Minnesota Vikings’ line backer Erin Henderson and his ladylove Maleah Flint are now officially Mr. and Mrs. Henderson. The pair, who are proud new parents to Lennox, their 1 year old son, tied the knot at the historic Biltmore Hotel in Atlanta in an intimate ceremony on March 31, 2012 before 92 of their closest friends and family – not including the many wedding crashers, they say. We caught up with the newlyweds to find out what their big day was like and how their love story began. Share their love!
ESSENCE.COM: How did you two meet?
FLINT: We were introduced through a mutual friend who knew we would be a perfect match and also a challenge for each other.
ESSENCE.COM: Was it love at first sight?
FLINT: I will go ahead and say that I was definitely aware that our encounter was different than any others I’d ever had. I left meeting with him thinking to myself, ‘What was that?’ I was fascinated at the possibilities of our chemistry. He was so fine. I’ll say it was the first tingle of being bit by true love.
HENDERSON: I wouldn’t say “love” at first sight but I will absolutely say it was intrigue at first sight. We both knew that this was no everyday occurrence. This was something more. She was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. I thought that there was no way that she could be down-to-earth and cool, but once she opened her mouth I knew we were on to something.
ESSENCE.COM: What do you love most about each other?
HENDERSON: Our personalities match, and we have so much in common that it makes our relationship easy. We are best friends and soul mates.
FLINT: Erin is very funny, and he loves music with the same passion that I do. He lets me be myself. He supports and loves me in ways that I am just now learning to love myself. He’s very strong, confident and beautiful, and he’s not intimidated by me being the exact same way. He’s my soul mate.
ESSENCE.COM: What types of obstacles have you had to overcome in your relationship? How did you make it work?
HENDERSON: We started out in a long distance relationship. She was working and living in Atlanta and I was working and living in Minnesota. We weren’t together all the time and we both had to travel often to make it work. She’s from Minneapolis originally, and she never intended on living back in Minnesota. After about a year of going back and forth, I finally convinced her to move back to Minnesota with me. I can be very persuasive when it comes to getting what I want!
FLINT: He would probably say the distance, but I would say the demands of him being in the NFL. It’s a very interesting life. It dictates where you live, who you’re around and what you’re able to do. I’m not used to that. I’m quite rebellious and very independent, and for my relationship, I’ve had to sacrifice a lot of my favorite things to make it work. Coming back to Minnesota and giving up my job in television was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. It worth it for my family though — especially because I know that Erin is supportive of everything I want to do in life.