Watch This : Love in The Time of War at Ellen

Photo Credits: Screengrab from TheEllenShow

There is perhaps nothing more inspiring than a love that blossomed in the time of war. Such is the story of gay couple Nayyef and Btoo who met and fell in love amidst a bloody war in Iraq. Clearly it’s not the most ideal place and time for them to fall in love. But in 2004, as fate would have it—Btoo Allami who was then an Iraqi soldier and Nayyef Hrebid, then an Iraqi translator for the U.S. Army—met and there was no turning back for the two them.

Almost thirteen years later the couple is now happily married. They are based in Seattle where they are working to help the LGBT youth from the Middle East start with a new life by sharing with them their home, helping them look for jobs and enroll in school, and by familiarizing them with the culture.

Ellen DeGeneres invited the couple to share their story: how they met, how they were able to tell the other was gay, and how they left Iraq. Watch the interview below.

 

Nayyef and Btoo’s story has also been featured in a documentary titled Out of Iraq.

Out of Iraq tells in detail their love story: their life in the battlefield, how Nayyef had found an asylum in the United States, how Btoo followed him in the US, and how they finally got married ten years after first meeting each other.
Out of Iraq was first shown in June 2016 at Logo TV.