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Love is sweet for one Brazilian man who sold chocolate fudge balls or brigadeiro to raise money to reunite with his Singaporean girlfriend.
He took to the streets to sell the treats for one Brazilian real (38 Singapore cents) each, sometimes from door to door, and raised 5,000 real within half a year.
The pair, who made Brazilian newspaper headlines, got married here last week and are on their honeymoon in South Korea, Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao reported yesterday.
Miqueias Rohr, 29, and Rebecca Ang, 25, met in Sydney three years ago while studying there.
She told Wanbao that they dated for just 24 days before parting. He was on a short-term study exchange programme and had to go home to complete his final-year studies.
Before they separated, they made a pact to meet at a seminary in Sydney for further studies.
To keep his promise and raise money for the fees, Mr Rohr took up two jobs on top of his studies when he returned to Anchieta in Brazil, working as a graphic designer and at a stationery shop.
He also decided to sell brigadeiro along the streets.
His family ran a bakery so he made his first batch of chocolate fudge balls with his mother’s help. He sold them near the city hall, even knocking on doors to increase his sales.
Mr Rohr said: “Some people thought I was crazy when they heard that I was doing this for a Singaporean girl. Some asked me, why not find a Brazilian girl. But I told them: ‘No, I just want this girl.’ “
In 2014, their love story was reported in Brazilian newspapers and on television. Some strangers touched by their tale donated money and he eventually raised the amount needed.
Ms Ang’s parents were worried when they first found out about her Brazilian boyfriend but were eventually moved by his sincerity.
Mr Rohr visited them several times, including during Chinese New Year. “He actively wanted to be part of us and to learn Mandarin to talk to my grandmother,” said Ms Ang.
Their journey has been fraught with setbacks. Early last year, he set out for Sydney via Singapore for his studies while waiting for his Australian visa to be approved.
To his dismay, he was not granted a visa and his study fees were non-refundable.
Ms Ang said: “We met at the airport in Kuala Lumpur and had a serious discussion about whether we wanted to break up or press on.”
But they persisted, and before proposing to her, he sought her parents’ approval. They “interrogated” him, asking him how he intended to give her a good life.
Ms Ang said: “Actually, I also worry about the future and spent a lot of time talking myself through it. But when I see how hard he has worked, the sacrifices he has made, I feel that we can make it.”
The pair plan to settle in Brazil, with Ms Ang taking up permanent residence there.
She told My Paper yesterday that baking is her husband’s family business.
“His mum still owns commercial machinery and is still up to date in the bakery business,” she said.
“If the opportunity arises, we might start a business in Singapore.”
This story first appeared on AsiaOne.