The tearful past of the MC with the most beautiful smile on VTV

Helping my parents sell chickens at the market, during 5 years of primary school I only had one warm shirt to wear through several winters, my family had to save every penny... those were my difficult childhood years, full of tears.MC with the most beautiful smile on VTV- Nguyen Thuy Linh.

I met MC Thuy Linh on a Saturday afternoon after she was busy with work at the TV station. The conversation over a cup of coffee started with smiles and gradually turned into tears as we went back to our childhood days. For the first time, Thuy Linh shared with me about a memory of poverty, hardship but still warm and happy...

MC Thuy Linh, VTV

When I was young, I was skinny and dark... only pretty when I smiled.

Many people say that Thuy Linh smiles a lot on stage, her face is always cheerful and radiant even when she is tired from work, stressed or in an uncomfortable mood. But in real life, Thuy Linh smiles even more.

She said: “When I was little, I often looked in the mirror and wondered why I was so ugly, small, skinny and dark. But every time I smiled, people complimented me on how pretty I was. Stemming from that very childish thought, I smiled more to be complimented on how pretty I was, and also to bring joy to everyone… I still remember in the yearbooks of my friends in high school and college, many of them wrote that they liked my smile the most and also thought I was prettiest when I smiled."

And behind that special award photo is an interesting story. Thuy Linh said that when the VTV Smile photo contest was launched, she did not directly submit any photos. Until the night before the award ceremony, the Organizing Committee informed her to prepare mentally to receive the award, at that time she was very surprised and excited.

“When my photo won the special prize, I was really surprised and couldn’t believe my eyes. After asking around, I found out that the room manager and MC Danh Tung had secretly sent the photo…”, Thuy Linh happily revealed.

The photo helped MC Thuy Linh win the special prize of the VTV Smile contest.

“I find myself having an interesting point: once I step on stage, somehow, all the difficulties and worries are forgotten. Sometimes I am so tired that I cannot talk normally, but as soon as I start hosting the show, I naturally feel refreshed. Another big motivation for me is the support and teamwork of the whole crew,” Thuy Linh said.

Ask Thuy Linh: You must be a very optimistic and life-loving person? Thuy Linh nodded and said that there were times in her work and life when she felt tired, depressed, uncertain, and even disoriented, but she did not let herself drift away with those negative emotions and moods. She thought about adjusting to another direction or comforting herself with the good things she had.

Helping my mother sell chickens at the market… I want two winter coats.

But people often say that behind a smile are thoughts. Did you ever experience difficult, miserable childhood years to form a strong, confident MC Thuy Linh like me and the audience still see? – I asked.

Thuy Linh honestly confided that she was born and raised in Hanoi, her old house was on Hang Gai Street, but her family life was not as prosperous as many people thought, if not poor and miserable. Because of the difficult times, her mother decided to quit her job as a worker at the Department of Surveying and Mapping to go to Russia to work as an export laborer.

Away from her mother since she was 2 years old, her father was busy working early in the morning and late at night and could not take care of her every day. Thuy Linh's childhood was spent with her maternal grandparents, while her older brother was sent to her paternal grandparents' house. "Every Friday evening, my father would take me home on his old bike, and on Sunday afternoon, he would take me to my grandparents' house," MC Thuy Linh happily said.

Thuy Linh at 2.5 years old (red life jacket) with her grandmother and younger brother.

Life seemed to be less difficult until Thuy Linh was 4 years old, an unfortunate accident happened... "While playing, I was not paying attention, I picked up a ball under the bed when there was an electrical outlet and accidentally touched it, got electrocuted and my family had to take me to the emergency room. At that time, the treatment was not as modern and timely as it is now..." Thuy Linh sadly recalled the time she spent in the hospital.

At that time, in a foreign land, hearing the news that her daughter had to be hospitalized and was sick again and again, her mother was sad and worried, so she had to cancel her labor contract in Russia. Returning empty-handed, the old agency also did not accept her anymore.

“My parents did all kinds of jobs, from tailoring to importing and selling chickens at the market. Every day, they woke up at 2-3am to prepare the goods so that they could bring them to the market by 6am. When I was a child, I often woke up early to help my parents with small tasks like washing chickens and intestines. Whether it was sunny or rainy, or when the weather was unfavorable, or when they got sick from staying up late and waking up early, or from working hard, my parents never complained, and never missed a single market day. Looking at my parents, I felt… sorry for them, so sorry for them,” Thuy Linh confided, choking up.

“I still remember the 5 years of primary school, I only had one warmest shirt, a red puffer jacket. I wore it throughout the cold seasons, when the shirt was still loose and long past my knees until it couldn’t be any shorter. During my primary school years, I often participated in storytelling and singing and dancing competitions. When performing in front of a crowd in the cold season, I always wore that shirt, to the point that my teacher had to borrow a shirt from another classmate for me to wear and then tactfully tell my mother to buy me a new shirt. I innocently told my mother about it, she said, just try to get through that winter (grade 5), next year when I go to secondary school, she will buy me a new shirt…”, Thuy Linh emotionally recounted.

MC Thuy Linh, VTV

Life was so poor, there were times when relatives had to contribute money, clothes, food, utensils... but in the memory of the MC of "Favorite Song" is still a peaceful childhood, without a single sigh or complaint. She cried a lot but because of love and happiness. "The family was poor but there was always laughter, my parents never raised their voices or spoke harshly to each other because of money or poverty...", Thuy Linh shared, wiping away tears.

For Thuy Linh, the Tet holidays of her childhood, although poor, were happy and simple, like being able to eat a better meal than usual, or wearing the only new clothes of the year. Back then, the lack of material things made seemingly simple things become infinitely precious.

Despite the family's poverty and days of hardship, Thuy Linh's parents still tried to raise their children to be good people. Thuy Linh said that every time she passed by a toy store and saw cute items, she asked her mother to buy them for her. Her mother always encouraged her, saying, "When you have money, please buy it for me." Naturally, she nodded immediately, smiled and said, "Remember, Mom." Then she looked forward to the day "When you have money."

In real life, MC Thuy Linh is a young, dynamic girl.

Among Thuy Linh's many keepsakes, the clock is the first and also the one she treasures the most. Thuy Linh recalls: "That was the second prize I won in a city-level storytelling contest in second grade. I walked home alone from the Children's Palace, the little girl holding the huge prize box for fear of being robbed, making everyone on the street look. The clock was hung by my father in the most beautiful position in the house. But the most meaningful thing to me is that more than 20 years have passed since that day, the house has been repaired and moved countless times, the clock is also rusted, even broken quite a few. But my father always fixes it himself, cleans it, and hangs it in the most visible position."

Thuy Linh does not hide that her poor family background is the motivation for her to strive to study better, and also from the hardship that helped her become an independent, strong girl in life. She confided that during her university years, only the first semester did her parents provide money, the rest she had to "do it herself". Thuy Linh did many extra jobs from tutoring, teaching to PG and then roaming the streets distributing flyers... She was not afraid of anything, as long as the job was clean and she had money to help her parents pay for her studies.

And “I feel happy and proud to be born into my own family, in my own circumstances. Despite the difficulties, I still receive a lot of love. And in life, no matter what changes, when facing difficulties, storms or challenges, family is always a support. And I also strongly overcome…”, Thuy Linh confided.

According to VNN