As a tester, Ngoc’s days were filled with combing through lines of code to hunt down bugs before product release. The meticulous work left little room for romance.

One October evening in 2023, her best friend teased, “You only know how to find bugs and cuddle cats,” then urged her to try a dating app. A few days later, Ngoc received a message from Jake Thomas, an Australian. “What brings you to Tinder?” she asked straightaway.

Jake replied that he was traveling in Vietnam with a close friend’s Vietnamese family and wanted to meet locals to learn more about the country. Though warned by his friend’s family to “be careful of online scams,” the 30-year-old concrete plant operations manager found himself intrigued by the Vietnamese IT girl even before meeting her.

After Jake returned home, their conversations continued. Nearly two months later, he texted, “I want to see you again,” and booked a flight back to Vietnam.

Their first date was in Hanoi’s Old Quarter, where Ngoc took Jake and his friends to try bun cha and visit museums. When Jake later joined tours to Ninh Binh and Quang Ninh, Ngoc guessed he might not have time to do laundry, so she called the hotel receptionist to help him out.

To her, it was a small gesture. To Jake, it was a turning point. “In my country, people are so used to being independent. No one had ever cared for me that way. She melted my heart,” he texted.

Before the trip ended, they met once more to stroll around West Lake and eat shrimp cakes. As they said goodbye, Jake held her hand tightly and promised, “I’ll come back.”

From that day, every morning began with a message from Jake. Sometimes Ngoc was too busy and replied days later, but he kept texting patiently, sharing bits of his daily life.

In Hanoi, Ngoc’s heart slowly softened, especially when surprise bouquets from Jake started arriving at her office. “By mid-2024, he confessed that he was head over heels, and I realized I missed him too,” she said.

That autumn, they planned a trip together to Singapore. Ngoc was impressed by his quick wit and the way he seemed to understand her every thought.

The trip also served as Jake’s “test.” He transferred her money for expenses, but Ngoc only used part of it to buy him a pair of shoes. “That made me respect her even more,” he said.

Vu Ngoc Son walked his daughter down the aisle at her wedding in late December 2024. Photo courtesy of Ngoc

Months later, for her birthday, Jake planned a surprise proposal in Japan. At the foot of Mount Fuji in October 2024, he nervously pulled out a ring and asked, “Will you marry me?” Ngoc, busy taking photos, turned around to see him gazing at her tenderly.

She nodded, accepting the heirloom ring passed down through three generations of his family. “I suddenly realized I was getting married, moving to a faraway country, and hadn’t even told my parents yet,” Ngoc recalled. That night, when she shared the news, her father, Vu Ngoc Son, joked, “The rice is already cooked, what’s left to ask permission for?”

Still, he asked carefully about their plans. Learning that the couple intended to wed the following year, he advised them to marry before year’s end to avoid bad luck. Shocked, Jake asked for 30 minutes to think, worried about finances but agreed within 15 minutes, promising to return in three days for the engagement ceremony.

Son panicked. “Tell Jake to give me time to tidy the house first,” he told his daughter. Though assured that foreigners didn’t care much about formality, he still mobilized relatives to clean, polish furniture, and hang new curtains.

When Jake arrived, he couldn’t speak Vietnamese and could only smile and shake hands repeatedly. Watching the polite young man, Son felt content. “I must have done good deeds to earn such a gentle son-in-law,” he said.

The next two months were a race against time. In Australia, Jake worked extra weekends. In Vietnam, Ngoc balanced her IT job with wedding planning.

Their big day came on Dec. 28, 2024, on a grassy field in Ninh Binh. The bride wore a wedding gown from her mother-in-law, walking down the aisle hand in hand with her father. The groom waited, eyes glistening. “Since childhood, we’re told we’ll one day meet our life partner, have children, and grow old together,” Jake said during his vows. “But as adults, we learn not everyone gets that happy ending. We’re lucky that we found ours.”

In response, the bride made her vow: “I once dreamed my husband would be the man from my favorite poem: ‘The one whose smile is like sunshine, waiting for me, even in the rain.’ And here you are.”

Before his daughter moved to Australia in June 2025, Mr. Son sent Jake a long message ending with, “I love my daughter deeply. She’s far from home now. Please take good care of her.”

Jake promised to love her like a princess. “I love her very muchVietnamese IT engineer, Australian man, cross-continent love story, international relationship, Vietnam love story, online dating success, Tinder romance, intercultural marriage,” he replied. “I’ll learn Vietnamese because I value Ngoc and our family.”

Ngoc and Jake, together with her two younger siblings, on their wedding day. Photo courtesy of Ngoc

Now, the couple lives in Yamba, a quiet seaside town in Australia. Life moves slower there than in Hanoi. Ngoc is studying English, learning to drive, and plans to find a lighter job after years in IT.

“Happiness came unexpectedly but feels so sweet,” she said. “Every day, my husband calls me ‘em yeu’ – my love, and my mother-in-law calls me ‘con yeu’ – dear daughter. That’s how I know I’m truly home.”