How We Went Past Cultural Differences And Found Our Greatest Love Story

Love doesn't come easy, it requires strength and a lot of guts, especially if the people involved belong to different cultures. In Liss and Nikk's case, different continents. However, love also empowers, inspires and shackles age-old notions of how relationships are supposed to be and how marriages are presumed to happen. For this couple, it was beyond that.

In a candid conversation with SheThePeople, Liss and Nikk share the secret to their strong relationship, how acceptance and respect of both cultures are significant to them and how they empower each other to be better.

LISS and NIKK - story for ages

Liss's POV:

"Our paths crossed for the first time in the summer of 2017, when Nikk moved to my hometown, Trail, British Columbia, and we started working together. We quickly became friends and started hanging out. We shared jokes, food, and even our workload!

As our bond grew stronger, Nikk made the first move and asked me on a date. Initially, I was hesitant as we belonged to different races, cultures and religions. I wasn't sure how it would all work out. But with time, our bond became a magnetic force that lit a spark within us, so we decided to let fate happen.

Initially, we had to deal with a lot of resistance from our families because of our differences. But with time and effort, we powered through our challenges and became even more united.

In Feb 2019, we got engaged in a traditional Punjabi ceremony, and three months later, in June, we married each other.

When we are together, we have such a great bond that it's hard to remember how different we are from each other, and this is what made me fall in love with him."

Nikk's POV:

"Initially, both of our parents were not very happy with our relationship. However, my brother helped me convince my parents back in India, and Liss's parents also met me alone, without her, to gauge my intentions and to know me better. After that meeting, they were assured, and things got better.

In 2018, my parents flew to Canada for my graduation, and we introduced our families to each other. After that, it was smooth sailing.

Liss has made many changes to adapt to life in India, and I'm so proud of her! She had always been fascinated with India, but after we got together, she learned to speak Punjabi and cook Indian dishes.

Being married to someone so different is beautiful! We have double the holidays to celebrate, two cultures to learn from and two sets of parents who love us!"

As narrated to Niharika, Team SheThePeople

Suggested reading: This Couple Tells Us How Arranged Marriages Can Be Happy Spaces Too