‘This is not going according to script’: S’pore TikTok couple has the cutest mistranslated wedding speech

My turn when???

Natalie Teo |
April 19, 2023, 4:29 pm

We’re not starting a cult but some followers on Instagram would be nice. Thank you.

You might have come across TikTok-famous Singapore couple Fabian and Deborah Gilbert on your feed lately.

Their hilarious skits, which include tongue-in-cheek responses to intrusive questions by relatives at Lunar New Year, and how to fend off prospective suitors, have gained them quite the following on the platform.

The pair wed in November last year, but Deborah recently uploaded a snippet of their wedding speech to TikTok and Instagram.

Hilariously mistranslated speech

In the video, Fabian, who is Indian, can be seen addressing Deborah’s parents, thanking them for raising Deborah and promising to take care of her.

All standard wedding fare, until Deborah, who is Chinese, helpfully(?) stepped in to translate the speech for her Mandarin-speaking parents.

@debxrahkwek

I tried my best tbh #weddingspeech #couplecomedy #byelingual #mixedracecouple #relationship #love #weddingtiktok

♬ original sound – Deborah Gilbert – Deborah Gilbert

“Thank you for raising up such an extraordinary woman,” Fabian begins.

Somehow, this translated to: “Wow you’re so lucky to have a daughter like her, I can’t take it!”

Sportingly, Fabian agreed despite the ensuing laughs.

“Thank you for always making me feel welcome, even though there’s a language barrier,” he continued.

“You have no idea what I’m saying but you keep talking to me non-stop!” was the slightly less heartwarming translation.

Fabian then promises to “look after her, and always provide for her”.

According to Deborah, this means: “I’ll take care of her, and give her a lot of MONEY.”

“Somehow [I] know this is not going according to script,” Fabian said.

“It started off pretty good. But she definitely was flexible with translating”

People on the Internet were extremely entertained by the couple’s antics.

One suggested that Fabian should have invested in an official translator, to which Deborah cheekily responded that she had convinced him to give her the money instead:

Meanwhile, an alternative income stream may have just opened up for Deborah:

How I met your mother

Deborah also uploaded another clip: a speech by her maid-of-honour which revealed the couple’s origin story.

Her maid-of-honour, who is also Deborah’s best friend, had shelled out S$49.99 to pay for Deborah’s premium account on Coffee Meets Bagel, the dating app where the couple met.

“You know this app is so smart. If you don’t pay money right, they only reveal about 10 accounts to you, right? Do your math of the compounding summation of guys who are interested in Deborah, right? Maybe now by today, 12th November 2022, that would be the time that Deborah finally reached to Fabian’s profile.”

The friend continued by calling it the “investment with the biggest ROI of [her] life”.

@debxrahkwek

this is your sign to spend $49.99 for your best friend’s love life #weddingtiktok #weddingspeech #maidofhonorspeech #maidofhonor #couplecomedy #coffeemeetsbagel

♬ original sound – Deborah Gilbert – Deborah Gilbert

Fast forward to April 2023, and not only are the couple happily wed, they are even expecting a daughter on the way.

@debxrahkwek

🫢🫢🫢 #pregnancy #genderreveal #couplecomedy #relationship #love

♬ Mother – Meghan Trainor

Awwwww.

Images via Deborah Gilbert’s Instagram.

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