Naomi Neo speaks candidly about having underage sex and her shotgun wedding
It was only when she became a mother that local influencer Naomi Neo fully comprehended the love behind her parents’ strict upbringing, she told host Quan Yi Fong in talkshow Hear U Out.
Having her own children gave her a better perspective, she added. While they were initially shocked when she got pregnant with her first child at age 21, they have mended their relationship since.
Neo, 25, recounted her parents’ initial reaction. “My mum kind of exploded… She found out only by accident because I left the ultrasound scan on a chair and she saw it. Mum called my dad, who was in Vietnam at that time, and he called me," she said.
Good thing is, said Neo, her parents accepted the shotgun wedding eventually. “I think they like my husband… they can see how he and I have changed,” she added.
The couple have a son Kyzo, three, and daughter Zyla is 10 months old.
It was a far cry from about 10 years ago, when dad and mum found out that she had sex with her then-boyfriend.
Neo spoke candidly of the time she lost her virginity to her first boyfriend, a senior in school. He had pestered her for sex after they dated for some time.
She said: “I was scared… and I thought if I didn’t give in to him, he might leave me.”
She asked a close girlfriend for advice and was assured when the girl claimed she too had done it and it was perfectly fine.
Neo went ahead, only to find out six months later that her friend had lied to her because she did not want to appear ignorant.
Adding to her woes was her parents finding out about her sexual experience when the boy broke the lock on their gate. When they questioned her about it, her fluster gave her away and that led to her dad checking the text messages on her handphone.
It was only after he threatened to take her for a medical check up that Neo came clean. When they approached the school for a transfer, the principal wanted to know the reason.
Neo said: “My dad had no choice but to tell the truth. The principal said she was duty-bound to call the police or we could call the police ourselves. My father chose to inform the police personally.”
While she did not elaborate on why and also what happened subsequently, it is deduced that was because Neo was underaged then.
All is good now with Neo and her parents. She said: “I know they love me very much, even if they don't say it aloud… and I know that they are proud of me.”
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