A Sacramento, California, woman was concerned that her family wouldn’t accept her sexuality, but what happened next took her by surprise.
Dipika Dutt (@itsnotpika) who was born in Fiji, posted a clip on TikTok with the text overlay: “What if my Indian family doesn’t accept me being gay.”
The clip then cuts to a heartwarming scene with Dutt’s girlfriend, Mary, sitting next to her grandmother, who feeds Mary a bite of food, while smiling and laughing together.
“I never thought I would find someone that I can bring home to my family, but I knew when I did do it that they would be the one,” the 27-year-old told Newsweek. “It makes me overwhelmingly happy that they love her so much—even more than me sometimes. I’m glad they gave her a chance.”
Telling her family she was gay wasn’t easy—her mom and sister were the first to know. “They were more shocked than anything,” Dutt told Newsweek. “When it came to my brothers, it was really awkward. One day, I just came over to my brother’s house with [Mary] and everyone was really quiet.”
Thankfully, the silence didn’t last long. Despite Dutt’s fears—especially considering she was the first openly gay person in her Indian family—acceptance came more quickly than she ever expected.
“I expected it to be very bad but, honestly, once they met my partner, they all fell in love with her and accepted it very quickly,” Dutt said. “Even my grandma, she was in shock, but once the shock wore off, she was so happy for me. It made me realize, if someone loves you, all they want is for you to be happy, and that’s exactly what my family did.”
Dutt’s clip has been viewed over 742,000 times and received hundreds of comments from other users; they were overjoyed for the couple who have been together for almost six years.
“I love this for you guys,” one user wrote.
“OMG [oh my God] the genuine joy in your grandmother’s face,” another posted.
The clip also sparked some skepticism. “A lot of people actually don’t believe that my grandma thinks that’s my [girlfriend],” Dutt told Newsweek. “They think that my grandma assumes she’s just a friend—probably because, [in] Indian culture, it’s very hard to come out to your elders.”
Dutt has “come out” to every member of her family, and, now, Mary isn’t just accepted—she is a beloved member of the family.
“If I come to a family event without Mary, they always ask where she is, and they blow up her phone saying they miss her,” Dutt said. “I love sharing things like this because I’m so proud of my family.”
The post Woman Worries About Telling Family She’s Gay, Shock at What Happens Next appeared first on Newsweek.
