West Island couple goes against all odds and finds true love

MONTREAL – For Natalie Cinman and Denis Toupin, there’s no better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than by retelling their love story.

The West Island couple met nearly nine years ago, online.

Finding the perfect match wasn’t easy for Natalie, especially because of her unique situation.

“When I created my online profile, I was very honest,” Cinman said.

“I’m lively, I have a very outgoing personality, I’m three feet tall, and I have brittle  bone disease  and I’m in a wheelchair.”

About to give up on Googling true love, she found Denis.

He said he just loved her personality and the fact that she loves doing different activities.

Still, he admits he was a bit worried about how he’d feel after seeing her in a wheelchair for the first time.

“We kept chatting for two weeks and everything was going really well,” Toupin told Global News.

“After the first date I realized I completely forgot about the chair and it was just ‘Natalie’, and it’s been like that since the beginning.”

The couple got married four years ago and just recently moved into their new house.

While all relationships have their challenges, Natalie and Denis face unique pressures from the outside world.

“To be someone like me,” Natalie explained, “to be with a disabled person you have to be very secure with yourself because we do attract a lot of attention.”

She adds, people automatically assume Denis is her brother. “Sometimes that’s people’s first reaction or they kind of look at him with pity like ‘oh you’re doing a really good thing.””

But they don’t sweat the small stuff – they’d rather focus on what brings them closer together.

“There’s all kinds of love and it’s more than just the exterior, it’s in our hearts and I think that’s what makes somebody beautiful.”