In 2015, 1,622 Singaporean women married a non-Singaporean groom. This is a 39% increase from the number in 2005. More Singaporean women have married foreign men over the last 10 years. The foreign grooms tend to be professionals from different parts of the world.
According to sociologists, marriage counsellors and solemnisers, this is the result of more Singaporean women studying or working overseas. Further, as the number of foreign men in Singapore increases, there are more opportunities for a Singaporean lady to meet foreign men.
On the other hand, there are fewer Singaporean men marrying foreign women over the last decade.
Experts interviewed said that a Singaporean woman-foreign man union tends to be more evenly matched in terms of education, income and culture, unlike a Singaporean man-foreign bride union. A Singaporean man-foreign woman couple may not have a “strong foundation in their relationship” and face more challenges.
See: Theresa Tan, “More Singaporean women saying ‘I do’ to foreigners”, The Straits Times, 13 November 2016
As the world becomes smaller, and more foreigners arrive in Singapore for work/ education, it is inevitable that there will be more Singaporean-foreigner unions.
There will always be challenges in a marriage. Perhaps more so if it involves 2 people used to different culture, environment and lifestyles.
Typically, as the article suggests, Singaporean women who marry foreign spouses may have met their spouse at work or in school. The men are likely to have lived in Singapore for a substantial period of time before the marriage. They are used to the Singaporean lifestyle and there will not be a “cultural shock” which may affect a foreign wife coming to Singapore for the first time. With more similarities and a narrower gap in mind set as their Singaporean wife, they may not be facing as much difficulties.
This is not to say that a Singaporean man-foreign wife relationship will not last. I have seen many male clients who marry a foreign wife after their divorce, and they go on to have a blessed marriage. It may be because they have learned the mistakes from their previous marriage and gone on to avoid the pitfalls.
There can be so many challenges in a marriage. The only way to make it last is to understand the difficulties faced by your partner, see things from his/ her angle and make each other’s life easier. After all, love is two imperfect people refusing to give up on each other.
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