Single OFW mom starts again with expat hubby to build family together

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A single mom, who gave birth to her child when she was a teenager, has turned her life around and found a place in the sun. She is now married to a fellow expat, who took her as she was, raising a family with him and building a future together

“I got pregnant when I was 16. But that didn’t hinder me from striving,” said 29-year-old Abby Gaile Pallasigue Gozun of Arayat, Pampanga, currently an executive assistant for six department heads – all doctorate degree holders – at the Dubai branch of a New York-based university in the US.

“In fact,” she added, “it gave me the biggest lesson and motivation to be successful in life, as most people judged me for being a teenage mom and labeled me as a ‘walang kwentang anak’ (useless daughter).”

“It was my fault, but it motivated me to strive,” she said.

Broken family

Gozun, who got her degree in Psychology at Far Eastern University (FEU) in Manila, said her parents broke up when she and her two siblings were still young.

Being the eldest, she took it upon herself to ensure a future for themselves, reason why she moved to Dubai with help from aunties barely 10 months after graduating in 2015. She was 20; her siblings still in high school.

“I come from a broken family. My parents separated, which left us struggling financially. Although my parents were overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), they couldn’t save enough for our family,” said Gozun, who holds a master’s degree in Data Analytics from the same university where she works.

Her father was a driver in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Kuwait, Qatar, while her mother has been a nanny in Turkey, Qatar and Japan.

Her parents’ break-up took its toll on the siblings, Gozun said.

“We had nothing, and bills were piling up. We were living with my uncle, and it reached a point, where having no money made us feel unwelcome. This became my biggest motivation to leave,” she said.

Husband

Gozun met her husband, Mohammad Sharafi, on Instagram. He was from Iran, but was raised in Dubai and has been living in the city with his family for the past 35 years.

“He’s my follower on Instagram. He kept messaging me for three months, but I didn’t respond because I was not interested,” said Gozun. But Sharafi was relentless and so she acquiesced, especially upon learning that he was from Iran.

“Most of my friends back then were Iranians,” Gozun explained.

First date was a disaster for Sharafi because Gozun didn’t show up.

“I ditched him. I was afraid to meet strangers at the time,” she said. Things worked out for Sharafi the next day after Gozun figured in a minor road accident and, trembling from the incident, could not think of anybody to ask help from but Sharafi, the “knight in shining armor,” who ran to her rescue.

“He helped me fix my car and the rest is history,” Gozun said, laughing.

Opened up

Long story short, Gozun eventually opened up to Sharafi and told him she has a daughter from a previous relationship that didn’t work out.

“I was reluctant at first to tell him. But I went ahead, when I finally felt comfortable doing so. Whether he accepts me and my daughter or not, at least I have been very honest,” said Gozun.

She said Sharafi became “more serious” about their relationship. The two were married in December 2020.

These days, the couple runs a family pastry business with Sharafi working hands-on. He has quit his job as inventory controller at a business operated by their family’s friend, to go full time on the venture named, “Wifey on Duty.”

“He sacrificed his career to support my business,” said Gozun.

Sharafi’s family? “(They) welcomed and accepted me as their own. I was emotional at first because they didn’t judge me for being a single mom. I felt I belong to them.”

Gozun’s family – 12-year-old Psyche Alexia, her daughter; parents and siblings – are now in Dubai, staying with her and her husband in an apartment unit and helping with the pastry business, though her mother and father “have still not been on speaking terms,” she said, giggling.

“I’m grateful to my husband. He has never made an issue of it, though he’s obviously in a culture shock because living with in-laws is (apparently) new to him,” Gozun said.

Gozun gave birth to their son, Zakariya, last year. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News