comforting, but having someone wait for him at home at the end of the day and having a person in a marriage that he can rely on for the rest of his life, brings another level of security and peace.
Van der Merwe knew he was ready for marriage when he realised that he did not want to spend his life with anyone else but Chantel.
“In her, I found what I was looking for in a partner,” said Van der Merwe.
On the question of what the theme for Marriage Week for 2024, ‘I Choose You’, means for him, he said: “Choosing someone as a life partner means accepting that person for who they are and loving them despite their flaws. It involves embracing both the good times and the challenges.
“Marriage is never easy and can test you, but if you make a conscious decision to honour that commitment, you know you’ve made the right choice.”