The Covid pandemic has been different things depending on who you ask. For popular YouTubers, Ash and Evan, the lockdown meant spending endless hours on video-focused social networking platform, TikTok, which is how they met and sparked their romantic relationship.
Later, they would physically meet and fall madly in love. The pair who currently live in Switzerland opened up in an exclusive interview with Plugged about their love affair, creating content and the dynamics that come with an interracial love affair.
ASH
Who is Ash?
My name is Ashemeza Rita, I was born in Rukungiri, Western Uganda. I was a journalist in Uganda, before I came to Switzerland to pursue my Masters Degree in Media Management. I love eating, talking, and traveling.
You two met on TikTok. Huh?
Ha, yeah, the first time I saw Evan was on TikTok. He had a funny video about kikomando. It looked so weird.
You ended up stalking Evan on his Instagram. What were your expectations at the time? And how did you find him having seen his pictures?
Well, it wasn’t love at first sight. I went on his Instagram to see this cheap Mzungu who eats bad-looking kikomando. (Don’t get me wrong, I love kikomando, but his looked disgusting.) I did not expect anything at this time.
Tell us about your love story. How did that happen? When did you first meet physically and what did you do?
So, after I followed him on Instagram, he texted, “Hey, have we met before?” After joking around and saying I had seen him, I told him no. And that’s how we started talking. We connected quickly when I realized he was a Christian. After weeks of talking, he asked me to meet him, so, I traveled to meet this Mzungu who eats kikomando.
When I first saw him, I thought he was much cuter in person. He had prepared a picnic on top of Bugembe Hill in Jinja. We walked up to the hill top. We decided to be friends after this because both of us were not ready for dating.
In September, he was sick and hospitalized in Jinja. I went to see him and that’s the day we started dating. I couldn’t believe it because he had always said he wasn’t ready for dating.
What made you fall for Evan?
Evan is a lovely man, his love for God, willingness to abstain till marriage and his uniqueness made me fall for him. I was in love with him even before he asked me to be his girlfriend.
Many Ugandan ladies fantasize about falling in love with a white guy. Did this apply to you as well?
Well, I won’t lie that I had never fantasized about being in love with a white man. But at the time I met Evan, I had given up on dating; I was tired of heartbreaks and being used. I had left everything to God.
You’re pursuing studies in Switzerland. Tell us about that.
Yeah, Evan and I decided to move to Switzerland to study. We both believed it was a large step towards our future. We are both in the same university but doing different Masters programs.
At what point did you quit your job?
Two weeks before we traveled to Switzerland, I left Galaxy FM. I had my visa like a month or two before, but I still wanted to work.
How are you dealing with the culture shock?
People here are not always friendly. Secondly, most of them do not speak English. For those reasons, it’s been challenging. But I have Evan here with me, so that makes it easier.
You and Evan visited Paris, also known as the city of love. Was it what you always dreamed it would feel like?
Every girl’s dream is to go to Paris! Ha, I never thought I would go there that soon, but Evan surprised me with a flight ticket on my birthday. I was so, so happy.
The idea of interracial marriage is still not popular in Uganda. There’s still a lot of stereotype that comes with it. How did your family react to your relationship with Evan?
My family was okay with everything. My grandma welcomed Evan as her grandson. They connected so much, even with the language barrier. My young brothers enjoyed running around with Evan, too.
Coming into this relationship, did you have any fears or suspicions?
I feared that he would one day return to the U.S. and leave me. I did not know many things about Western culture besides what I saw in movies, but Evan has been slowly teaching me. Life is about learning.
You’ve met Evan’s mom. Were you nervous? How did this go and what’s she like?
Of course, I was nervous about meeting Evan’s mum, even though we started talking before I dated Evan. But it went so well. She is the sweetest and most supportive woman I have ever met. She is like a mum to me.
You have talked about a sanitary towel project. What’s this about?
It’s been my dream to impact girls in villages, especially in Western Uganda where I was born. There is a big problem with a lack of menstrual supplies for girls and women, so, I have always had a dream to one day give out free sanitary pads and menstrual education.
Evan and I started a fundraiser to raise money that would help us distribute a few pads to some schools. We can’t wait to start making an impact. A big thanks to everyone who donated!
EVAN
Who is Evan?
My name is Evan Dingle. I’m 27 and was born and raised in the Boston area. Creativity is my profession. That plays out in my job as the Communications Manager for Ekisa Ministries, a nonprofit in Jinja supporting children with disabilities, and my work as a freelance video producer.
When I’m not working, you’ll find me running, walking my Alaskan Husky, or making videos with Ash.
When do you come to Uganda? And to do what?
I moved to Jinja in early 2019 to start my role at Ekisa Ministries. I do fundraising, social media, media production, and general communication tasks for the organization.
How did the idea of starting a YouTube channel come about?
Starting the YouTube channel was Ash’s idea. It was her dream to be a YouTuber, so I jumped onboard to help her chase that dream. It’s connected us to a really cool community around the world.
What kind of content do you two create on YouTube?
We create videos talking about our relationship, fun challenges, and vlogs about our daily life. It’s really about the collective experience of two people from different worlds coming together.
You began with the concept of differences in language (pronunciation) which was pretty creative. How did that come about?
Ash was asking me to do an “accent challenge” that a lot of people were doing on TikTok, so I decided to give it go for our first video together. After recording several takes, we felt like we got a good one. Either I’m not funny, or good at acting mean, or maybe both, because the first video was taken very seriously, and not like the funny videos I was trying to copy.
We got a lot of negative feedback once the video spread outside Uganda, but at least it gave us our start on Ash’s YouTube dream.
How do you choose the subjects of your videos? And what has the feedback been like?
We ask our audience what types of videos they would like to see and try to follow that. Other times, it’s spontaneous. Other times we see a challenge going on and we want to give it a try. Our YouTube family is generally happy about our videos, especially seeing Ash shine.
What made you fall for Ash?
She’s the sincerest girl I have ever met, and she loves so genuinely. There’s a lot more to love, but I first told her I loved her after I had been reflecting on this truth, and then became very sick. I was at the hospital, and she left work, traveled six hours in a taxi through traffic to Jinja, and came to my bedside to be with me and help me. That’s when I whispered in her ear, “I love you.”
Having met during the pandemic, how much did lockdown affect your love story?
We would not have met if the pandemic never happened. Everyone started using TikTok when lockdown started, us included. That’s how we first got connected. It was hard to meet because of lockdown restrictions, but we did the best we could.
You kept the bottle of wine that the two of you drunk on your first date. Why’s that?
After we met and had a picnic, I had a feeling this would be a special memory, so I kept the bottle of wine we shared. I imagined one day it would be a flower vase in our house as a symbol of our love that had bloomed.
Are you two planning on getting married?
We would not be dating unless we wanted to get married. But we are seeking God’s direction on that, and we do not know when.
What’s some of the stuff you’ve found odd about dating a girl from a different race?
There isn’t anything that sticks out as odd because of our racial differences, but the cultural differences can be interesting sometimes. I always feel weird about the idea of eating grasshoppers, for example, but Ash enjoys them.
She is also a lot more direct and honest than most people I have known, which is in part due to the culture of her tribe and region. I sometimes joke and call her “Kansimeza,” combining her name “Ashemeza” with “Kansime,” the Western Ugandan comedian who is known for speaking her mind.
We recently saw you visit Ash’s home in Rukungiri where she introduced you to her parents and her culture. Whose idea was this and what was the experience like for you?
My first time going to Ash’s village and meeting her family was actually in 2020. Ash wanted to go for her birthday, and I wanted to see where she came from. It was a very positive experience, and her family was very welcoming and happy to see me. I think her village is one of my favorite places in Uganda.
Coming into this relationship, did you have any fears or suspicions?
I was a little cautious, because when you date someone from another culture, you don’t know how to read them very well. A lot of your social cues and ways of communicating are different. It wasn’t a big thing, but it does take some time to feel like you really understand the other person well. Then again, with other things, we connected immediately: our faith in Jesus, laughing together, traveling, and watching Korean shows. Overall, it was Ash’s faith that mattered most to me.
You’re pursuing studies in Switzerland. Tell us about that.
I used to live in Switzerland a couple times for studies, and I told Ash how amazing the country is. Epic mountains, lakes, and peacefulness: Switzerland is full of it. At the beginning of 2021, we decided to apply for Masters programs there. We got accepted, and after a long process, we moved in September 2021. Ash now studies Media Management to advance her media knowledge and skills for nonprofit work, and I study Health Communication so I can learn how to better communicate health information. It’s so nice that we are now finally living in the same city, surrounded by beautiful mountains and a lake, with our Alaskan Husky named Tia.
