• yesterday
MIA and Monami have been together for ten years and married for two. They first met when Mia lived in a remote village in the Philippines. Monami had just retired from the US military and was travelling. The pair were introduced, hit it off and began dating. However, even from the start of their courtship, they encountered prejudice against their relationship. Monami explained "People think I paid for her but this is real love. One of the assumptions people have about us is that the age difference is bigger than it actually is. I'm a tall black American and she's a short Filipino, who looks youthful, so people assume she's way younger than she is." Monami is six feet tall, while his wife is four foot seven. He continued that "the first time I sent a photo of Mia to my mom, she said, check her birth certificate. Is that legal there?" Monami's son Elijah, from a previous relationship also had doubts about the legitimacy of Mia's feelings. "My son was 8 years old when we started our relationship, so there wasn't much there", he said. "But as he got older, I could see that he was getting kind of upset. Sometimes he would walk out of the screen when she came into the screen when we were doing video calls. Sometimes our conversations would go a month or two without even speaking." He admitted, "I avoided having conversations about my relationship with my son because it has always been an uncomfortable topic." Today Monami will be asking Elijah to come to their ten-year vow renewal, hoping that he will finally come to accept Mia in his life.
Transcript
00:00I'm Onami, this is my wife Mia.
00:03People think I paid for her, but this is real love.
00:05My mom literally said, check her birth certificate.
00:08Is that legal there?
00:09As long as she can go to America.
00:10Very original.
00:19People judge our relationship and they think I married him for a green card.
00:26I was like, is this his girlfriend's daughter or something?
00:29My son thinks that she only married me for the green card.
00:32So you get papers and then we'll see.
00:34Is there anything I can do to convince you to come to our renewal?
00:37It's the 10-year renewal, it's kind of a big deal.
00:39Um, no. I don't think I could do that.
00:45Can you get that up there please?
00:47I'm Onami, I'm 6 feet tall, 270 pounds.
00:50I'm Mia, 4 feet 7, 95 pounds.
00:53There's a big height difference, about a foot and a half.
00:55Put me down!
00:56You can reach it, come on, jump shorty.
00:58How long have you been married?
01:0010 years.
01:01Kids?
01:02What we got here.
01:05What do you think I'm going to wear?
01:07Ah, that's a good question.
01:09We do this every time we go out.
01:11I have no taste, so I always beg him to pick clothes for me.
01:15This is my view today in Thailand.
01:19One of the presumptions people have about us
01:21is they assume that the age difference is a lot bigger than what it actually is.
01:25And she looks youthful, so people assume she's way younger than she is.
01:29And when I don't dye my beard, I have natural grays.
01:31So the assumptions are always kind of off.
01:34There we go.
01:35What about this one?
01:36Uh, you can put it in the trash.
01:38He's the one who likes to make me wear sexy.
01:42Oh yeah.
01:43If she was the one picking out her clothes,
01:45she'd look like a nun from the 18th century.
01:48There, you can wear that then.
01:50Kobe!
01:52I was 28 when I first met her.
01:54I was 19 when I met him.
01:55I traveled to her place, which is a remote part of the Philippines.
01:58It's in the province.
01:59The second I saw her, I was kind of attracted to her.
02:02When they say I married her for her looks.
02:06Perfect.
02:07We talked for a little while, for like a day or two.
02:09I asked her parents if she can come back to Manila with me,
02:11and we've been together ever since.
02:12My first impression?
02:14He looked okay for me.
02:16I don't know. I don't know what to say.
02:18What was your first thought?
02:19Because I've never seen a black American before.
02:22The blue top and this one.
02:24You're welcome.
02:25Okay.
02:26Thank you for making my life easier.
02:31My son thinks that she only married me for the green card,
02:34to become a citizen and for papers.
02:42Just because that's kind of the stereotype that Asians get in America.
02:47There he is.
02:49Our buddy, Michael.
02:50I want to ask him a few questions about our relationship and what he thought.
02:55I met Mia and Manami in the building.
02:57We've been friends ever since.
02:59I want to get his first impression so that I can kind of understand my son better.
03:03And we're going to do a valve renewal over in the Philippines.
03:05Oh, nice.
03:06Trying to get my son to come, but he's still kind of on the fence.
03:09He's on the fence?
03:10Yeah.
03:11You guys' energy, everything's great and perfect.
03:12I don't see why your son would have an issue.
03:15It's been kind of a challenge.
03:17I hope to have a conversation with him heart to heart and just get his opinion.
03:21But I can understand the questions and concerns that your son has.
03:25I think a visit would help.
03:26You just need to try to come here.
03:29So what about you?
03:30What about me?
03:31What do you think about our relationship?
03:34I was a little confused.
03:36Like, what's going on?
03:38Can I be honest?
03:40When we first met, I was like, is this his girlfriend's daughter or something?
03:44It just seemed like such an odd type of couple.
03:47So I was like, what's going on?
03:48And I'm thinking, is that his girlfriend?
03:50Or is that some, you know, is this Thailand?
03:52I don't know.
03:53Because it was such an opposite.
03:54And then, you know, I was looking at like...
03:57You were trying to flirt on me, huh?
04:00I was looking.
04:02And he kept kind of like lifting you up.
04:05But it was like he was lifting up a kid.
04:06I didn't realize how tall and how short you were.
04:09The first time I sent the photo of my wife to my mom,
04:12she literally said, check her birth certificate.
04:15Is that legal there?
04:17Imagine, we've been together for 10 years.
04:2010 years.
04:21I was 19 back then.
04:23And I was no baby yet.
04:26So I was so small and skinny.
04:28Maybe I looked like 14 back then.
04:30I don't know.
04:31That's what my mom said.
04:32My mom said she looked like she was 14.
04:34For Americans who've never traveled, like my mom,
04:36she looked too young to her.
04:40My son was like 8 or 9 years old when we started our relationship.
04:42As he got older, especially once he turned like 14 or 15,
04:45he wasn't living with me anymore.
04:46I could see that he was getting kind of upset.
04:48Sometimes he would go a month or two without even speaking.
04:51So I think me relocating and not being with him,
04:53he feels like some kind of negative way about that.
04:57I want to give him a call and just try.
04:59We'll see.
05:00Let's see. Hopefully he will.
05:01Hopefully.
05:02We want to know what he's thinking about us.
05:04Because maybe he's thinking that he chose me over him.
05:09There he is.
05:11Hey.
05:12Hey, what's up?
05:13Hey, Eli.
05:14What's up, man?
05:15So we had something we wanted to ask you about.
05:18Okay.
05:20I know you haven't been too fond of our relationship.
05:24Our 10-year anniversary is coming up.
05:26And we're doing a vow renewal.
05:28And I would like you to be there this time.
05:32You know how I feel about the relationship.
05:34So why would I do that?
05:36Because, one, it would give me a chance to travel.
05:38And, two, I've only been asking for maybe nine, ten years.
05:41Just a little while.
05:43Yeah.
05:47No.
05:49I don't think I could do that.
05:51You're all the way across the world.
05:53It's been forever.
05:54Now it's got to be supporting a relationship I don't.
05:57It's like, I don't know.
06:06So, yeah.
06:08What did you think when we first got together?
06:10First red flag.
06:12It's just a different country.
06:13So how are you going to know whenever she gets all the papers,
06:16she's still going to be there?
06:19I understand that in the beginning.
06:20That was kind of a long time ago.
06:22But, yeah, I can understand from, you know,
06:24people worry about the Philippines and, you know,
06:26green cards and all that stuff.
06:28Like, besides the initial red flag,
06:32because we never had this conversation.
06:33It's been a long time,
06:34but we never actually talked about anything.
06:36Yeah.
06:38It's like everything was good, and then you meet her,
06:40and now it's like half a million miles away.
06:43What if something happens, and then, like, you got to be there?
06:46Yeah, it's called a plane ticket, man.
06:49It's only kind of a short flight.
06:50It only takes me, what, 24 hours to get there?
06:53So that was not too big of a deal.
06:56So, Eli, what did you think about what I wanted with your dad?
07:00The citizenship.
07:02It's been a long time, but you hear these stories all the time.
07:06And so you get papers, and then we'll see what happens.
07:09And I don't mean to throw that stereotype on you, but...
07:12Yeah.
07:13It's a possibility.
07:14I totally understand your feelings.
07:18She did get your papers, like, a year ago.
07:20I did.
07:22I thought she was still waiting for...
07:25Oh, no, we just never announced it.
07:27Yeah, I don't really care about it, though,
07:29as long as I'm with him.
07:31You ever change your mind a little bit?
07:34Well, this is the first time I'm hearing about it, so...
07:37I mean, I'm sure other people are asking the same thing, aren't they?
07:40Yeah.
07:41Yeah, pretty much.
07:42Especially TikTok.
07:43Yeah, TikTok.
07:44People in TikTok be judging.
07:47Ow, I wasn't ready yet!
07:51Instead of getting upset or being negative about the things that people say...
07:54Here's 10 tips for dating a short Filipina.
07:57We just embrace it and turn it into fun and comical content.
08:00Number one, embrace the height difference.
08:02All right, while that video is processing,
08:04let's check out the comments from our last video.
08:06I found her in the middle of the forest, and I put her in my bag,
08:08and then we walked back home.
08:09Someone says that's kidnapping.
08:11You can already tell that the future baby is going to be bigger than her.
08:14Oh, yes.
08:15She almost is.
08:16She's almost your height now, and she's seven.
08:18I love you!
08:19Oh, look, you're taller than Mommy.
08:20No!
08:21Oh, wait, everyone's taller than Mommy.
08:23As long as she can go to America...
08:25Very original.
08:26...donate her to me, please.
08:30Donate.
08:3310 reasons why our relationship survived.
08:36We responded with positivity.
08:38That's all.
08:39Follow me for more relationship advice.
08:42Thank you!
08:43And how does it feel with my judgment as your son?
08:48For me, that's the hardest one.
08:49Now that it's been, like, a whole decade,
08:51and you've seen that she's literally been right by my side,
08:54like, at every moment of the day.
08:55Do you have a different opinion on our relationship?
08:57Do you still have concerns?
08:58I mean, considering she got her papers, like, a year ago,
09:02and that she's still there,
09:06I guess now I can start trying to trust the relationship more.
09:10So, yeah, I can come.
09:13Yeah, I'd appreciate it.
09:14One, I just want you to be there because you're my son,
09:16and then two, I just want you to experience things outside of America.
09:19All right, cool. Peace.
09:21Bye.
09:22Bye.
09:26The thing I love most about my wife,
09:28she's always there when I need her,
09:30her unwavering support,
09:32and the way she motivates me is endless.
09:35He's very considerate, and he also makes me feel safe.
09:40I'm fully happy in my life.
09:43I found my life partner.
09:47To the people that judge us, I say, keep doing what you do.
09:52It doesn't faze us, and we're going to keep on going.

Recommended