As much as I scoff at shows like The Real Housewives, The Bachelor and of course, Big Boss, I do find myself getting sucked into them from time to time. The memory of how I sacrificed my social life for a season of Big Boss still sends chills down my spine. But let’s not go down the road of my guilty pleasures.
Instead, let’s talk about one of the rare instances when something actually pure and real happened in these so-called “reality shows”.
Last month, ‘The Bachelor: Vietnam’ was trending all over the news after one contestant proclaimed her love for a fellow contestant.
In a rose ceremony that saw even more tears than usual (didn’t imagine that was even possible), Minh Thu, who was eliminated by the Bachelor Quoc Trung, dropped a truth bomb on everyone during her closing speech. She revealed that she was actually in love with another contestant on the show, Truc Nhu, and asked her to go home with her.
Marking a historic moment for LGBT+ representation on mainstream TV, Truc Nhu agreed and left the show with Minh.
And as much as viewers celebrated the unexpected moment of true love on a show like The Bachelor, it was shortlived when it was reported that Truc ended up returning to the show after having a change of mind.
However, as it turns out, she only stayed for a couple of episodes, following which she returned to Minh. The two are an actual couple now!
How sweet and romantic is that?! Oh, my heart can’t take it, y’all!
Speaking to NextShark, the executive producer of the show, Anh Tran, confirmed the news:
“They left the show and have been together since. We delivered on our promise that two people would find love.”
Anh-Thu Nguyen, who is one of the producers on the show, spoke about what this powerful moment meant for Vietnam’s LGBTQ+ community:
“As both a queer Vietnamese-American woman and as someone involved in the show who witnessed this first hand, this was a moving and powerful moment showcasing that love is love.
Especially in the context of Vietnamese culture, where family and saving face can often be prioritized over all else, including love, the fact these women made this declaration during the rose ceremony in front of everyone is even more awe-inspiring. It’s been a proud experience to see our clip resonate around the world and become an unexpected platform for discussing LGBTQI+ issues in Vietnam on a global scale.”
And look how cute and happy they look in matching yellow dresses while giving an interview to the show last week, where they confirmed their relationship!
In this auspicious occasion, I’d like to quote one of my favourite quotes of Professor Dumbledore: “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” Ahhh… True love isn’t extinct after all, people. We all still have hope.