In 2006, Teddy and Bunny first met on Friendster.
“Sometime in 2006, I just passed the nursing licensure board exam and broke up with my first BF. I kept myself busy meeting new people, going out on dates, and lurking on social media. At that time, I’ve been receiving lots of messages of ‘Hi’s’ and ‘Hello’s’ from random people through the (then) popular site called Friendster. Yes, I met Teddy online. At first it was nothing serious. He didn’t even look cute on his thumbnail. So at first I just ignored him. But I cannot remember anymore why I kept answering his messages until we became text mates,” Bunny said, laughing.
Teddy then had a girlfriend.
“I was in first year college and in a relationship with the most wonderful girl. We were both crazy for each other and she was everything to me, but still I wasn’t totally happy and felt like something’s missing. I had serious issues about my identity but had no one to talk to. Then I met my Bunny on Friendster,” Teddy said.
Initially there was no intent of getting into a relationship because the friendship through texting was more of a “brotherly kind of thing”.
“There was no mention of sex, relationship or flirting. We talked mostly about dogs, life, our favorite things, and the like. The constant texting went on for months and I noticed he became sweeter and thoughtful as the days progressed. I never failed to receive good mornings, goodnights and ‘How’s your day?’ messages from him. I thought it was normal since we became immensely comfortable with each other and that we already shared a lot about our personal lives,” Bunny said.
“We were kind of flirting with each other and I can’t keep myself from thinking of him even if I was with my girl. I didn’t see it as cheating on her back then because it was with a guy anyway. My relationship with her started going downhill when she learned that I was also attracted to guys. She loved me more for that, but she set me free. Yeah it was kinda messed up and bittersweet,” Teddy said.
It was almost a year later, in March 2007, when they started to exchange “I love you’s”.
“We decided met at a coffeeshop and I had butterflies in my stomach. There was a lot of anxiety. When we finally met everything was like magic. Everything was perfect. There was no awkward moment. We became comfortable in an instant. I was happy. The fear inside me vanished. It seemed like I’ve known him personally for a long time. Like an old friend who just came back in your life. We had great time talking to each other and that we couldn’t believe that we finally met after a year of just texting. We decided to watch a movie after, and at that time I (gave him a surprise) kiss inside the cinema. I got scared again of his reaction; if I’d scare him off and he’d walk away after that. But he reciprocated the kiss and everything started there. We started seeing each other on a daily basis since then. He also left his girlfriend for me,” Bunny said.
“Bunny and I became lovers and everything felt so right. Like it was what I’d been wanting my whole life, but I was too afraid to really feel it. I knew then that it was love,” Teddy said.
On March 31, 2007, Teddy and Bunny officially became a couple.
“Seven years after, I still have the hots for him. I know it’s love because we’ve been through a lot already. The seven years weren’t perfect. We had our shares of ups and downs. Despite of it all, we are still here as a strong couple. We consider each other as family, bestfriends, confidant and partners.,” Bunny said.
“Like most couples, we also annoy each other and fight over silly things, but we make sure we’re good before bedtime or resolve issues ASAP. And for the last seven years, we never fail to call or text each other goodnight and good morning,” Teddy added.
One remaining challenge for both of them is their disclosure to their families.
“We are not yet out to our families as of today. Most of our friends know about us. We’re lucky to have supportive friends. Someday I hope we could finally tell our families about our love story. The thing is, he’s from a half-Christian/half-Muslim family, and I’m from a solid Catholic/homophobic family. It’s hard. But we don’t get the situation in our way,” Bunny said.
For Teddy, the biggest challenge they face as a couple is planning for their future together.
“He’s 28 and I’m 26 and I still don’t know how we are going to come out to our families. But it’s great that we have friends who are very supportive. They are the kind of friends worth keeping,” Teddy said.
Admittedly, Teddy said that fidelity and honesty has been their strength as a couple for the last seven years.
“Many people wonder how we keep our relationship strong and I always tell them that the most important boundary in a relationship is fidelity. Bunny and I agreed from the start that a single act of infidelity is a sure way to end our relationship no matter how long we’ve been together. And to this day, we still respect that promise to be faithful and true. I’ve had so many guys hitting on me and Bunny knows each one of them because I tell him everything. Honesty and openness also play a major role in keeping our relationship in check,” Teddy said.
For more than seven years and counting, Bunny is happy with what they accomplished and looks forward for more years with each other.
“Seven years on, I still feel the same way for him. I love him even more now because we’ve grown up together and already made memories to last a lifetime. The kilig of young love might come and go, but it’s the stability and solid trust that make everything feel so much better than our early years. This relationship gives the both of us so much happiness. We’re pretty much stuck with each other, and we both know that the best years are still ahead,” Teddy said.
“TB ♥ BB forever!” Bunny ended.