I will never change myself: a woman married herself (5 photos)

The sun was setting over a Mexican beach when Kim Adams said "I do." The atmosphere was perfect for a wedding: vows, flowers, a beautiful white dress, and family. All that was missing was the groom.





It was a deliberate omission. One morning, Kim woke up and decided to marry herself. Her betrothed, Eduardo, didn't object.

"It was a really tough few years. I even thought: if I live to be 45, I'll have nothing to worry about anymore."

Kim decided that on her forty-fifth birthday, November 1st of this year, she would pledge eternal love and fidelity to herself.

And that date coincided with the Day of the Dead.

"It's like a part of me has died, and I'm becoming someone else," admits Adams, a marketing specialist.



She sent out invitations to her loved ones and asked them to gather at her home in Puerto Vallarta, on the Pacific coast.

Kim, a California native, admits: "I never wanted to get married. Everyone I know who got married ended up having problems. I have a lot of divorced friends, and they advise against getting involved with the legal system in matters of your personal life."

One of her long-term partners proposed marriage, but she said, "Please don't." After that, their relationship ended.

For Kim, getting married wasn't just a formality. It meant publicly committing to living by her own rules and making decisions that would help her grow and become a better person.

"When I told Eduardo I bought a wedding dress, he asked, 'Whose wedding are you going to?' And he appreciated the idea. (He's been married once, and he doesn't want another—it was a bad experience.)





People were perplexed: "How can you marry yourself? Does that mean you won't marry anyone else?" No, it just means I'm dedicating myself to myself.

Friends flew in from the US for the ceremony. Kim stood in a circle of petals and flowers. Her friends, dressed in white, read the vows. Eduardo and another man acted as protectors.

The American woman promised to release old burdens, embrace lightness, respect her needs, cherish joys, and appreciate life. Then she put on a diamond ring that had belonged to her mother.

No one knows where the ring came from, but it wasn't a gift from Kim's father. Her parents weren't happy, and when they passed away, she decided it was time to find a new use for the ring.

"It's a symbol of new possibilities," she said.

She wears her wedding ring on her middle finger as a reminder of her vows.



In the first days after the ceremony, Kim was overjoyed. She says, "I will never betray myself. And I will never get divorced. When I have to make a decision, I look at my ring and ask myself: is this your choice or someone else's? Or is this just the easiest way out?"

Kim admits she never dreamed of having children.

"I have a loved one, I have money, a career, a business. I'm not sure marriage makes sense without children or the desire to have them."