Romeo and Juliet. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. Rose and Jack. Allie and Noah. Ross and Rachel. Some of the greatest love stories of our time… but we think it’s time to give some love to the many amazing Asian couples out there!
This Valentine’s Day, we’re celebrating some Asian couples that make us love love.
Phil Wang & Helen Wu
First up on the list is long-time friend of Cold Tea Collective, Wong Fu’s Phil Wang. Phil opened his first venture, boba tea shop Bopomofo in 2019 with business partner Eric Wang. More recently (as in November 2019), Phil proposed to his girlfriend Helen Wu!
Similar to Wang, Wu is also a content creator. She is one of three hosts on the Asian Boss Girl podcast, a podcast for the modern day Asian American woman. Wang has been an avid supporter of bringing up other content creators and helps produce some of ABG’s episodes.
We can’t wait to receive our invite to their upcoming wedding!
Randall Park & Ali Wong as Marcus and Sasha in Always Be My Maybe
Last summer, Netflix released the delightful romantic comedy Always Be My Maybe, starring Ali Wong and Randall Park. Audiences laughed and cried as they watched Park and Wong’s incredibly relatable characters trip and fall on-screen in a modern-day love story.
The film also inspired an op-ed we published demanding more than just Asian-inherent roles.
Lana Condor and Noah Centineo as Lara Jean and Peter in To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before
Similar to the characters above, Lana Condor and Noah Centineo were the breakout couple of 2018! The two starred in Netflix’s teen drama To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before.
It was a story that reflected the innocence and excitement of teenage love that also filled a void for many interracial couples. We’re so excited about its recently released sequel, where Condor and Centineo reprise their roles as Lara Jean and Peter.
Awkwafina and Zhao Shuzen as Billi Wang and her Nai Nai in The Farewell
Lulu Wang’s film The Farewell explores a different kind of love. The film unpacks often uncomfortable themes that are sure to feel familiar to many Asian millennials growing up in the West, including generations of long-held familial duties and values or trying to bridge the gap between two identities.
The audience gets to live vicariously through Awkwafina’s character, experiencing the visceral relationship between her and her beloved Nai Nai. The relationship often feels too real in the context of the matriarchs in our own lives, and that’s why these two make it on our list of favourite Asian couples.
Cole Tea Collective’s own Natasha Jung had the opportunity to sit down with CBC Radio One to discuss what the movie means to Asian Canadians.
Desmond Chiam and Sami Jayne
Early in 2019, we got to sit down with one of our favourite Asian-Australian actors Desmond Chiam. We fell hard for Chiam’s laid back approach to acting and life. We also love his story of growing up in a tough Asian household and setting out on the typical path to becoming a lawyer, only to fall in love with dance, where he met his wife Sami.
Though Chiam and Jayne are working with a long-distance marriage, it’s always inspiring to see how true love can work together and tough it out.
