Love Triangle’s Ly-Huong Tran Opens Up About Her Fear That Non-Asian Men Don’t Find Her Attractive

Spoilers ahead. From fashion to body image and mental health, it's no secret that social media and Hollywood play a significant role in shaping the views we form about society and ourselves. Relationships are no exception, as we see played out in various reality TV dating shows including Stan's new series, Love Triangle.

In the first episode of the show, Australian-born Vietnamese woman Ly-Huong Tran opens up about struggling to believe that a non-Asian man would be willing to date her.

"I primarily have dated Asians, only because we are quite culturally similar," she says on the show. "But also I’ve had this fear or the sense that non-Asian guys don’t find me attractive."

Speaking to Refinery29 Australia, the 28-year-old counsellor says that movies, TV shows and social media have often projected a beauty standard favouring fair skin and western features. Having grown up exposed to these ideals, she eventually began doubting her self-worth in the eyes of the white male gaze.

"On social media, we're so influenced by what pretty models look like and what attractive girls or guys look like," she explains. "There are a lot of media portrayals about Asians maybe not being as good-looking as western girls.

"So, I didn’t think I was attractive to a non-Asian in their eyes. A lot of my insecurities stem from that, and I just never thought a non-Asian would be attracted to me."

Tran reveals on the show that she used to wish she was "white or a different race" because the constant message suggesting white people are more desirable "starts to get to you" after a while.

"I know I’m going to be a fun time, but I don’t know whether he’ll be physically attracted to me," she says in episode 1.

While a white man has never explicitly said to her that he wouldn't date her based on her race, Tran says she empathised with Married At First Sight contestant Selina Chhaur, who was told by Cody Bromley on MAFS this year that he initially wasn't physically attracted to her because of her Asian heritage. 

A big reason that Tran applied for Love Triangle was to hopefully develop a newfound confidence and belief that she could be in a relationship with someone from another culture, regardless of her own background.

"When I applied initially, I was in a position where I was at quite a low point and I needed to change. So, I decided to do something different," she says.

In episode 1 we see that the two men she begins communicating with over text are Danny and Ben. With no knowledge of what they look like, she must decide who she'd like to meet in real life.

Of course, trying to find love on national television is a very public way to do so, and Tran says her parents, who migrated to Australia from Vietnam in 1980, initially had reservations.

"I was born in a very traditional setting," she says. "As soon as I told my parents I was on TV, they said, 'You're crazy. But that's so you, so have fun and just promise us one thing... just don't kiss on television, it's disgusting,'" she laughs.

Tran is one of six Aussies on Love Triangle who selects someone to date after merely chatting to two people via text message, where no mention of what they actually look like is allowed. The other five contestants who must pick a date are Lisa, Madi, Yannick, Alex and Kyle. As the series progresses, viewers learn how the couples adjust to living together, before a surprise bombshell drops (in true reality TV fashion) that could change the course of the relationships altogether.