Tag: Dating

Dating a Married Filipina: not a good idea

Should you consider dating or getting romantically involved with a woman from the Philippines who is “separated”–not living with her husband but still legally married?

Here’s the short answer: I would strongly advise against such relationships as of right now. This type of “relationship” will prove to be a dead end that will leave you wasting time, money, and may just break your heart.

An introduction to the Married Filipina’s dillemma

The Philippines, as of the time of this writing, is the only country in the world where legal divorce does not exist.

That probably sounds crazy if you, like me, grew up in the West where divorce is commonplace. Most of us went to school with kids whose parents were divorced (or grew up in that kind of home ourselves). We have family members that were divorced. Heck–you may have been through a divorce yourself and are looking to start over with a woman from the Philippines.

I get it: dating a woman who was once married isn’t such a big deal if you grew up in a typical Western country. Some people have better success after the hard lessons learned from a failed marriage.

But don’t expect a happy ending if you get involved with a woman from the Philippines who is still legally married.

I’ll explain how this typically works. Let’s say a couple gets married and for whatever reason they decide to call it quits (she will not tolerate his womanizing or they just can’t get along for some other reason). They really only have one possible legal recourse: annulment.

Annulment means that a legal marriage never existed. Here in the West an annulment is typically granted when a couple hasn’t been together very long (like Britney Spears’ infamous 55-hour “marriage”). Needless to say, an annulment is very difficult to execute if someone has been with his/her spouse for years.

Here are the circumstances under which an annulment can be granted according to the law of the Philippines:

  1. Absence of Parental Consent. A marriage was solemnized and one or the other party was eighteen (18) years of age or over but below twenty-one (21) and consent was not given by the parents, guardian or person having substitute parental authority.
  2. Mental Illness or psychological incapacity.
  3. Fraud. That the consent of either party was obtained by fraud, unless such party once having knowledge of the fraud freely cohabited with the other as husband and wife.
  4. That the consent of either party was obtained by force, intimidation or undue influence.
  5. One or the other party was physically incapable of consummating the marriage, and such incapacity continues and appears to be incurable.
  6. Either party was at the time of marriage afflicted with a sexually-transmitted-disease (STD) found to be serious and seems to be incurable.

That’s the letter of the law. Here’s how it works out in real life: most annulments in the Philippines are based on that second circumstance “psychological incapacity”–the idea is that one person didn’t know what he/she was doing when he/she got married. It seems like most of these cases are a sham, but I presume it is the easiest reason to prove from a legal standpoint (maybe pay off a psychologist to testify–who knows).

Such annulments are incredibly expensive (3,000 to 15,000 dollars) and may take years to complete. It is not unusual to hear of judges being bribed for such annulments.

Put all these factors together and you can see that an annulment is something that’s usually only available to the rich, famous, and powerful. The expensive, time-consuming process is simply not an option for most citizens of the Philippines.

What is the average Filipina or Filipino to do when their marriages fail? Most of them just live separately. They may file for legal separation, but that will not give either one the right to remarry. They may cohabitate with someone new and even start a second family. I’ve lost count of the number of people I met in the Philippines in this situation.

RECOMMENDED: I recommend Christian Filipina for those who are serious about finding love in the Philippines.

The Married Filipina and the new boyfriend

That’s where you may unfortunately come into the picture. The separated Filipina begins chatting online with some guy from the West. She’s lonely and wants to try something new in terms of relationships. Some guy finds her attractive/interesting and begins some form of relationship. It’s not hard to imagine this scenario because she may be younger and more beautiful than any of his prospects in the West. Before he knows it he is deeply emotionally invested–entangled in something that will not end well.

What he doesn’t realize is that this is a dead end on many levels. She may convince him to shell out thousands of dollars for an annulment that may not be successful (or may just use the annulment as a scam to ask for money).

He will waste time, money, and emotions that could have been spent on a woman with whom he could build a real future.

The consequences can go beyond a broken heart and wallet. Adultery is a punishable legal crime in the Philippines. There are cases where Western men have become involved with married Filipinas and the estranged husband files legal charges for adultery (even if he’s been out of the picture for years). One or both “offenders” can face jail time for this–this includes you if you are charged while visiting or living in the Philippines. This can even be a means of extorting money from you (the woman may even be in on it in some cases).

Just in case you think it couldn’t get any worse, the Philippines has a “crime of passion” law (Article 247 of the Revised Penal Code) that potentially protects someone who murders his/her spouse while catching them “in the act” of adultery. This scenario is highly unlikely (and the law itself is controversial), but it yet another risk involved with the married Filipina.

My recommendation

What do I recommend? Find a single Filipina! With thousands of beautiful single Filipinas to chose from, why take the risk of such a heartache? I always recommend the Christian Filipina website as a way to meet good women.

How can you be 100% sure she’s single? You can ask, of course, and you can just watch out for any “red flags” that she’s not telling you the truth. Let’s say, for example, that she seems resistant to you meeting her family–that may be a sign that she’s hiding something.

But if push comes to shove you can ask for legal verification–you could tell her you’ve been burned before and want proof that she’s single. The Philippines has a legal database of everyone’s marital status. You ask her for a form called a CENOMAR (certificate of no marriage). You could send her the money to pay for it (only about 200 pesos). You might even be able to order this for her online and just ask her to scan and show you the copy. Just be sure her name matches exactly what you see on her other ID’s.

I’ll add one final note here: the Philippines is considering a bill that would allow divorce. Does this change my mind about anything I’ve written? Not one bit! I’ve spent a lot of time in the Philippines and seen divorce bills talked about and debated for decades. This time it may be different, but there is simply no guarantee that divorce will be legal in the Philippines anytime soon.

RECOMMENDED: REMITLY

Filipina Dating a Foreigner: The Five Greatest Challenges

Wedding_rings

I am extremely happy with the life that my Filipina wife and I have together.  I can’t imagine being with anyone else or being married to someone of my own race/culture.  Our love is a beautiful thing that has enhanced my life in ways I could never fully describe.

But I never want to present being married to a Pinay as some kind of panacea or fairy tale.  All marriages require work, and mine is no exception.  Marrying a woman from the Philippines, in fact, will come with some unique challenges that you wouldn’t face if you just dated someone from your own country.  Here are a few that come to mind:

Challenge #1: Choosing with Limited Information

This isn’t always a big factor for those of us who have spent time in the Philippines and dated while living/visiting there.  But most Filipino-American couples first meet online.  Usually this means the man joined a dating website (like Christian Filipina–the one I recommend), met a pretty Filipina, and started communicating via email and chat.  This works out well for most of the couples that I’ve met, but it is arguably more risky than being able to meet/date in more traditional or conventional ways.  In other words, the men usually have to make a decision based on very limited face-to-face time with their girlfriends.

Challenge #2: The Visa Process

Let’s say you do find a great woman (as so many do) and are 100% sure you want to marry her.  The next challenge is enduring the process of getting her spousal/fiancee visa so she can move to your country and (eventually) become a citizen there.  The process is doable but it does require a lot of patience on your part.  The government agencies involved get your tax dollars regardless of their inefficiencies and can be frustrating to deal with.  I have recommended a service to help you do things correctly, but it takes a few months even under the best circumstances.

Challenge #3: The Distance

The most difficult thing about being married to a Filipina is you are always going to be far away from either her family or yours.  This usually means being far from hers because of the better opportunities available in America (or other Western countries).  There are exceptions–guys who decide to live as expats in the Philippines.  Either way you’re going to live halfway across the world from someone’s family.  Family ties are extremely important in the Filipino culture, so you can imagine how difficult this can be.  Being able to chat via Skype does help, but the dilemma is still there regardless.

Challenge #4: Money Issues

Money issues are probably the biggest cause of divorce worldwide. This issue can be especially challenging if you’re married to a Filipina because sharing resources with family members is deeply ingrained in Filipino culture.  This is a potential source of conflict if the husband and wife don’t have good communication with each other or healthy boundaries with family members back in the Philippines.  The couple has to find a balance of sharing with family while making sure they are not putting themselves in a bad financial situation.

Challenge #5 Cultural Differences

A Filipina and a Westerner have grown up in two completely different cultural contexts.  Their respective worldviews have been shaped by factors that go back centuries.  This can also be a source of conflict if one of them is xenophobic or can’t learn how to be open to another point of view.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

These are just a few of the most significant challenges that come to mind when I think of my own marriage and the other couples that my wife and I have met.  Here’s the good news: I can honestly say it has been 100% worth it for me.  I think there’s a good chance you’ll feel the same way, but be sure you are going into any relationship with eyes wide open.

Perks of Dating a Filipina

You may be thinking about meeting, dating, or marrying a woman from the Philippines. Romantic relationships are serious business in my opinion and I’m not going to try to convince to you pursue a relationship with someone halfway across the globe.   I’m just writing this to give you my perspective as someone who is happily married to a Filipina.

Filipino women (more appropriately called Filipinas) have a lot of perks to offer if you are seriously considering a long-term relationship that would lead to marriage. I’m going to repeat some things that I’ve previously shared on this blog or the sake of an easier read (some of my posts from previous years were bit short or choppy). Anyway, here are a few reasons you may want to consider marrying someone from the Philippines:

Perk #1: Filipinas are Beautiful

The Philippines is home to some of the most breathtaking natural beauty known to man: beaches, waterfalls, and all kinds of natural wonders can be found there. But there’s something besides the natural landscape that’s attractive to the eyes: I’m talking about feminine beauty.   Men from the West are often struck by the physical attractiveness of the women there. They tend to have slim, petite figures. Most of them have naturally tan skin along with dark hair and eyes (the typical Filipina is often said to have “exotic beauty”).

Beauty is, as they say, only skin deep. Good thing that there’s a lot more to be said about women from the Philippines.

Perk #2: Filipinas are Good in English

People in the Philippines start studying English in grade school and are used to watching movies (and TV shows) from the West. Their proficiency in English varies according to education and other factors, but you should be able to find a woman who can communicate with you (and her ability to do so will only get better as she practices her English). Here’s another thing to consider: the Filipino accent is very pleasing to the ear when compared to other parts of Asia.

Perk #3: Filipinas are God Fearing

The Philippines is a predominantly Roman Catholic country and religion is deeply ingrained in their culture. You may not find a woman with this outlook on life in other parts of the world. Women from Russia or China may be coming from an atheistic background. People from other parts of Asia may follow Buddhism.

Men seeking women from Asia are usually looking for marriage based on traditional Judeo-Christian values, and similar religious beliefs is one reason they look to the Philippines. Women from the Philippines generally have a sense of devotion to God and the church.

This is not to say that Filipinas are fanatical about the Catholic Church.   They are open other expressions of Christianity (Protestant, etc.) and will usually join your church once they move to the States. It is not uncommon, in fact, to meet Filipinos who are already members of non-Catholic groups (Protestant missionaries have been in the country for decades).

Perk #4: Filipinas are Marriage and Family Oriented

Family is extremely important in the Filipino culture. People from the Philippines believe in putting family members ahead of themselves and doing everything in their power to help their loved ones. You’ll find that Filipinas are incredibly selfless and generous when it comes to their families.

Filipino culture also puts an extremely high priority on marriage and children. Most Filipinas dream of settling down with a good man so they can start a family. They take romantic relationships very seriously because they see it as preparation for marriage. Once married they usually become faithful, loving wives and dedicated mothers.

Perk #5: Filipinas are Open to Marrying Older Men

Another advantage of dating women from the Philippines is you can find younger women who are interested in you. This is especially nice if you are middle-aged but are still interested in having children. Women who date older men are often labeled as “gold diggers,” but this is unfair and judgmental. The truth is that Filipinas tend to look for the characteristics that an older partner can offer: maturity, stability, etc. This outlook goes back to some of the issues I’ve already mentioned: they are searching for life partners, not just boyfriends or flings.

These are just a few reasons that you may want to consider Filipino women (Filipinas) in your quest for a life-long, loving relationship. Living with someone from a different country and culture can be challenging, but may Western men (yours truly included) can attest that it is worth it.

If you are interested in meeting a woman from the Philippines you could always start by joining a website. I’d recommend Christian Filipina because I believe this website does the best job of screening their members and making sure they are sincere. You can just meet them through social media, but your chances of success will be improved by joining a site specifically designed for facilitating dating and marriage.