Moms and Dads

Funny Real-Life Stories From Daughters: When Their Dads Found Out About Them Dating

by Kevyn Gohu
June 17, 2022

Here are some funny, real-life quips from dads as told by their daughters when they found out they were dating.

Every girl dad operates this cardinal rule: “No man is good enough for my daughter.” And with perfectly good reason! As someone who becomes their daughter’s first knight in shining armor, it’s no surprise they’d give the approaching partner a bit of a stink-eye. Here are some funny, real-life quips from dads when their daughters told them that they were dating.

The Traditional Question: “Who is he?”

“Asked me who the guy is and of course, what his parents do. LOL!” remarks content writer Rei.

It’s a fairly safe and common question. No dad doesn’t want to be left in the dark about who their daughters are dating.

“Let me know when you’re about to marry him.”

Digital nomad Marisse shares how her dad would rather know who her partner is when she was completely sure. “Ipakilala mo na lang yan sa akin kung sure ka na siya na yung pakakasalan mo,” she recalls.

Of course, marriage is a very, very serious affair. No dad wants his daughter to end up with someone who she’s not sure of.

“Boyfriend? Friends only!”

Then, there’s stereotypical denial. Dads or even grandfathers who love their beloved daughters and granddaughters will have a denial phase. “Not my dad but my angkong. He said, “Anong boyfriend? Friends only!” laughs Janine who’s currently a Psychology professor.

In a Chinese family, choosing a partner is a serious affair—especially with wealth and politics involved. But in this case, the family loves him. “Don’t worry. They now all love him more than me. Imagine, he got fed more Peking duck than me. THE BETRAYAL,” Janine gasps in mock horror.

For any Chinese kid, if your partner was fed more Peking duck than you, that means they love your partner a lot. Don’t worry—we’re happy for you but we feel the betrayal, too.

“Study first. Date later.”

Every dad wants to make sure their daughters finish school—regardless if it’s undergraduate or MA. Researcher Madenn remembers how her father told her in Bicolano. “Kung abo mu magkawon NFA rice or binglod, magtapus muna. De muna nyaan.”

In Tagalog, it’s translated as, “Kung ayaw mo kumain ng NFA rice (Binglod) wag muna nyan. Magtapos muna pag-aaral.” In other words, study first if you don’t want to live a hard life. No dating.

She then laughs about how her father just ended it right there and returned to tending to the charcoal.

“Is it him already?”

This usually pops when they know that their daughter has dated several people. For military brat and soon-to-be doctor Kaelyn, she knows that her dad only has her best interests at heart.

“I feel like my dad said this because…you know. Ilan na nakilala niya and he’s probably tired of it,” Kaelyn laughs.

Being the daughter of a military man from the upper echelons, she’s well-aware that he’s probably taking names. He may be retired but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t thought about throwing them to the battlefield in the middle of nowhere should they ever break her heart.

“The Special Friend”

“My parents refused to call any of the guys I dated boyfriends and referred to them as ‘your special friend’,” says Psychologist Kim with a laugh.

At least, dad’s trying to wrap his head around the fact that his daughter is dating someone?

“Where’s my gun?”

While there are some dads who are mild, there’s this dad who decides that the terminal solution is the best answer to the dating issue. Although married, Yette remembers very fondly what her dad said the first time. She laughs, “The first thing he said was, ‘Where’s my gun?'”

The only thing lacking in that statement is that he actually starts enumerating and pulling all sorts of guns out of his closet.

“Does he know you don’t like cleaning?”

Unfortunately, cleaning has always been attributed to something that women do. When Jen first told her dad that she was dating, he decided to point out the one major flaw she had. His first words were, “Does he know you don’t like cleaning?”

Jen, now married and working as a teacher, laughs at the memory. “I said, yes he does. I’m very transparent about these things. So I married a man who cooks and cleans. The lesson of the day is to advertise your flaws anyway.”

A 3-hour Bible Session

Although it wasn’t the first for Patrisha, it was the most memorable. She shares, “So I can’t remember what my dad said with my first boyfriend, but his most memorable first words for my dating life were with my current. It was a three-hour lecture on how relationships and sexuality should be intertwined with the Bible.”

Some of us may have thought, “Sweet Mama Jesus no.” Her dad really thought, “Jesus yes.”

The Brave Soul

Chai chuckles fondly when she recalls what her father said. “He said, ‘Really? They’re brave for even trying.'” Even her brother weighed in with his opinion, “Tibay nung guy ha.” (The guy’s tough.)

At least they have faith that Chai can handle herself quite well.

Flat Out: No.

Unfortunately, some dads are really not ready to accept that their daughter is at that age. Andrea sighs, “My dad just flat out said ‘No’.” Another one, Lyka, mentions that she decided to never tell her dad in anticipation of the answer.

“Never heard of him. Good.”

Sometimes, dads not knowing who they actually are is a good thing. Chemical engineer Rosa and daughter of the former CFO of Kuok shares, “He asked for his last name. Then after a moment of silence, he said, never heard of them. Good sign.”

According to her, he apparently developed a system and a line of questions that will eventually give him an idea. But the fact is—there will always be this group of people that dads won’t like.

Every response to dating just shows how much dads love their daughters.

Whether it’s being amused that the guy’s even trying or pulling out a gun, girl dads often have the funniest responses when they find out that their daughters are dating. And if their daughters are dating women, we’ll take the line from Jesse Parent’s Button Poetry To The Boys Who May One Day Date My Daughter. “To the girls who may one day date my daughter,” Jesse declares. “My wife’s a better shot than I am!”