Pinays find their happily ever afters in Faroe Islands

In a faraway land, between Iceland and Norway, single Filipino women have found their happily-ever-afters.

Welcome to Faroe Islands, an autonomous region of Denmark! It appears as a small dot on the map, almost as if it was at the very end of the world. Once you get there, it will take your breath away.

Over time, the place garnered the attention of tourists as well as numerous travel publications, which have named it in their top destination — thanks to its rolling hills, pristine landscape, and surreal, natural beauty.

The very name "Faroe" came from Norse which meant "Sheep Islands.” No wonder, its sheep population is more than 70,000!

Faroe Islands is composed of over 779 small islands. It’s one hour away from Copenhagen by plane, and among its small population of 50,000 are Filipinos who have called Faroe Islands home.

According to the Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho episode Sunday, it started when Faroese women of the islands started to find work abroad.

The men, then, didn't have any women to tie the knot with. As a way to find their matches, the men went to chat rooms online. There, they found women from either Thailand or the Philippines.

Single Filipinas and fairytale-like love stories

Leticia is said to be one of the first Filipinas who migrated to Faroe Islands. Upon arriving, she met a kababayan, Regina, who left within the year.

Leticia was visiting her boyfriend in Denmark when they suddenly broke up. While Leticia was in Denmark, she met a Faroese whom she soon started writing letters to.

By the year 1979, they settled down in Faroe Islands. Leticia was only 35 then. "Mas marami nang years ang itinira ko dito sa Faroe Island kaysa Pilipinas. Sa palagay ko, ako na ang pinakauna dito. [I've spent more years in Faroes Islands than in the Philippines. I think I'm one of the first ones here.],” She said.

Now a widow, Leticia spends most of her time with her children who also had the same fate and ended up marrying Faroese.

Leticia admitted that she was able to invite so many other Filipinos to live in Faroe Islands.

"'Yung kaibigan ko, sila lahat nandito na.'Yung pamangkin ko nag-asawa rito," Leticia said.

["My friends, my best friend...even my niece got married here."]

Salve, another Filipina, said that she met her Faroese husband through the internet.

Mary Joy, on the other hand, met her Faroese boyfriend through her cousin.

"It was at her cousin's house and I just saw a photo of her in the album and asked, 'Who is that?' And she said, 'She is Mary, my cousin' so I started to write to her and I think we wrote together for two years," Mary Joy’s husband, Dan Thomsen said. "I think she was beautiful in the photo also, and she is still beautiful."

Mary Joy shared that before she and Dan connected back in 2000, her mother supported her through working at a parlor.

"Wala naman akong pangarap na mag-out of country or something but destiny siguro namin na mag-meet ng asawa ko,” she shared.

["I never dreamt of going out of the country, but I guess it’s really our destiny to meet each other."]

Now, the couple has four lovely children together. Dan said, "She's a good wife for me, good mother for our children."

Genevieve, another Filipina, has only been in Faroe for eight days. She used to be a market vendor in Taguig and had a child with a man who soon left her. Her high school classmate who lived in Faroe Islands encouraged her to try and find love once more.

"Parang in-encourage niya ko na bakit hindi ko i-try na maghanap or makipag-chat kasi nandito siya sa Faroe Islands na that time tapos mayroon din siyang partner dito sa Faroe Islands," Genevieve shared.

[She encouraged me to try to find someone here in Faroe Islands. At that time, she was in a relationship with a Faroese.]

Soon, Genevieve met Oystin and they became a couple.

Oystin said that he risked going to the Philippines and when he arrived, he almost cried a little bit because he loved her so much.

"'Yung pinaka na-touch ako sa kanya is 'yung pagke-care niya sa mga anak ko kasi siyempre pinakaimportante sa akin 'yun ," Genevieve shared.

["I was really touched by how much he cared for my children. As mother, that's the most important thing."]

Oystin had already introduced her to his sibling and children. "Sobrang bait nila, niyakap nila ako agad pagkakita nila sa akin. Tapos sinabihan nila ko ng ‘Welcome to the family!’”

[They were so kind, they hugged me and told me, ‘Welcome to the family!’]

Oystin said that the past two weeks he shared with Genevieve was absolutely perfect and if it will continue, they'll soon get married.

Despite their fairytale-like story, Genevieve asked others not to judge Filipino women who choose to migrate to Faroe Islands.

Genevieve also clarified that she had a decent life back in the Philippines before she decided to move abroad.

"Hindi ko talaga ine-expect na may magmamahal sa akin nang totoo. Kasi 'yun ang importante na may magmamahal sayo na tanggap ka nang buong puso,” Genevieve said.

["I really didn’t expect that someone will truly love me. That's what's important--having someone that will love you and accept you."]

Despite the fortunate marriages her fellow Filipinas fell into, Jean Dela Cruz-Gudjonsson suffered a different fate.

Living in Faroe Islands for 34 years, she met and married a Faroese. But they soon had a divorce.

Despite the end of her marriage, Jean still decided to stay in Faroe Islands because of its beauty, its quality of education and its health benefits.

It’s not only single women who go to Faroe Islands.

Coming from the Philippines, a couple went to the Islands to do missionary work until they slowly took up jobs. Now, the husband works as a school guidance counselor while the wife worked in a kindergarten.

Filipino families, Faroe Islands, and Christmas

Currently, these Filipinos have found a family amongst themselves, and that is something that can be felt during Christmas.

Leticia shared that when they first got to Faroe Islands, Christmas wasn’t really a big deal there until they started putting up decorations and Christmas lights.

She said, “Kaming Pilipino, close kami, kahit ngayon na nag-iba-iba na ng party, may Christmas party ang Bisaya, may Christmas party ang Ilokano [Filipinos here are very close to each other. We even have different kinds of parties now. There’s a Christmas party for the Bisaya, there’s a Christmas party for Ilokanos].” — Kaela Malig/LA, GMA News