This 25-year-old man from Mindanao can definitely join the “What are you willing to do” trend on TikTok!
This after he went all out and travelled from Kidapawan City to Bohol for almost three days in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic just to court a girl.
“Hindi ko na matiis na parang ayoko ng sa chat na lang, gusto ko makita na siya personally,” Kristian Paolo Barrios told The Philippine STAR during an interview.
But according to Jeunesse Anne Barrio, Kristian previously said that he wanted to visit her in their province but she did not expect that he would actually do it.
“He was telling me mga December pa na ‘Pupuntahan kita dyan.’ Ako naman, may trust issues, sabi ko, ‘Eh ang hirap naman para makapasok dito.’ Okay lang ako nang okay pero sabi ko, ‘I won’t expect too much.’ Kasi alam kong mahirap Ang daming requirements, sobrang strict. Wala ngang flights eh, lahat sarado,” Jeunesse shared.
Their love story started when Jeunesse’s aunt and uncle, who are both serving as a nun and priest, set them up together.
“She was telling me na ‘uy, may irereto ako sayo.’ Ako naman, for like 3 months, deny nang deny. Sabi ko ayoko kasi iba ‘yung mga lalaki ngayon. It’s so hard to find a good man,” she said.
“Sinabi ni sister na i-add ko siya sa Facebook, as friends-friends lang. Inadd ko naman tapos sabi din ni sister, ‘I-chat mo, i-chat mo siya para naman magkakilala kayong dalawa.’ Dun na nagsimula lahat,” Kristian recalled.
After talking for six months via online, Kristian decided to finally see Jeunesse.
“Nagsimula muna kami sa mag chatmate, magkaibigan, sa video call kasi nung time na ‘yun, pandemic pa eh, ‘yun lang ‘yung way na magkausap kami. May one-time nga sabi ko parang di ‘to pwede na kaibigan lang hanggang sa nagdecide ako na pumunta dito sa Bohol,” Kristian said.
During their first meeting on March 14, 2021, their relationship also became official!
“Para akong nabaliw dun. ‘Oh my God, this is it. He is really coming.’ Pine-prepare ko siya ng breakfast at 2AM. Ganun ako ka-excited. ‘Yung sinabi niya na ‘pupunta ako dyan,’ tapos ginawa niya talaga ‘yung sinabi niya. He’s a man of his words sabi ko ‘okay, let’s see how this goes,’” Jeunesse said.
“Di ako makasalita nang maayos parang natutulala ako sa ganda nito eh ta’s nung pagkababa ko ng barge sabi ko, ‘san na kaya siya?’” Kristian recalled their first meeting.
When Jeunesse’s sister, Angela Sombrio, shared their love story on TikTok, it instantly went viral with more than 130,000 views on the social media platform.
“I’m so happy for them? distance doesn’t matter if you truly love a person,” one netizen commented.
“Ganon sana, congrats po pero sana all po,” another netizen said in a jest.
The couple tied the knot in a church wedding in Bohol on January 24, 2023.
“Hindi naman siguro ‘yung ‘sana all.’ Madami din naman kaming mga problema. imperfections. Nadadaan naman lahat sa pag-uusap,” the couple reacted to the “sana all” remarks.
According to the couple, they experienced setbacks and heartbreaks but prayed so hard to find “the one.”
“Before siya nireto sakin, both kami parang brokenhearted,” Kristian said.
“Before he came into my life, may specific prayer akong pinepray, ‘Yung Hedge of Thorns Prayer. Grabe prayer works miraculously so he’s the man of my prayers,” Jeunesse said.
