An emotional first encounter

A video capturing the moment an American man searched for his Vietnamese girlfriend during their first in-person meeting at the airport has attracted nearly seven million views and almost 400,000 likes on TikTok.

The moment he spotted the woman he had previously known only through video calls, Luca Danti (born in 2000), an American of Italian and Polish heritage, smiled with joy, left his luggage behind and ran to embrace her. It was the first meeting between Luca and Ngo Thi Thanh Ngan (born in 2002), from Da Nang.

Their reunion, which took place on Lunar New Year’s Eve, became a life-changing moment that would eventually lead to their engagement.

Thanh Ngan said they were introduced in 2024 through family connections. Her uncle had been close friends with Luca’s mother for a decade. Knowing that Luca hoped to get to know a Vietnamese woman, he introduced the two.

On August 28, 2024, Luca sent Ngan his first message. Although both felt slightly nervous, the conversation flowed naturally.

Luca asked, “What is your dream?”

Ngan replied, “I want to earn enough money to take care of my parents and travel around the world.”

Luca shared a similar goal, saying, “I want to do well so my parents can retire early, and one day I can take my wife and children around the world.”

Those simple conversations revealed how much they had in common. As they continued talking every day, Luca’s maturity gave Ngan a growing sense of security, and the distance between them gradually faded.

“Toward the end of 2024, Luca asked when I would have the most free time because he wanted to visit Vietnam. I told him during Tet, and he flew for 20 hours from the United States to Vietnam, arriving on Lunar New Year’s Eve,” Ngan said.

Instead of celebrating Lunar New Year’s Eve with her family as usual, Ngan waited for Luca at Da Nang International Airport.

She vividly remembers seeing him emerge from the arrivals hall, visibly exhausted from the long journey while scanning the crowd to find her. As they embraced, fireworks erupted across the city to welcome the Lunar New Year.

“That Lunar New Year’s Eve, with fireworks lighting up the sky, is something I will never forget,” she said.

A heartfelt proposal

That evening, after checking into his hotel, showering and changing clothes, Luca visited Ngan’s family home for the traditional first-footing visit of the Lunar New Year.

As he entered, he greeted her mother in Vietnamese, saying, “Happy New Year, Mom.”

The warm and natural greeting immediately delighted her family.

During his two-week stay in Vietnam, Luca fully embraced the Lunar New Year celebrations. He joined family visits, offered lucky money to elders and children, enjoyed traditional holiday dishes and took part in other Tet customs.

He quickly blended into family life, willingly trying unfamiliar foods and even singing karaoke for hours with Ngan’s relatives and neighbors.

“During that visit, he spoke with my parents to ask for permission to marry me. He told them, ‘I have to ask your permission before I propose to her.’

“My parents then asked if I truly wanted to be with Luca. I told them I did. I had chosen him as the person I wanted to spend my life with,” Ngan recalled.

Before returning to the United States, Luca gave Ngan a promise ring and said, “I promise I'll come back to you. I'll work hard.”

He fulfilled that promise just two months later. In April 2025, Luca returned to Vietnam with his parents to hold a traditional engagement ceremony with Ngan.

Before the ceremony, he arranged a romantic proposal on the rooftop of a well-known hotel in Da Nang.

Standing together under the open sky, Luca asked, “What kind of man have you always dreamed of marrying?”

Ngan smiled and replied, “You.”

He slipped the engagement ring onto her finger, marking a joyful milestone in their cross-border love story. Luca’s mother was moved to tears as she watched her son’s proposal succeed.

The following day, the engagement ceremony was held at Ngan’s family home in accordance with Vietnamese traditions. Luca’s family presented six ceremonial gift trays, while his mother also prepared gold jewelry as a gift for her future daughter-in-law. The couple paid tribute to their ancestors and formally greeted Ngan’s extended family.

“My mother-in-law was deeply emotional seeing her son find happiness. She told my parents, ‘Please rest assured. We will love and care for Ngan as if she were our own daughter,’” Ngan said.

For now, the couple continue to live apart while completing the necessary administrative procedures. Luca regularly travels from the United States to Vietnam to visit Ngan and her family.

Despite living on opposite sides of the world, they continue to nurture their relationship through trust, daily conversations and shared plans for the future. Distance, they say, is no longer an obstacle because both are committed to making their relationship work.

“We plan to hold our wedding in the United States at the end of 2026 and celebrate again in Vietnam at the end of 2027,” Ngan said.

Thanh Minh