Georgia couple Preston Cobb and Tanesha Oglesby were all set to get married in July 2023 when the groom-to-be suffered severe injuries from a workplace accident the month prior.
In the wake of the unfortunate setback, Preston, 34, informed his fiancée he wouldn’t have any qualms if she opted to call off their wedding, but she told her severely injured fiancé she was going to stay committed to him.
“I wouldn’t blame her,” Preston told PEOPLE. “She looked at me like I was crazy.” Tanesha also said the injuries her husband sustained did not mean he had changed inwardly. “I was just thankful that he was still alive,” Tanesha, 33, said.
“It doesn’t change the person he is inside. It doesn’t change the love that he shows me every single day.”
Preston, described as a decorated ex-soldier, sustained injuries from a chemical spill that burned 32% of his body, a GoFundMe set up for him states. In the wake of the incident, Preston was airlifted to the Augusta Burn ICU for medical care.
The chemical spill resulted in Preston losing nine of his toes while multiple fingers on his hands were either amputated or partially amputated. But Preston’s condition did not deter Tanesha from marrying the love of her life. She has also remained by her husband’s side – a commitment that best represents the “for better or worse” saying.
“That day showed me that true love never fails, it will always come through,” Preston said in reference to the day they got married.
Preston also said he initially told his then-fiancé she could end things with him if she wanted to because of his condition. “I knew it was going to be a very long road for recovery,” he said. “This is not how I imagined us spending the rest of our lives together.”
But Tanesha chose to stay. “She makes life worth living,” Preston said. “God knew what he was doing when he put us together. Thank you God. You have literally placed an angel to take care of me and be with me.”
Tanesha also described her husband as an “amazing man”, adding that he shows her “a love that I’ve never experienced.” The couple also plan on expanding their family by having a baby.
“Regardless of what comes our way, with the love that we have for each other, it’s strong enough to withstand it, it’s strong enough to get us through,” said Tanesha. “Even in the hard times, that’s what we hold onto: The love we have for each other. ..Everything we’ve gone through, it just makes us stronger.”
