Matthew Tye, also known on YouTube as Laowhy86, is a well-known vlogger who creates videos about China and Chinese culture.
He is known for his unbiased and informative content; his channel has over 900k subscribers.
Often featured in his content is his wife, Vivienne Wei.
But who is she? Who is Vivienne Wei?
Well, here is what we know.
Vivienne Wei’s Background
Vivienne was born and raised in Huzhou, in the province of Guangdong, China.
She left home when she relocated to Macao, which is a special administrative autonomous region on the south coast of China, for college.
During her time on campus, Vivienne made a point of visiting home once every month.
Having been raised in a family-oriented country, Vivienne grew up with a deep love for her country despite propaganda about outside countries being evil.
Upon going to college, she learned that she had to be open-minded after interacting with teachers from different parts of the world.
Vivienne graduated college in 2011.
How Did Vivienne and Matthew Meet?
We all know the story: boy meets girl, falls madly in love, girl agrees to marry boy, and they live happily ever after.
This wasn’t the case with Vivienne, though. Vivi and Matthew had a chance meeting at a supermarket two weeks after Matthew moved to China back in 2009.
Matthew was out shopping without a translator, and unfortunately, everything on the aisles was labelled in Chinese.
The moment their eyes met, they both smiled at each other, which, according to Vivienne, was weird because it was not customary for Chinese girls to smile at foreigners.
Being fluent in English, Vivi could help Matthew, and they got to know each other.
She turned him down when asked for her phone number, citing that she hardly knew Matthew.
She did agree to share her Facebook account information, though.
Dating and Marrying Matthew
Vivienne married Matthew on 11 January 2013 after four years of dating.
After linking up on Facebook in 2009, Vivi and Matthew stayed constantly in touch.
A year later, after graduating from college, she secured a job in Houzhui.
At the time, her future husband decided to take a one-year trip to Taiwan, where Vivi was only able to visit once. The couple got engaged in 2012.
Vivienne and Matthew share two kids. Olivia, their firstborn, was born on March 21, 2016. Their second daughter, Lucia, was born in January 2019.
CELEBRITIES: 13 Celebrities Who Have Been Diagnosed With Wolff Parkinson White Syndrome
Vivienne Wei YouTube Presence
When she met Matthew Tye, Vivi shifted her focus to YouTube.
As a native Chinese speaker with a deep understanding of Chinese culture, Vivienne was the perfect partner for Matthew to create videos that would provide valuable and accurate insights into China and Chinese society.
Since joining forces with Matthew, Vivienne has become an integral part of the Laowhy86 channel.
She provides translation services and even appears in some of the videos.
Matthew and Vivienne have created a successful channel that promotes cross-cultural understanding and awareness.
You may also want to check: Who is Winston Sterzel? All About a Fearless Youtuber Unmasking China’s Realities
Vivienne’s Perspective of Matthew’s Content
Upon returning home from Macau, Vivienne realized that her government controlled every bit of information, and there was no freedom of speech.
With YouTube and Twitter blocked in her country, she was unaware that social media existed when she met her husband.
Being open-minded helped Vivi change her perspective about her country, and she could see things as they were.
Now, whenever her husband speaks negatively about China, she listens with the right attitude and tries to see the complete picture.
Oftentimes, she joins him in sharing her thoughts and feelings regarding the happenings in China.
Image sources: 1, 2, 3
