Vietnamese Artist Finds Love and Marriage Across Continents

In February 2026, Giang, 47, an instructor at the Versailles Conservatory in France, traveled to Australia to visit relatives. At a party, she noticed a man looking intently at her. Quickly, she recognized him as Richard Horne, 50, the director of a center that helps people with disabilities find employment. The two had met at another party in Australia two years earlier, when they sat at the same table but left without exchanging contact information. Each continued to ask a mutual friend about the other. "I’m shy by nature and rarely make the first move, but when we met again, I told myself I couldn’t let the opportunity pass a second time," Horne said. Huong Giang and Richard Horne walk along the Normandy coast in France following their engagement in April 2026. Photo courtesy of the couple. The following evening, they had dinner at an intimate European-style restaurant and talked nonstop. As they discovered how much they had in common, Horne asked, "How did we go more than 40 years without meeting? Where have you been all this time?" Giang took the remark as a declaration that he intended to pursue her. Since she was due to leave Australia in five days, he took time off work and drove more than 370 miles to join her family on a vacation farther south. His persistence earned him another date and an opportunity to ask Giang’s parents for permission to court her formally. After she returned to France, Horne sent her a handwritten letter every week, sometimes running to 10 pages. He wrote on perfume-scented, vintage-style stationery reminiscent of aristocratic correspondence. Flowers and souvenirs also arrived regularly at her home, accompanied by the message, "Home is where you are." He told her he had not written anything by hand in 20 years, but love inspired him to start again. Their budding relationship soon met resistance from Giang’s 13-year-old daughter, Xuan An. Her father had been absent from her life since she was six months old. Though she initially supported her mother’s decision to date, she reacted strongly when she realized the relationship was serious. "Mom, don’t ever get married again," she said. "No matter who you marry, you’ll get hurt." Horne understood that An feared losing her mother. He did not pressure her to accept him, but wanted her to understand that no one would take her place in Giang’s life. He wrote An a separate letter asking for permission to become part of both their lives. For her birthday, he gave her $50 and a bracelet with a note: "Because I’m far away, I can’t take your mother out for coffee. Please use this money to take her out for a drink, and keep whatever is left as spending money." The gesture softened An’s attitude, though she still balked at having a man she barely knew stay in their home. When she learned that Horne planned to visit Paris and hoped to stay with them to better understand their daily lives, she issued an ultimatum. "Either he stays at a hotel, or I’ll move out and let him stay here," she told her mother. Drawing on his experience raising two children to adulthood, Horne tried another approach: He asked An to help him choose an engagement ring for her mother. Being entrusted with such an important decision made the teenager feel respected. Huong Giang performs with colleagues and students at her farewell event at the Versailles Conservatory in France in late June 2026. Photo courtesy of the couple When Horne visited Paris in April, he went to the theater over three days to hear An perform on the violin. His patience finally earned him her acceptance. One day in mid-April, Horne got down on one knee and proposed to Giang at the Temple of Love in Versailles, with their friends looking on. That evening, they celebrated over dinner aboard a boat on the Seine, complete with a cake and love songs. Their engagement raised a practical question: Where would they live? Horne was prepared to leave the life he had built in Australia and move to France, but he spoke no French and would have struggled to find work. Giang had a stable career and students in France, but she also longed for a change of scenery. One colleague reminded her that "happiness won’t wait." The conservatory’s director promised her that she would be welcome to return if life in Australia did not suit her. Encouraged by the support, Giang asked for a year of unpaid leave. With a late-July wedding approaching, the couple raced to organize their new life in opposite hemispheres. In France, Giang wrapped up her work. In Australia, Horne handled the visa paperwork, prepared her résumé and searched for jobs on her behalf. He also found a school for An, renovated the house, and organized the wedding. Hương Giang and Richard Horne at their wedding in Perth, Western Australia, on July 31, 2026. Photo courtesy of the couple Giang said many friends their age chose to live with new partners without remarrying after previous relationships ended, but she and Horne both wanted to formalize their commitment through marriage. "At this age, I understand that meeting someone and falling in love are only the beginning. Love takes understanding and effort to grow." Giang has since received two teaching offers in Australia and plans to develop cultural projects for the community. Each evening, the three of them rehearse "Bonjour Vietnam" (Hello Vietnam) in three languages for a cultural event in November. Subsidiary of VnExpress License number: 71/GP-CBC, Ministry of Information andCommunications, September 22, 2021 Editor-in-Chief: Pham Van Hieu Email: [email protected]: 028 7300 9999 - Ext 8556 10th floor, Block A FPT Tower, 10 Pham Van Bach, Cau Giay Ward, Hanoi