Same-sex couple on Vietnam’s ‘The Bachelor’ explains secret romance
WHEN Elan Gale, an executive producer for the ABC shows, was asked this year if an LGBT season might be coming soon, he didn’t rule it out but didn’t commit to the idea, either, saying: “We’ll see what the future holds.”
There’s been at least one bisexual contestant on “The Bachelor,” but two same- sex contestants have never ended up together. However, it’s happened in Vietnam. This season on the country’s Bachelor show, contestant Minh Thu told the male lead that she’s found love, but not with him – with fellow contestant Truc Nhu. In an emotional rose ceremony, Minh asked Truc to come home with her.
Truc stayed on the show a little longer, but once she was eliminated, she got together with Minh. We asked the couple about their relationship, which they discussed through the help of a translator. The following exchange has been edited for clarity and length.
Q: Minh Thu, what was the moment you realised you had feelings for Truc Nhu?
Minh Thu: At the end of the second episode, Truc was the last person to get her name called for a rose. I was worried she was going to be eliminated, and I realised I didn’t want to be far from her. After that, my feelings started to seem like something more.
Q: Truc Nhu, how did you feel when Minh confessed her feelings for you? Were you surprised?
Truc: I was surprised. I didn’t know if Minh had thoughtfully reflected.
Did she really like me, or was she doing something to make the show exciting?
But when I saw her face looking back at me, her expression was so true.
Q: Tell me how your love blossomed on the show.
Truc: When the show started filming, we were assigned to the same room. When I looked through the door’s peephole and saw Minh waiting outside, her expression seemed snobby. I let her knock three times before I let her in. Minh was very adorable and polite when speaking to me. I was a bit more guarded and cold at first.
After we finished filming the second episode where I was the last one called for a rose and almost eliminated, I looked back at the rest of the contestants almost in a way of saying, “It was great to know all of you.
“Now it’s my time to leave.” I saw Minh and her eyes were shaking with tears because she was scared I would leave.
Q: Would you like to see a same- sex Bachelor show in Vietnam? What do you think it will take to get to that moment?
Minh: Whether we would like to see it or not isn’t what is important.
What’s important is whether Vietnamese audiences would accept it. Currently, we’ve experienced some acceptance for our story in Vietnam, but the support hasn’t nearly been as open as it has been internationally.
Vietnam is gradually becoming more accepting, but it will take some time to become ready for an LGBT show like that. In a few generations, this would be acceptable. — Washington Post