Black Princess Diaries: Meet Keisha Omilana

This morning’s Royal Wedding may be over, but ESSENCE.com’s obsession with princess brides is not. We caught up with model and philanthropist Princess Keisha Omilana, wife of Prince Kunle Omilana of Nigeria, to find out what it takes to be a real-life Black American Princess (the good kind), her over-the-top royal wedding, and how she met her royal boo!

ESSENCE.com: How did you meet your husband?
PRINCESS KEISHA OMILANA: I got lost on my way to a model casting. I was on the phone with my agent trying to find the right address. He was in a meeting at the W and he saw me outside. He excused himself from the table, came out to meet me, and waited 45 minutes to say, “you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Would you do me the honor of having your number? ”

ESSENCE.com: So clearly you gave it to him.
PRINCESS KEISHA: No! Well, not at first. Who gives their number out to a guy on the street? I told him I was dating someone and left to catch the train, but I was halfway down the steps and my women’s intuition said, “you know what? You’re not dating anybody and he was cute!” I figured if I went back and he was still there, it was meant to be. I went back and there he was waiting like he knew I was coming back.

ESSENCE.com: When did you find out he was a prince?
PRINCESS KEISHA: Two years after we began dating. He asked me to marry him one Christmas morning, then he told me he was a Prince. He’d come to New York to find someone to spend his life with. I had no clue who he was or what his background was. That couldn’t happen for him at home. It was all very “Coming to America.”

ESSENCE.com: Did you get married in America or in Nigeria?
PRINCESS KEISHA: We were married in New York a month after he proposed. The wedding took place at a private club with just 20 guests. Kunle flew in his pastor from Nigeria. We’re still planning our royal ceremony, which will be a week-long affair in Nigeria. I’m excited about it.

ESSENCE.com: What duties do you have a princess?
PRINCESS KEISHA: I don’t really have official duties right now since I don’t live in Nigeria. My most important assignments are assuring the Omilana name remains in good standing and keeping my husband and son feeling healthy and loved.