On a winter day towards the end of 2019, she arrived at the airport in the southern Indian city. Nhu Y saw her boyfriend Porithosh Shetty waiting for her in jeans, T-shirt and sandals. The 37-year-old was briefly disappointed, thinking he hadn’t tried hard enough to look good when they first met.
However, his qualms about that first impression were quickly dashed when Porithosh showed how considerate he was. He adjusted her car seat to a comfortable position and even prepared some towels for her so she could freshen up.
He went so far as to prepare a meal for Nhu Y in advance as he was afraid that she would be hungry after a long flight. Since it was hard to find Vietnamese food in Bangalore, he ended up making seafood fried rice, Thai salad and Tom Yum soup due to their similarity to the flavors of Vietnamese cuisine.
Nhu Y says that when the car drove past the three gates on its way to the Shetty’s estate on the outskirts of town, it felt like it had entered a different world. Their mansion was built on 20,000 square meters of land divided in two: one half for the family’s resort, the other for their residence.
The mansion was surrounded by a garden, and its swimming pool was privatized by granite walls. The interior of the house was fully furnished with beautiful wooden furniture. The entrance was adorned with a red carpet, where 10 servants awaited the couple. When Nhu Y got out of the car, they bowed to her and then went out the back door to start their work.
It was only then that Porithosh revealed the truth about his family. He is the eldest son of an upper class Indian family. His late father was a doctor who built a renowned hospital in Bangalore which Porithosh and his brother now run. Porithosh himself also runs the resort, a restaurant, a 40-hectare coffee farm and the 150-year-old house where he was born.
Prior to this encounter, the couple had only known each other online for a few weeks. In October 2019, Porithosh Shetty traveled to Vietnam for vacation and incidentally saw Nhu Y’s profile on a dating app. Charmed by her face and her smile, the 45-year-old entrepreneur pressed “like” and immediately texted her.
At that time, Nhu Y was working as a nurse at District 5 Medical Center in HCMC. She had recently broken up with her boyfriend, but even though she was single, she was hesitant to respond to Porithosh’s messages.
“Indians have a lot of customs and cultural norms that are different from Vietnamese, and that can be hard to overcome,” she says.
But on the last day of her journey, Porithosh’s determination finally won her over. In her first response, Nhu Y said that since she was of age, she wanted to find someone to marry, not someone to have fun with.
Porithosh’s first marriage fell apart in 2014, so he understood how serious marriage was and sympathized with her sentiment.
The couple couldn’t meet in person before Porithosh left Vietnam, so they decided to stay connected by phone.
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Nhu Y in a wedding dress on her wedding day. Photo courtesy of Nhu Y |
Meanwhile, Nhu Y had to rely on translation tools to speak to Porishosh. Although facing a language barrier, Porithosh was patient, listening to every word and every issue she spoke without complaining. Her behavior caused Y to trust her and her feelings began to grow.
“He never said anything vulgar to me, unlike other guys I’ve met on social media,” Y says. deepen from there. Finally, they planned to meet.
In the winter of 2019, Nhu Y requested 20 days off to fly to Bangalore.
While there, she was overwhelmed by her family’s wealth. Y had grown up in a modest family of eight, all living in a 21m² house, so she was not used to being waited on by others.
On one occasion, Porithosh took Y to a mall, asking her to try on a $2,000 bag, but she refused to take it.
“I’m not used to using expensive bags, and I don’t think it suits me anyway,” says Y.
Thinking she was only shy because he was with her, Porithosh gave her his credit card and told her she could buy whatever she wanted. Even then, she was adamant about not spending her money, and that surprised her suitor.
After three weeks, Nhu Y returned to Vietnam, leaving Porithosh wistfully. He missed seeing his silhouette in the kitchen in the early morning light, working hard rolling dough to make banh canh (thick noodle soup) for him.
“Are you ready to be by my side forever? Porithosh texted her after they split.
Only a month later, Nhu Y returned to India, where they kissed again at the airport.
At this time, Porithosh’s mother returned home from vacation. The first meeting between his girlfriend and her mother made him nervous. He wrote 10 things about Nhu Y and why he chose her to be his wife in a notebook and showed it to his mother. At the time of the meeting, Porithosh held Nhu Y’s hand to calm his nerves, making sure his brother was there to help Nhu Y in case his English was insufficient to communicate with his future mother-in-law.
Porithosh’s mother smiled upon seeing this. Her previous marriage had been arranged by her, but the couple were unhappy. At this second chance, she wanted him to decide for himself.
To prepare to become a wife in India, Nhu Y returned to Vietnam to resign from her job. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic separated the couple for almost two years. They were finally reunited in October 2021, allowing them to register their marriage and have a wedding at the family compound.
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Nhu Y with his mother (second person from left) and in-laws the day before the wedding, October 2021. Photo courtesy of Nhu Y |
Nhu Y says that the first days of her life as a wife were quite boring for her. She was hardly required to do anything, and even the simple act of cleaning the dishes after a meal was considered by her mother-in-law to be the responsibility of servants.
A day in the life of the women in the Shetty household consisted of going to the gym, doing yoga, reading books and attending functions with their husbands when necessary.
Even Nhu Y’s sister-in-law, a medical student who went abroad to Australia, had little opportunity to use her degree.
Faced with homesickness and monotony, the newlywed started posting videos on YouTube about her life in India to get something to do.
The chain became surprisingly popular, so much so that people got to know Nhu Y and asked him to ship groceries back to Vietnam. After a few orders, she decides to make it her secondary activity.
At first, Porithosh was opposed to this. In his mind, his wife didn’t need to work because the family was wealthy. Anyway, Y was able to convince her husband by telling him about a day in his daily life: being able to find products, pack them and ship them allowed him to make better use of his time and to be less bored.
“Besides, I want to work so as not to become lazy,” adds Nhu Y.
Faced with her determination, Porithosh relented. Occasionally, he was also seen in videos of his wife as they made pho and naan bread (a type of Indian bread) together.
In a recent video posted last week, Porithosh took his wife to the seaside town of Mangalore to enjoy cocktails. Seeing how the strong winds ruffled Nhu Y’s hair, Porithosh gently untangled the knots. He then gave her his jacket to protect her from the wind.
“Thank you for always being so thoughtful,” she said with a broad smile.
