Alexandre and Amanda Martin: The Revenge of Broken Hearts

Fourteen years after a shared glance at a fancy fair, Alexandre and Amanda Martin are still together. But their story is far from a fairy tale.

Amid the laughter of their sons, Keïnan, 10, and Dwayne, 8, Alexandre and Amanda juggle family life and their love story. Ten years of marriage and fourteen years since their meeting: a journey that is anything but a fairy tale, filled with storms, doubts, debts, rumors, and past wounds.

Alexandre Martin never dreamed of an ordinary life. At 18, he stepped onto the stage with the conviction that he was born to make people laugh, to evoke emotions, to tell stories. No plan B: comedy was his life. With improvised sketches, plays, and performances, he gradually made a name for himself. People recognized him, applauded him, smiled at him in the street.

But behind the spotlight was a wounded man. "I’ve experienced a lot of love, but also a lot of breakups. Each time, I believed. And each time, I was shattered," he confides.

Alexandre gave everything, hoped too soon, loved too deeply. That’s why he stopped believing in love. Until that fateful evening.

Amanda was coming out of a relationship that had left her in pieces. "I was dealing with a narcissistic abuser, a true manipulator. It was a toxic relationship... I took a long time to get out. And when I left him, I had lost my taste for love, my trust in anyone," she recounts.

She was slowly rebuilding her life, surrounded by a few close friends, when their paths crossed one summer evening at a fancy fair. Alexandre was on stage, microphone in hand, performing. Amanda was in the audience.

Their eyes met. "I can’t explain it. He looked at me, our eyes locked. For a few seconds, the world stopped. It was... magical," Amanda recalls.

Alexandre remembers it too: "I saw her. She had this gentle, sincere, unique gaze. It felt like I had known her forever." Then the show ended. The crowd dispersed. Each went their separate ways. Nothing happened. No exchanged numbers. No date. Just a glance.

A few months later, Amanda’s cousin, Tatiana, asks her, "Tell me, aren’t you friends with a certain Alexandre Martin on Facebook?" Amanda recounts that memorable evening. On a whim, Tatiana sends a friend request to Alexandre. He accepts. Then she writes him a simple "Hello."

Alexandre checks her profile. "When I saw Amanda’s photo, I immediately recognized that gaze... that gaze." Tatiana hands her phone to Amanda: "Here, talk to him yourself!"

They started with timid messages, then moved to long conversations. Eventually, Alexandre proposed they meet. On that day, he waited for her at the Waterfront in Mahébourg. Minutes turned into hours. One, two, three… four hours. He didn’t move. He waited. "I don’t know why I stayed so long. Maybe because deep down, I knew she would come."

Amanda finally arrived. "I didn’t know if I was ready. I was scared, but at the same time, I wanted to see him. And when I arrived, he simply smiled at me. And everything became clear."

Obstacles soon arose. Some of Alexandre’s friends whispered that Amanda loved him only for his fame. Others tried to convince Amanda that he wasn’t right for her. The worst came when she became pregnant with their first child.

"Some even tried to make me believe the child wasn't mine," Alexandre remembers. "But I never doubted. Never." He was in Australia when Amanda called to share the news. "It was the most beautiful gift of my life. Even before the birth, I knew my life would change."

Amanda recalls the cruelty of others. "That’s when I realized how jealousy can destroy. But we chose to fight, to believe in our story."

Some time later, in Rose-Hill, Amanda spotted a ring in a shop window: "It was beautiful; I couldn’t help but say how much I loved it." Without thinking, Alexandre walked into the jewelry store and bought the ring. It was Amanda’s size. "I walked out of the store, knelt down right there on the sidewalk, amidst passersby, and asked for her hand."

Applause erupted around them. Strangers congratulated them. Amanda, with tears in her eyes, said yes. The wedding was simple and sincere. "It wasn’t the biggest or the most luxurious, but it was the most genuine," Amanda says.

Two years later, they welcomed their second son, Dwayne. After the birth of their second child, Alexandre decided to strike out on his own. He left the company he worked for to start his own event planning business, Martin’s Prod.

The first major project he organized was a financial failure. "Everything collapsed. There were bills, salaries, debts... I felt guilty, lost." For several years, he worked day and night to repay it all. Amanda, always by his side, handled the administration, responded to clients, and prepared the files.

"I never doubted him. I knew he would bounce back. Alexandre is a fighter," she confides. Alexandre adds: "She is my strength. If I held on, it’s thanks to Amanda."

Today, they work hand in hand: him on stage, her behind the scenes. Amanda manages contracts, clients, and paperwork. Alexandre entertains, makes people laugh, and sings. At home, he cooks for her. "That’s my way of saying thank you. She deserves everything." In the evenings, Alexandre still sings "Coup de soleil," their song. "It’s the song he sang to me at the beginning of our story. And every time he hums it, I relive our beginnings," Amanda smiles.

This year, Alexandre and Amanda celebrate ten years of marriage. Their two sons, Keïnan and Dwayne, are their greatest pride. Amanda shares: "What attracted me to Alexandre was his smile. But what touched me even more was his personality: his simplicity, his humility, his big heart. He is both sensitive and shy... and that is rare."

She then adds: "For these ten years by his side, I pray to God to protect him, him and our little family. I want him forever, for our little family. I love them more than anything. They are my blessings."

Their story could have ended a thousand times. But it continues, more beautiful, stronger, and truer than ever. When asked what they take away from all these years, Alexandre replies: "Despite the criticism, the failures, the wounds, love always triumphs." Amanda, with a tender gaze, adds: "Yes... because, in the end, we have always chosen each other."