Fashion designer Prudent Gabriel has shared how guilty she felt about marrying before her immediate elder sister, revealing that she called her to check if she was okay and even offered to push the wedding to the following year.
She made the confession while speaking at the Next Level Prayers Singles Connect and Prayer Conference hosted by Pastor Bolaji Idowu at Harvesters Globe in Lagos. The moment has since circulated widely after a clip from the event was shared online.
Prudent said she reached out before the date was fixed.
“I called and I said, ‘Are you okay that I’m getting married before you?’” she recalled.
Her sister’s reply was gentle and firm.
“She said, ‘Prudence, your marriage is going to be a blessing to me,’” Prudent recounted, adding that her sister told her to go ahead.
Even with that reassurance, Prudent pressed further. She told her sister neither she nor her husband was in a hurry.
“I don’t mind, though. Me, I’m not rushing. My husband is not rushing, that we can move it to next year,” she said she offered.
She also asked whether her sister’s partner was ready, noting that her sister is particular about such things and preferred to take her time.
The designer explained that the situation was a little easier because her sister’s partner was not yet ready for marriage at the time.
“The whole idea of your sister getting married before you, I know it’s not easy like that, but she just understood that I and my husband were ready. So I think it was a bit easy for her, though I felt bad,” Prudent said.
On the wedding day itself, she hugged her sister and told her the following year would be her turn. The memory still carries weight for her. Despite the support, Prudent said the feeling of marrying first lingered.
Prudent, who runs Prudential Styling and her fashion academy, married gospel singer Peterson Okopi in 2024. The couple held a civil ceremony in late September, followed by a traditional wedding in mid-October and a white wedding shortly after. They welcomed their first child, a son named Keon, in 2025.
Her story has resonated with many who have navigated birth-order expectations around marriage in Nigerian families. Some online reactions questioned why marrying first should carry guilt at all, while others praised the open conversation between the sisters.