For years now, Filipino women have been synonymous with mail order brides for many men in the West together with Russian and Chinese women. Women from the East Asian island nation have long had a fascination with Western culture and an interest in building serious relationships with foreigners. If you want to become the foreign husband of a beautiful woman from the Philippines, here's our guide for how you can find your perfect match.
No two women are the same, however, there are some trends one can notice when looking at the beautiful ladies from the Philippines who use online dating platforms to find potential matches with foreigners.
The first and most obvious trend is that any Filipino girl looking to be someone's mail order bride certainly looking to move abroad in a pursuit of better education and career opportunities, a better economic situation, and a more stable and prosperous environment in which to raise her future children.
This can make Philippine brides sound like "gold diggers," but that'd be broadly incorrect. A "gold digger" is a woman who's exclusively interested in marrying rich. The vast majority of Filipino women are family-oriented and want to meet potential candidates with whom they'd be a compatible match.
Such women want to be good wives and form happy relationships built on shared similar interests - they just would rather those relationships be with a foreigner rather than a local man.
Lastly, and this should go without saying, the Filipino women you can meet via online dating platforms are almost always young and absolutely gorgeous.
There are many different Filipino dating sites out there, with many of them designed exclusively for Philippine women. Some of all these sites include scam profiles, however, which can make it tricky to meet Filipino brides there.
Instead, some of the best Filipino dating sites we'd recommend are the more famous and reputable Asian dating websites used by mail order brides from all over Asia.
SakuraDate is probably the most famous place to meet an Asian mail order bride and with good reason. There are tens of thousands of Asian girls on SakuraDate, including plenty if Filipino girls.
Pros:
SakuraDate comes with a lot of free features such as lists, filters, winks, likes, and others.
The site's UI is very well-designed and makes it incredibly easy to find Filipino women.
SakuraDate has a great customer service team that's available 24/7.
The matchmaking system on SakuraDate is second to none.
Cons:
The site doesn't offer direct video chats. Instead, there is a functionality for exchanging videos and pictures.
SakuraDate doesn't have a mobile app which is a bit peculiar for such a big and famous dating site.
Probably the second most famous brand in this niche is EasternHoneys. The site has been around for years and has an enormous database of Filipina mail order brides for foreign men to chat with.
Pros:
EasternHoneys uses a credit system that charges its users per features used. This is instead the standard monthly subscription utilized by other "standard" dating apps or websites. This means that you can pay much less (or nothing at all) depending on how you use the site.
EasternHoneys has very tempting discounts for new users, making it a must-try in your quest to find a Filipino lady.
The site also has a profile verification system, making it one of the most reputable and secure mail order bride sites out there.
Cons:
While user-friendly, the credit system EasternHoney and other similar sites use can make dating Filipino brides quite expensive if you decide to utilize all of the site's features.
EasternHoneys is another site that weirdly doesn't have a mobile app despite its popularity.
OrchidRomance is synonymous with Asian mail order brides and that more than includes Philippine women. With hundreds of thousands of monthly visitors, OrchidRomance is a top pick for all Western men looking for a successful marriage with a Filipina wife.
Pros:
OrchidRomance uses a credit system similar to many other such sites, however, it also offers 20 free credits for first-time users.
The verification system on OrchidRomance works wonders to help people find genuine Philippine women and not deal with online scams.
The site offers a lot of great features such as newsfeeds, virtual gifts, introduction mails, media attachments, and more.
Cons:
Despite its tempting free bonus, OrchidRomance's credit system can also end up costing you a pretty penny in the long run.
Even the best verification system can't prevent the occasional scam attempt, so you should stay vigilant.
If you're looking for a serious relationship and not just casual chatting or dating, AsianMelodies is probably the ideal site for most Western and American citizen to check out.
Pros:
AsianMelodies is very easy to use even for first-time users, thanks to its slick and simple design.
There is a very responsive 24/7 customer service team.
AsianMelodies also has verified profiles for Asian and Filipino ladies looking for foreign husbands.
Cons:
There have been some instances of scams over the years, despite the reliable verification system.
AsianMelodies used to have some issues with glitches over the years, although most of those seem to have been resolved.
LoverWhirl is another great place to find the Filipina woman of your dreams. The site may not be getting as much attention from Westerners as some other dating sites, but it's full of thousands of Filipino girls looking for future partners abroad.
Pros:
LoverWhirl couples its credit system with a lot of free features which makes it quite easy to find your perfect match without overspending.
The direct-messaging tools on LoverWhirl that cost credits aren't as expensive as some of the other best sites out there.
LoverWhirl has a huge database of many beautiful women from the Philippines looking for men from outside their own country.
Cons:
Some customers have reported that LoverWhirl's profile verification system is a bit spotty, even though we haven't experienced that ourselves.
There are plenty of reasons to go for a Filipino bride, which is why they have been so popular in the online dating scene for decades. Filipina brides are not just beautiful, they have that petite, dark-skinned, Asia-Pacific beauty so many foreign husbands tend to find absolutely mesmerizing.
Of all the local females in the Asia-Pacific region, girls from the Philippines are arguably the most enthusiastic about moving abroad and forming a stable family unit with a Western man. This is great for guys as it means a near-zero chance that the Filipino girl you met online is only interested in securing a Visa, which is sometimes the case with other women.
What's more, women from the Philippines often have that awesome combination of strong family values and a fiery exotic personality.
Building a relationship with a mail order bride takes time, regardless of where she is from. The exact peculiarities of the online dating experience can vary depending on your future bride's nationality, however.
With women from the Philippines, you can expect a balance of conservative tendencies and a progressive outlook on life. All Filipinos are known for conservative values such as respect for elders, family-oriented goals, adherence to traditional gender roles, and more.
At the same time, however, Filipina women have gained a lot of equal rights with Filipino men in recent years and they definitely seem to enjoy that. There have been numerous Filipino ladies who've been mayors, congresspeople, senators, and even presidents. So, if you're looking for a Filipino bride because you believe she'll fit in some "obedient wife" cliche - that's pretty much a myth.
In short, the dating culture of Filipino wives is pretty well-balanced - you should be mindful that you show respect to your future bride's family and culture, and you shouldn't be too pushy if she's a bit reserved and wants to take things slow. Depending on her ethnicity and religion she might even ask you to meet her parents on your very first in-person date, as ethnicities in the Philippines still do arranged marriages.
Once you and your future mail order bride get closer, however, you can expect things to start moving faster and smoother.
Filipino brides have near-countless pros, but marriage with a Filipino woman will also bring the occasional drawback, just as with any other international relationship. So, let's rifle through the most notable points below.
The huge ethnic diversity of Filipino brides means you'll be spoiled for choice in terms of the looks, religion, and culture of your future Filipino bride.
Filipino wives are famous for their unparalleled beauty, and they also tend to marry relatively young.
Filipino brides are eager to move abroad to secure better education and career opportunities for themselves and their children, which means your future bride will be very grateful for the opportunity you've given her.
Despite their focus on career opportunities, a Filipino bride is also typically quite family-oriented and hardworking enough to comfortably combine the two.
Filipino wives come from a very unique, joyful, and colorful culture, which is a great spice to add to your Western lifestyle.
Filipino wives love children and tend to look forward to have more than two kids with a loving husband and in a stable socioeconomic environment.
As with any other foreign lady, a Filipino bride living in the West with you will be very susceptible to loneliness and homesickness. So, you'd want to be extra mindful about making her feel at home, as well as helping her have plenty of opportunities to travel.
While many young Filipinos speak English, there may still be a bit of a language barrier at first.
Your Filipino bride will come from a drastically different culture than your own. While this has its positives, as mentioned above, it can also result in some cultural friction.
With all the great positives we've listed above, it isn't shocking why Filipino women are popular with Western men looking for marriage. However, why are they so much more popular than women from other countries, including other seemingly similar Asian countries?
It's easy to say that a lot of is down to the looks of Philippine brides. After all, they do look a bit different from other Asian women. Yet, with so many ethnicities in the country, Filipino brides also look different from each other, even if they are all absolutely gorgeous.
If we had to single out just one factor, it'd be the fact that the Philippines simply has a culture of mail order brides - whereas the practice has just recently become popular in other countries, Filipino brides have been looking for marriage with foreigners for decades.
There are other factors to consider too, of course, namely:
The average fertility rate of Filipino brides is 2.7 children. This is substantially higher than the <2 averages in most Western countries, which is why a lot of American and other Western men are enthusiastic about having a Filipina bride.
Likewise, women from the island nation are eager to have children but also want to have and raise them in a country and an environment that has as many opportunities for a happy and prosperous life as possible, hence why a Filipino bride would often look for a husband abroad.
The education and literacy levels of Filipino brides is higher than the average for most Asian countries but lags behind many Western countries. The literacy rate in the Philippines is 95.6% and the elementary education level is 68%.
The secondary education percentage is 51%, which is higher than the 35% in Afghanistan, 47% in China, and 48% in India.
It's also worth noting that Filipino women have higher education levels and aspirations than men, which shows their desire for better education. That, in and of itself, is often an additional reason for them to want to move abroad.
Divorce is not technically recognized by the state in the Philippines, but marriages can still be ended through annulment or by declaring the marriage null and void. The Philippines is one of only two countries in the world where that's the case, the other being the Vatican.
Because of that (and the high legal costs for annulment), many young Filipinos either choose not to marry at all, choose to look for marriage abroad, or simply separate from their partners when they decide to "end" their marriage.
All this means that "divorce and separation statistics" from the Philippines can't really tell us much, aside from the fact that younger Filipinos separate more often than previous generations. However, that's pretty much the case everywhere else around the world as well.
As you can see, marrying a Filipino bride has a lot of unique features and differences compared to a Western bride. Not only does a bride from the island nation have a very fascinating, special, and gorgeous look, but such women also have a very particular blend of fiery passion and a focus on the family.
A Filipino bride typically has a desire for a better life abroad, more career and education opportunities, and a need for self-expression in a more egalitarian society. At the same time, however, Filipino brides are also very fond of their husbands, appreciative of the opportunity they've been given, and eager to form a strong family bond.
So, while a Filipino mail order bride can end up costing a lot through travel and immigration expenses (more on that below) compared to a Western lady, thousands of men every year find out that a Filipino mail order bride is typically worth it.
The Philippines is a country of over 100 million people. Yet, because all those people are spread over 7,641 islands, the cities there don't tend to get as big as in China, Japan, India, or many Western countries.
source: https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/biggest-cities-in-the-philippines.html
| Rank | City | Population (2015) | Population Density
(number of individuals per square km, 2015) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quezon City | 2,936,116 | 17,000 |
| 2 | Manila | 1,780,148 | 42,000 |
| 3 | Davao City | 1,632,991 | 670 |
| 4 | Caloocan | 1,583,978 | 30,000 |
| 5 | Cebu City | 922,611 | 2,900 |
| 6 | Zamboanga City | 861,799 | 580 |
| 7 | Taguig | 804,915 | 15,000 |
| 8 | Antipolo | 776,386 | 2,500 |
| 9 | Pasig | 755,300 | 16,000 |
| 10 | Cagayan de Oro | 675,950 | 1,600 |
This effectively means that most Filipino mail order brides you can meet will be from smaller rural towns. this isn't necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, but we would recommend that you focus your search on larger urban areas instead.
The girls you can meet from urban centers are typically the ones with the more progressive views on life, with an interest in Western culture, better education, and speaking English more fluently. Of course, you can also meet Filipinas from small villages who meet those criteria, but there are some trends to keep in mind.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the Philippines is an incredibly ethnically diverse country with over 182 distinct ethnolinguistic groups being represented. So, depending on which city or area you're looking at, you can expect to meet women from different ethnicities, cultures, religions, language groups, and with different looks.
The two major ethnic groups in the Philippines are Visayan Filipinos (which includes Aklanon, Cebuano, Hiligaynon/Ilonggo, Karay-a, Masbatenyo, Romblomanon, and Waray) who make up around 31.6% of the population and Tagalog Filipinos who are around 28.1%. Other notable ethnicities include Ilocano (9%), Bikol (6%), Kapampangan (3%), Pangasinan (2%), Zamboangueño (1.5%), and others (23.3%).
The former capital of the Philippines and the current largest urban center, Quezon City has a population of about 2,960,048 people. Often abbreviated to just Q.C., the city was named after the second president of the Philippines, Manuel L. Quezon.
Q.C. is a predominantly Tagalog Filipino city and it hosts the House of Representatives of the Philippines at the Batasang Pambansa Complex. It was founded in 1939 to replace Manila as the capital as the latter was becoming overcrowded.
Manila is the current capital of the Philippines and the second largest city there with a population of about 1,846,513 people. It was temporarily replaced as capital by Q.C. for about three decades, as Manila was getting too densely populated. It was reinstated as capital in 1976, however, on the 405th anniversary of the city's founding.
To this day, Manila is one of the most densely-populated cities in the world as it has a territory of only 42.34 square kilometers or 16.56 square miles. Even just for this reason alone, you can see why a Philippines girl from Manila would be looking to move abroad.
A close third in terms of size is Davao City with a population of around 1,776,949 people - almost as much as Manila but spread over a territory of 2,443.61 square kilometers or 943.48 square miles.
Davao City is the largest city in the Mindanao Province and is nicknamed "The King City of the South." The majority of the Filipinos living here are of the Cebuano Visayan ethnicity.
Caloocan has a population of about 1,661,584 people, and it's both a very historic and a highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila area. The vast majority of the Filipinos there are of the Tagalog ethnicity, and it's one of the most Western-like cities in the country.
With a population of about 977,234 people, Zamboanga City is the fifth largest city in the Philippines, very closely tied with Cebu City which almost as large.
Zamboanga City is also known as "The City of Flowers" and "Asia's Latin City," and it's located on the southwesternmost edge of the country. Zamboanga is a very ethnically diverse city thanks to a centuries-long stream of migration from other parts of the country and the world. It's also the city with the largest percentage of people of Spanish/European descent in the Philippines.
A Filipina bride doesn't "cost" anything, as we're not talking about actually "purchasing" a bride. Instead, the whole Filipino mail order bride dating process simply involves dating and potentially marrying a Philippine girl as you would a local girl.
Because we are talking about a long-distance relationship and later a marriage with a foreigner, however, there are quite a lot of travel costs and Visa expenses to be considered.
Fortunately, the Philippines isn't the most expensive country to visit or spend time in, so the main expense here will be the travel itself. You would want to meet your future bride at least a few times in person, after all.
Once the relationship has gotten serious and it's time to tie the knot, the marriage ceremony itself can be as expensive or affordable as you and your bride want it to be.
All in all, the travel, dating, immigration, and marriage expenses can mount up to the high thousands or tens of thousands of dollars or euros. Compared to that, the first few hundred bucks you'd want to spend on online dating platforms and virtual gifts are a drop in the bucket.
The term "mail order bride" sounds highly illegal - almost as if you're buying a marital status with a girl via mail.
Of course, that's not the case, and here we're merely talking about online dating and later meeting, moving in with, and marrying a Filipino woman who herself has been looking for a husband from a foreign country. And there is absolutely nothing illegal in that, neither in the Philippines nor in Western countries.
What should be noted, however, is that the Philippines has the infamous "Anti Mail-Order Spouse Act," which is a law in the Philippines that "prohibits the business of organizing or facilitating marriages between Filipinas, colloquially called "mail-order brides", and foreign men."
The keyword here is "business," however, as that refers to marriage agencies and other businesses that serve to meet Philippine brides with foreigners. Dating websites such as the one we've listed above don't count as they are just dating sites and nothing more.
