‘This Is What It’s Like To Meet The Parents When You’re In An Interracial Relationship’

“I am a Caucasian male, and I married a native Guatemalan woman. We fell in love fast and got married on our third date (literally the same day as I asked her to marry me). Of course, given the timeframe, we only asked a few friends to a simple church wedding. I neglected to tell my parents because they were very prejudiced. After a few months, I decided it was time to drop the news on them. They lived over 200 miles away, so my wife (Claudia), her son, and I made it into a road trip. My parents ran a small store in the mountains, and my new family and I strolled in unannounced. They knew instantly what had happened when they saw me walk in, arm-in-arm with my lady. The looks on their faces when I introduced her to them were indescribable. They were trying to be nice, but they weren’t happy. I had warned Claudia and her son in advance, but nonetheless they were upset. It was a very tense day, as you can imagine. Over the next few years, Claudia began talking to my mother, and eventually they became more or less friends. It took a lot of work on Claudia’s part, however, to break through my mom’s mindset on other races.” —Richard, 56