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For many years, Gregory and I have wondered when and how we’d meet our life partner, where they would be, and if we ended up meeting someone, we started questioning, “Is this the right one?”
Before and after meeting Gregory, I have had a few relationships. Funny enough, they all ended once the relationships hit the 1-year mark. In all those relationships, even at their peak, I kept hearing a little voice in my head saying, "This is not the right one.” It happened repeatedly that it felt like a curse and that this mountain was too high for me to climb.
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Being a young Vietnamese woman living overseas alone, I had gone through many emotional, mental, and spiritual experiences, both negative and positive. Not to mention having to deal with the society's pressure of being an "old maid,” "leftover woman,” and "expired woman.”
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One beautiful day in 2009, an ex-colleague whom I was quite close to at that time brought her long-distance boyfriend to the vibrant cityscape of Singapore and introduced him to me. His name was Gregory. My friend seemed to be in love, and I was happy she found someone. On the other hand, I was already in a committed relationship with someone else. I was a third wheel that night, but it didn’t bother me. We had dinner at Clarke Quay, a drink at the rooftop bar at Esplanade, took some fun photos together, and laughed it off. It was a fun evening.
Shortly after their first meeting, Gregory and his then-girlfriend had gone their separate ways. The distance proved challenging, and Gregory wasn’t ready to leave his career in Europe and move to Asia. I didn’t ask my ex-colleague much. We all three moved on with our lives. Gregory connected with me on Facebook after the first meeting and occasionally sent me messages and well wishes on special occasions such as birthdays or New Year. We were just each other's friends on social media.
8 years later, in 2018, Gregory found himself needing healing after a heart-wrenching breakup from a four-year relationship. He chose Singapore as his first stop on his journey of finding and healing himself. Several months before his arrival, Gregory contacted me to check if I would be around during his stay. I said I would. However, I completely forgot about his arrival until a month later when Gregory's message came, "I'm in Singapore.” Fortunately, I had no travel plans and could still manage to spend a day or two with Gregory. Ironically, during this time, I took on the role of a matchmaker and introduced him to two of my close friends, though it didn't lead to anything significant.
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Later that year, when my friend Marisa and I planned a winter holiday in Europe, we decided to include a visit to London to see Gregory. By then, Gregory had moved from Barcelona to London to work in a luxury hotel. After bidding farewell to Marissa, I stayed in London to spend a few extra days with him. To my surprise, he arranged a countryside road trip in England, taking me to Windsor Castle. We were on a mission to find my Prince Charming, who might wander around the castle.
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The final night of our road trip brought us to a charming gin bar in the historic town of Bath. We enjoyed our evening, and after he walked me back to our hotel room, we exchanged sweet "Goodnight" wishes before he headed to his own room. It was a quiet moment until, within just a few minutes, a soft knock on my door interrupted my thoughts. As I opened the door, Gregory took me by surprise with a spontaneous kiss on my lips. Surprisingly, I didn't pull away. I didn't feel any spark either. "It must be the gin that played tricks on me"- I thought.
We bid each other goodbye, uncertain when I'd return to Europe. But, we managed to stay connected through WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, always checking in on each other's lives.
We were both deeply engrossed in our busy lives, chasing our dreams, focusing on work, and making plans. I couldn't be sure when or where I'd meet the right guy, but I had this persistent feeling that he wouldn't be in Singapore. Where exactly he'd be, I had no clue. All I knew was that the right time and place would eventually bring us together. Interestingly, Gregory shared a similar sentiment. He believed his ideal partner was out there, hailing from a different culture, country, and religion. It was quite strange that we had never discussed our love lives when we were just friends.
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I vividly recall the moment when I went for a morning stroll through the streets of Madrid, my mind was swamped with countless questions racing through my head "We shared a kiss in London 5 years ago. What if he kisses me again? How should I react? Should I pretend the kiss never happened? What if he booked only one hotel room instead of two?" Eventually, I made a decision to go with the flow and see what would happen.
As I stepped out of the train station in Barcelona, my eyes met a tall, handsome man with a radiant smile, and suddenly, it felt like I was HOME. Reuniting with him was akin to meeting a long-lost family member. It was at that moment I wondered: "Could he be the one I've been searching for?"
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We hugged. There was no kiss this time. Greg graciously took charge of my luggage, ensuring my comfort as he opened the car door for me and took his seat on the other side. I discreetly observed him behind my oversized sunglasses, curious to see if anything had changed over the years. Upon reaching the hotel, Gregory went to the reception desk to check us in. Returning to where I sat in the lounge, he handed me a room key and said, "I've booked two rooms—one facing the street and the other overlooking the pool. Let me know which one you prefer." At that moment, I realized it was time to open up and address the reasons behind my past reservations. We had a long, heartfelt conversation, reminiscing about old memories while discussing our hopes for the future. The more we spoke, the more we discovered our striking similarities in friendship, family, love, career, and life principles.
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Being the gentleman that he is, Gregory gave me a warm hug. We shared another kiss. This time, I was fully present. We spent the next 3 days in Barcelona together as a couple. Everything was so easy with him. A few years ago, we embarked on a road trip as friends. We didn't expect to see a change in our friendship. But, destiny seemed to have a hand in our reunion in Barcelona.
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After the trip, we were in a long-distance relationship for another year. Gregory called me every day. We talked about our day at work, our plans, and even our challenges. We made it a point to see each other every 3-4 months, wherever possible. In July 2022, we went for a first holiday in Dubai as a couple's holiday.
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Reflecting on it all, we feel incredibly fortunate to have found each other in this big world despite thousands of miles and years of time. Just like many other people, we were all out there searching for love, hoping one day we'd find what we were searching for. But sometimes, love surprises us when we least expect it. That's how our love story began. Sometimes, what we are searching for is right in front of us. We just don't see them.
I hope you enjoyed reading about our real-life fairy tale story. I've tried to summarize our long story in a 5-minute short film, if you'd like to watch, share, and subscribe, I'd greatly appreciate it.