Woman Worried Dad Won't Accept Her, Then She Fast Forwards to Her Wedding
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A new bride had a full-circle moment at her wedding with her father she once thought might not accept her.
In a heartwarming TikTok video, the bride, Yasmin, captured the emotional moment where her father joyfully danced with her new wife, despite fears that their relationship might shatter when she came out as a lesbian. Yasmin, 28, spoke to Newsweek about how her fears were unfounded—and how her father's response has led her to reconcile with her identity both as an Arab woman and lesbian.
"When you worried your Arab dad wouldn't accept you, but this is him and your wife at your wedding," she captioned the video. "He loves her more than me."
Photos from Yasmin's TikTok video of her father and bride.
Photos from Yasmin's TikTok video of her father and bride.
@syriaslyqueer/TikTok
Yasmin shared the personal journey that led to this beautiful wedding day moment.
Growing up in North London, she said she was deeply immersed in her Arab and Islamic community, attending both an independent Islamic faith school and an Islamic Saturday school.
"At home, homosexuality was just something that was never spoken about," Yasmin explained. She recalled one particularly negative experience at school: "I vividly remember being shown a film in class that followed the journey through the afterlife; in one scene, demons engulfed in blue flames were described as inhabitants of 'the land of homosexuals.'"
Being surrounded by such views cultivated fear in her around coming out. "I thought that the day my dad found out about my sexuality would be the day our relationship would end," she said.
A Brighter Reality
The truth of her coming out story was, thankfully, a far stretch from her fears.
"When I came out to my mom, she encouraged me to tell my dad, saying he'd be more understanding than I thought," Yasmin said.
After she took her mother's advice and eventually explained to him that she was a lesbian, her dad responded with "genuine openness and curiosity." He was initially "a little confused, mainly because he knew I'd always wanted children, so we had an honest conversation about how that's still something I want, and how it could work with a female partner."
For Yasmin, all the fear and anxiety she had around that moment melted away—and what was left was her father's love.
"At the end of our chat, he hugged me and said, 'I'll always love you, and you'll always be my daughter,'" she said. "I couldn't have asked for anything more."
A Journey of Self-Acceptance
Seeing her dad dancing with her wife at the wedding was "really surreal," Yasmin admitted.
"I'd built up an image in my head of what life would be like after coming out and convinced myself that this moment right in front of me would never happen," she said. "I'm very lucky to have unconditional love from my dad."
Yasmin also reflected on the reconciliation of aspects her identity as an Arab woman and lesbian, which she previously thought to be at odds.
"When I was younger...I didn't think I could be proudly Arab or Muslim and openly lesbian at the same time," she said. "Even now, I sometimes catch myself downplaying aspects of who I am when I'm around people from similar cultural backgrounds." However, she has grown to understand that "it's only by being fully authentic and embracing all parts of myself that I can truly connect with others."
While acknowledging challenging past experiences, Yasmin emphasized that she doesn't believe having faith is synonymous with intolerance of any kind. And, ultimately, sees a broader message in her family's story.
"As someone commented on my video, I think we all have an opportunity to break generational cycles and teach people about our culture, but also our stance on love at the same time," she said. "I've realized that being Arab and queer isn't as rare as I once thought. There are so many of us out there, and that's been both comforting and empowering."
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