Can Interethnic Marriage in Singapore Last?

Can an interethnic marriage in Singapore last?

Story of Jingyang and Sophia

On 25 March 2017, 28-year-old Chinese coal miner Chen Jingyang married his 22-year-old Russian wife Sophia by holding a wedding feats at a hotel in the Heilongjiang province.

Sophia arrived in Heihe 5 years ago to study Chinese. At university, she learned to speak Mandarin fluently. After she graduated, Sophia began working at a company in the city.

In 2016, she met Chen through a friend. Eventually, Chen plucked up enough courage to ask Sophia for her Wechat contact. He would spend all his free time chatting with Sophia after work. They soon started dating.

To Sophia, it was love at first sight. After dating Chen for a week, she took leave from work to visit Chen at the coal mine. She resigned shortly thereafter to get closer to Chen. For 2 months, she lived in a shabby environment without indoor toilets and with frogs and rats running around. These were her happiest days.

After half a year of dating, the couple decided to get married even though Chen has no asset to his name. Sophia believe that “love is the most important thing” and that they will be able to buy a home and car if they work hard together.

Chen has quit his job as a miner and the couple has plans to start a business in Russia.

See: Alex Linder, “Chinese coal miner has no flat, no car. Russian woman marries him anyway for love”, Shanghaiist, 30 March 2017

As a divorce lawyer who conducts hundreds of divorce cases a year, I have seen how some interethnic marriages in Singapore fall apart because of cultural differences. One has to realise that a marriage is not just about 2 people. It involves 2 families, cultures and even communities in some cases!

Sometimes, it is not the fault of either party if the marriage ends in a divorce.

Can an interethnic marriage in Singapore last? Do you have an interethnic marriage in Singapore?