Read on.

1. “I dated a girl for 8 long years. I knew that her parents didn’t know about me. However, my parents knew about her and were happy with our match. During our 7th year, she said that she wouldn’t go against her parents. I felt like an idiot after that and obviously, we slowly grew apart.”

2. “I dated a guy for about two years. We even went on several trips and parties together. After dating for a while, I asked him about our future and he responded that his family wouldn’t agree because he was from a different caste than mine. However, he said that we can still continue ‘our relationship’. Uh, no thanks. I broke up and blocked him right there and then.”

3. “My girlfriend of 6 years married a guy her family chose for her. Her parents knew about us but had outrageous demands from me, which I clearly refused. Ultimately, the breakup was mutual. I told her that I won’t do what her parents want me to do. So, it’s her choice. 5 years later, it seems to have been a right decision. She is now unhappily married with a baby. And I’m at a much better place in life.”

4. “My sister stood her ground for 10 years for her ex-boyfriend by not marrying anybody else. She waited until she was 33. That guy, however, married another girl under “parental pressure” in 2020 and went AWOL for a good 6-8 months. My sister came to her senses and got married to a great guy.”

5. “I had a friend, whose ex married someone else because her parents did not agree/give their blessings for their marriage (they had dated for about 8-10 years by then). Anyway, so the guy married someone else, but these guys (him and my friend) still kept in touch continuously. 6 months post their marriage, the guy files for divorce and my friend leaves her house to have a court marriage and these guys are now married. But, I don’t think they realise how it sucks to have dragged the other woman into this. They could have taken the decision to do what they did now before he got married.”

6. “A friend of mine had a girlfriend whose father opposed their relationship. My friend had a decent job, good education but he was from a small town in Uttar Pradesh, while the girl was from a rich Gujarati family. Even after her father forbade them from dating, they kept dating in secret. The girl’s family tried to get her to see some other guys for an arranged marriage, but she refused.”

7. “My girlfriend and I wanted to have an intercaste marriage. I convinced my parents, after fighting for about one year. However, her parents kept denying our relationship and forced her to marry another guy. She loved me but didn’t want to go against her father.”

8. “I am a 26-years-old man from Mangalore and my cast is Poojaris. I am in love with a girl for the past 12 years and she is from SC/ST caste. Both our parents are against our marriage and my girlfriend is not ready to register our marriage, without their consent. We tried to convince our parents and they didn’t agree. Now, my girlfriend is not talking to me. It has been more than two months, she is not contacting/responding to me.”

9. “My boyfriend and I have been together for 4.5 years and we have no doubt in our minds that we want to get married after we finish medical school. I’m Indian and he’s South American (we were both born in the US though). I waited to tell my parents about us until I was really very sure that he is the one who I want to spend my life with. When I told my dad first, he was very nice to me about it but they could not get on board and my very traditional mom would never be okay with it. Two days later, he told her himself, without me knowing or being there. She flipped out and alternated between yelling at me, ignoring me and threatening to kill herself for a week. Then, they both made it very clear to me that if I choose to be with him, they will cut me out of their lives and pretend I never existed because I should be respecting them as parents and marry someone Hindu out of respect for them.”

10. “My Indian boyfriend (24) and I (23) have been together for a few months. We are very happy in our relationship, have very good communication and have solid plans to get married someday. However, his parents told him they would ideally want him to marry a woman from his country. His mother cried, a lot, when she heard of me from someone else and refuses to even entertain the fact that we are together. Apparently, his mom sent a few relatives to spy on us while we were spending time together in public. His mom says that they are going to abandon him and never visit him again. She was also asserting that I wouldn’t be able to understand or respect their culture. His parents yelled at him and threatened to cut off his college funding. He says that he may also be disowned. They also called me a “low class” girl and thought I came here illegally.” 

Ah, some of these answers are truly sad!