Adorable couple fall in love in 'Final Fantasy XIV' and have an in-game wedding
When 23-year-old Brogan was unable to go to work because of a knee injury, she felt extremely lonely. Determined to do something about it, Brogan asked friends to recommend some games.
This request not only brought an end to her loneliness, it led to a love story and a wedding -- inside Final Fantasy.
Her friend recommended she try Final Fantasy XIV, a massively popular multiplayer online game designed to facilitate people playing together online. Brogan downloaded Final Fantasy XIV (FFXIV) on her PlayStation 4, created her character, Valkyen Vanguard, and joined Narshe Red Wings, a "Free Company," or social group that players can join.
Meanwhile, 21-year-old Josh was busy creating his character, Sidmund Bourne, and researching the best Free Companies. When he decided upon Narshe Red Wings, he waited outside the Free Company until they let him in.
Brogan and Josh began talking nonstop on a chat app for gamers called Discord, and soon their conversations became a daily occurrence. The two would get their characters to interact with one another using emotes, commands which animate characters.
But it wasn't until they met in person at a Narshe Red Wings meetup at MCM Comic Con in London that they realised they lived an hour and half away from one another. Brogan and Josh began going on dates and, after a little while, they developed feelings for each other.
As Brogan and Josh's relationship went from strength to strength, they decided to hold an in-game wedding for their characters, so all their friends could turn out in force to watch Valkyen Vanguard and Sidmund Bourne get married in a small ceremony.
"We got to give our invitations in-game beforehand, plan our wedding outfits and even plan the look of the venue," says Brogan. "We took so many photos with all our guests and It's a little different since you get to say your vows to a Moogle," Brogan continues.
Though the couple aren't married IRL, they're certainly not ruling it out. "Maybe in the future, haha," says Brogan.
When the couple are away from one another they use in-game events as date nights, and recently did so for Valentine's Day.
"We're a tank and healer duo in-game so he needs me to keep him alive. I kinda like that," says Brogan.
The couple plan to take a week off when Stormblood -- FFXIV's latest expansion pack -- comes out in June.
"We both can honestly say the game has changed both of our lives for the better! We've made some real friends for life," says Brogan.
Topics Gaming
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
