The interesting love story of the 'shortest actress in Vietnam' with a Western man nearly 2m tall

All my ex-boyfriends are over 1m8 tall.

- Called by the audience as "the shortest actress in Vietnamese showbiz", what is your secret to loving a Western guy who is much taller than you?

Maybe we were lucky to meet and fall in love. All my ex-boyfriends were over 1m8. Sometimes my mother teased my fiancé: "Why don't you love long legs but love my daughter with short legs?". He replied: "Short legs are cute, I always feel protected by Phuong and I love Phuong because she is wonderful. Thank you, Mom, for having such a wonderful daughter for me."

Actress Truong Phuong and her Western boyfriend have had a happy 4-year relationship.

- Have you two ever had a funny situation because of the height difference?

We don’t have any issues with our height difference but we have had some funny things happen during our relationship. When I went to New Zealand with him, I went shopping and there were no clothes in my size so my fiancé took me shopping for clothes for 10-16 year olds. He joked that we would save a lot of money because I couldn’t wear adult clothes.

My hobby is sweets. He is very indulgent and buys a lot of sweets for me. But sometimes, because he is afraid that I will eat too much and it is not good for my health, he puts the food on a high shelf so that I cannot reach it. Maybe that is why I do not gain weight.

- People say Vietnamese women who marry Western men are all rich, what about your boyfriend?

My fiancé is the founder of an IT company in New Zealand. He is a normal person, not a tycoon. I think recently, there have been too many Vietnamese women bragging about marrying rich Western men and billionaires on social media, which has created a distorted view among people that marrying a Western man means marrying a tycoon.

The height difference between the two is not a big deal.

- How did you and your fiancé fall in love?

We met at a restaurant opening party. He asked for my phone number and invited me to dinner afterwards. We talked and found that we got along well but only 1 week later he flew back to his country. After that, we kept in touch and talked to each other every day.

At that time, my English was terrible, but talking to him, I learned a lot. Then 2 months later, he told me: "I like you! Can you wait for me to fly back to Vietnam?". So, as we met more often, he gradually confessed his love to me in Vietnamese: "I love you". Just like that, we have officially been a couple for 4 years.

Support living together before marriage

-During the 4 years of being in love, what kind of feelings did he bring to you?

I love everything about him. When I'm with him, I always feel safe and happy. He gives me a warm and safe feeling every time I think of him. Do you understand the feeling when you're doing something but suddenly remember your other half and smile to yourself? Or whenever I need or like something, I don't even have to say it, he already understands what I want.

Western boyfriend pampers Truong Phuong very much.

-How gentle and attentive are foreign men to women, in your opinion?

Western men also have good and bad people. For example, I used to date a Western man who lived and worked in Vietnam. He was selfish, jealous but extremely promiscuous. So I just hope that Vietnamese women do not idolize Western men. We should be smart in choosing and know how to respect ourselves.

- What is your current boyfriend's bad point?

His bad point is that he is too perfect for me. I don't know later but at this time I have not seen his bad point. I don't know if you believe it or not but we have never argued, we often talk and share with each other what we like or need to change in respect for each other. He knows how to negotiate and convince me so saying goodbye is never.

- If you love a foreigner, do you have cultural and language differences?

My English is not excellent, even until now I still have to learn but we have no disagreements. Because my fiancé is very patient in helping me learn the language.

The actress gets along quite well with her future husband's family.

- How does your future husband's family treat you?

I consider my future husband's family as my second family. Everyone loves me like a family member. When I was there, his parents often taught me Western dishes, and I taught everyone Vietnamese dishes. There, I had no friends or relatives. My future husband's parents and siblings were very understanding and often took me out to play, shop, and eat. My future husband also took me on trips whenever he had free time. He didn't want me to feel bored or homesick too much.

- When do you plan to get married?

We had planned to have the wedding this April but now there is the Covid-19 epidemic so we postponed the wedding until the epidemic is over.

She said she will still accept acting roles after marriage if there is a suitable role.

- After getting married, will you settle abroad or continue to stay in Vietnam to work in entertainment?

For now, we still travel between the two countries like when we were dating. If there are any suitable programs or movies, I can still participate. After getting married, I still want to do that because I was born and raised in Vietnam. My family is here, my father passed away early so the family is short of people. I want my children to grow up in both places when I have children so that they can be close to both sides of the family and understand the culture of both countries. Later, when my children grow up and are old enough to go to school, I will move to the other side to settle down. My husband also agrees with this plan.

- You are an artist. Does your future husband understand and support your acting in films, even in many scenes where you have to sacrifice for art?

He always understands and supports me in my work. He always says: “I am proud of you”.

At the age of 33, Truong Phuong still maintains her figure.

- What about the rumor that you got married while pregnant?

There is no way we would have gotten married because of pregnancy. When he proposed, I was surprised, so how could we have gotten married because of pregnancy? We came together because of love, not because we accidentally got pregnant. Responsibility is one thing, but for a Western man to ask a girl to marry him is another. If they don't love each other, they will still only support their children and not marry. Here, there are couples who have lived together for decades and have children before getting married.

- What do you think about living together before marriage?

I think living together is necessary before marriage. When buying shoes or a shirt, we have to try them on to see if they fit, let alone marriage. I want to live together to see if we can keep the fire of love burning when we come home together, face the truth about people and daily activities. Are we compatible with each other in terms of lifestyle and personality? Therefore, in my personal opinion, living together is also a test. If we pass it, marriage will be more solid.