Filipino Man With "Elephant" Legs Has Tear-Jerking Love Story 6 Years In The Making

A Filipino man with a rare and unfortunate condition has found true love.

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, GMA‘s Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho shared the unique love story of Roland who lives with a debilitating condition called elephantiasis

Elephantiasis is a painful disease spread by mosquito bites that can cause the body to swell and the skin to become hard and thick, like an elephant. In Roland’s case, both his legs are affected and weigh 30kg, making it difficult for him to move around and find a woman who would accept him.

However, Roland didn’t always have this disease as it appeared out of the blue in his 20s. Despite the pain and discomfort, he still managed to work hard as a construction worker.

He met Jennifer in 2015 in Cebu. She was working as a househelp and was immediately attracted to his “celebrity-like” features and brown eyes.

Unfortunately, the feeling wasn’t reciprocated. He started dating her best friend, but it ended just one month later after he discovered she was cheating on him.

That’s when Jennifer decided to make her move and confess to him. He accepted her feelings and they became an official couple, but the relationship was also short-lived as he learned that he needed to move across the country for work. He promised to come back after 6 months.

But to Jennifer’s surprise, she received a call one day from Roland saying that he had found another woman. She was devastated, but life went on.

Their lives made a drastic turn 6 years later when Roland posted a selfie on Facebook. She flirtatiously commented in Filipino, “How are you, my husband?” He rode along with the joke, replying, “I’m okay, my wife.”

Their romance was rekindled not long afterwards. However, Roland was afraid to reveal his condition to her, fearing she will leave him like all his past girlfriends did. He eventually sent her a picture of his legs, and unlike everyone else, she stayed.

“I wasn’t disgusted by the picture that he sent. My love for him was stronger,” she said.

And just so she could prove her words, she traveled all the way from Cebu to Lanao Del Norte to care for him. She painstakingly boiled native plants and washed his legs with her bare hands.

When Roland saw how lovingly and selflessly she took care of him, he knew she was the one.

That’s when I felt it because she washed me and took care of me. That’s when I thought, ‘Why did I play around?’ Her feelings for me were genuine. That’s when my eyes were opened. My tears fell. There’s a woman after all who will accept me. I could have met her sooner. Why didn’t I love her sooner? That’s why I was filled with regret.

— Roland

Crying in an interview, she shared, “It’s with him that I learned true love. He doesn’t hurt me. I will accept him no matter what happens, even if he has no legs.”