Despite strong objections from her parents, who wanted her to marry a 'nice Chinese boy, STOMPer Jeanne braved all odds to be with the bald, muscular Spanish man who had won her heart.
She tells us her love story:
"I met David when I was 21 and studying at the University of Toronto.
"I was living the single life back then and enjoying college days on residence.
"My roommate, Lejla and I were super tight and we were really great friends with Ty, this really smart boy who hung out with us often.
"It was Ty’s birthday and Lejla and I wanted to take him out to a strip club for it.
"There was going to be a party of 5 girls and the birthday boy so we decided that Lejla should ask her male colleagues from her part time retail job to join us, so as the balance out the male and female ratio.
"I wasn’t feeling that great that night and almost bailed on the party but Lejla kept convincing me to go and I finally relented.
"When I met Lejla’s colleagues, I was totally oblivious to David. I thought he was well dressed in a dark suit.
"He was clean shaven and bald and was muscular but he just wasn’t really my type. It was his Portuguese friend, Jason, whom I had eyes for.
"Jason drove David that night and so I made sure I was in that car and when we got to the strip club, I commented that it was a hot night while David was helping me out of the car and his respond was ‘You’re hot!’
"I was mildly surprised as it was totally unexpected. It did make me take notice of this handsome Spanish man who was blatantly hitting on me although I was still quite hung up on Jason.
"As the night progressed from strip club to dance club to cake back at our residence, word travelled that David would like to go on a date with me. That was when the idea kind of appealed to me. I thought to myself ‘He’s not bad either!’
"Over the next three consecutive days, we went out on group dates and by then I was starting to be self conscious because I was aware of his intentions. However, he never made the move to ask for my number!
"Finally on the 4th day, Lejla came to me with his number; I picked up the phone, talked to him for 2 hours and at the end of the conversation, had asked him out to the movies with everyone else!
"The movie “The Ladies Man” was one of the worst movies we’ve ever seen!
"First date after that was at a classy neighbourhood restaurant with warm wood and soft lighting. I didn’t know then that he was nursing a throat virus. Every morsel of food he swallowed caused a cough and a gag reflex but he kept on a brave front.
"At the end of the meal, he threw up everything he ate outside the restaurant. You would think that was a deal breaker but instead, I took care of him and felt so bad for him.
"After that, we spent many cold wintry nights curled up on my couch, watching movies, listening to music, enjoying hot tea and just talking to each other, getting to know one another better. We had both gotten out of bad relationships before that and we really connected on many levels.
"He made me laugh like I’ve never laughed before. His heart was warm, open and accepting. He made me feel so safe by his sheer size and his reassuring ways after a previously abusive relationship.
"I remember at that moment, I felt that he was a true gift from god and that I’ve been given a second chance at love, even though I wasn’t religious at all.
"A year after, my parents moved to Canada and I met violent objections from my mother who couldn’t understand why I couldn’t be with a ‘nice Chinese boy’.
"I fought hard and strong, reluctant to give up this wonderful man for the hopes of ever finding such a ‘nice Chinese boy’. For 3 long years, after moving back in with my parents, there were fighting, screaming and crying every day between me and my mother.
"My only solace was that David was extremely supportive and even though I told him every name that he was labelled, not once did he take it personally. He reassured me that he was not bothered by people who didn’t know him on a personal level.
"He only wanted to be there for me to comfort me and see me through all that.
"Six years later, six months before we got married, he finally met my parents for the very first time. I’m still not quite sure what made my mother turn around. Perhaps seeing how strongly we’ve bonded and what a great personality David has.
"It’s incredible how well we complement each other in many different ways. Our wedding day was beautiful, colourful and full of laughter.
"We’ve been together for more than 10 years and married for close to 5 now and as cliché as it sounds, I still get butterflies in my stomach whenever I catch a glimpse of his eye in a sea of different faces and smiles.
"He still makes me laugh uncontrollably at his silly antics, makes me feel safe and comforted in my sorrows and most importantly, has taught me many valuable life lessons.
"I now look at life with a half glass full mentality and have learnt to appreciate the things we have and not lament on what we don’t.
"I persuaded David to move to Singapore with me 2 years ago and his carefree and easy going attitude has endeared him to many of my friends and his new colleagues here. People ask us ‘where is home?’
"I tell them it doesn’t matter...home is not a physical place; home is when we are together.
"We like to tell people the story of how we met and that amidst the soft core porn in the background, the 2 of us fell in love."
