American woman becomes princess after meeting a real prince in a nightclub
Most of us can but dream of rocking up to the club and casually meeting a member of a royal family. But, that's what happened to Ariana Austin on the dance floor of Washington D.C. nightclub Pearl back in December 2005 when she met Joel Makonnen, a.k.a. Prince Yoel.
The story didn't end there for Austin and Makonnen. Twelve years on from their nightclub meet-cute, the couple tied the knot, and Austin became a princess.
Per the New York Times, Prince Yoel is the great-grandson of Haile Selassie, the last emperor of Ethiopia, part of the Solomonic dynasty. Austin also happens to be of noble blood: she's the granddaughter of the lord mayor of Georgetown, Guyana.
AdultFriendFinder — readers’ pick for casual connections
Hinge — popular choice for regular meetups
Enough about royalty, we want to know what went down in that nightclub on that fateful night in 2005. That night, Makonnen strolled over to Austin and her friend and said: "You guys look like an ad for Bombay Sapphire," according to the NYT. It appears Makonnen's regal background didn't help him out in the chat-up line department. Apparently, it took Makonnen just five more minutes to tell Austin: "You're going to be my girlfriend." Well, he certainly didn't waste any time.
The couple were wed in an Ethiopian Orthodox ceremony in Temple Hills, Maryland, surrounded by family and friends.
And, in case you were wondering, the couple certainly don't sit on thrones all day long. Austin works at the Executives' Alliance for Boys and Men of Color, and Makonnen works at Otsuka America Pharmaceutical.
Congrats to the happy (royal) couple!
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.
