When Mako, then a Japanese princess, announced her engagement to former classmate Kei Komuro in 2017, she said he had won her heart with “his bright smiles like the sun”.
The pair had first met five years earlier as university students.
They announced plans to marry the following year.
As a female member of the imperial family, she would lose her royal status by marrying a commoner.
The couple’s smiles captured public attention in a nation that watches the imperial family closely.
The media initially covered the relationship largely positively.
But public sentiment shifted quickly.
About two months later, reports surfaced about an alleged money dispute involving Mr Komuro’s mother and her former fiance.
The former fiance claimed the mother and son had not repaid a debt to him.
People began to question whether Mr Komuro might face financial problems in future.
Public opinion soured. Officials said the couple needed more time to arrange the ceremony.
The wedding was postponed.
Then-Princess Mako speaking with her father, mother and sister before leaving for her wedding
Mako is the first child of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko.
She was born on 23 October 1991.
Following royal custom, she initially attended the elite Gakushuin school.
She then broke with tradition by leaving the school to pursue university studies.
Ms Mako studied art and cultural heritage at Tokyo’s International Christian University.
She spent a year at the University of Edinburgh.
Later she completed a master’s degree at the University of Leicester, an experience she described as “wonderful”.
People who know her called her independent and friendly.
Kyodo news agency said she balanced a career while carrying out imperial duties.
The couple first met at a 2012 meeting of students planning to study abroad.
Kei Komuro was also born in 1991.
Tabloids spent months investigating his modest family background.
During the 2018 scandal, he moved to New York to study law at Fordham University.
The couple reportedly stayed in touch online while he was abroad.
He returned to Japan last September, a comeback that provoked controversy.
Many criticized his casual clothes and his ponytail as unfit for someone marrying a princess.
In October, they finally married.
Ms Mako skipped many traditional wedding rites.
She also declined the customary payout given to women leaving the imperial household.
The payment was about $1.3m (£940,000).
She became the first woman to refuse that payment.
Questions about Mr Komuro’s finances have continued.
He said the money at the centre of the reports, about $35,000, had been a gift, not a loan.
He also said he would pay a settlement.
At least one protest took place on the wedding day.
Demonstrators carried placards reading “Protect our household” and “The imperial family is the soul of Japan”.
The intense press attention and harsh social media attacks affected Ms Mako’s mental health.
The Imperial Household Agency says she now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
She told reporters the “incorrect” reports about Mr Komuro had caused her “great fear, stress and sadness”.
“Kei is irreplaceable for me,” she said. “For us, marriage is a necessary choice to live while cherishing our hearts.”
Mr Komuro cut off his ponytail before the wedding.
He promised to protect and support his wife.
“I love Mako,” he said. “I want to spend the only life I have with the one I love.”
The couple are expected to move to the United States, where Mr Komuro works as a lawyer.
Observers compared their move to that of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
They earned the nickname “Japan’s Harry and Meghan”.
Ms Mako is expected to stay in Tokyo for some time to prepare for the relocation.
That includes applying for the first passport of her life, Reuters reports.