Four months have elapsed since their wedding day, but Nguyen Thu Ngan, born in 1997, in HCM City, still cannot believe that she has become a wife. The partner of her life is Tran Thi Mai Linh, born in 1999, from Tien Giang province.

For LGBT people like Ngan and Linh, loving and being loved is difficult, and being accepted by both families and having a romantic wedding was even more difficult.

During the four years of relationship before the wedding, they thought that having a wedding was only a dream.

Ngan and Linh realized their sexuality very early, but they kept it a secret. Only when they could no longer hide their feelings did they come out.

Four years ago, they became friends when joining an LGBT group. Linh actively pursued Ngan, texted her to ask how she was doing and found excuses to meet her in person. When Ngan was sick, Linh bought medicine and nutritious food. Linh's thoughtfulness moved Ngan.

Two months after making acquaintance, Ngan returned to work in HCM City. Though they were far from each other, Linh kept pursuing Ngan and wanted to become an important part in Ngan’s life. Finally, they became a couple.

Their love was applauded by Linh’s family, but not by Ngan’s parents. They told Ngan to rethink, believing that Ngan was wrong about her sexual orientation.

However, the couple never gave up. Linh usually comes to see Ngan and her parents, and showed her heartfelt love.

Linh’s parents did not oppose them because they understood that the love made their daughter happy. Just after several meetings, Linh’s father introduced her to neighbors, saying that Ngan is ‘the wife of my daughter, and my daughter-in-law’.

On Ngan's father's birthday, Linh came with a pair of shoes as a gift. The shoes fit Ngan's father so well that he was moved.

The man opened his heart, found more good characteristics of Linh, and understood that their feeling was sincere.

However, even when getting the nod from Linh’s and Ngan’s parents, the couple still had to wait a long time to be able to organize a wedding, because their parents feared that local people would sneer at the wedding.

However, as their daughters were steadfast in their love, the parents finally accepted to organize a wedding for them.

“At the wedding, my father held my hand, led me alongside the aisle, and then gave me to my life partner,” Ngan recalled.

Thanh Minh