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The Modern Singhs: The true story of a marriage of two cultures
Abbey and Money Singh are better known as The Modern Singhs, Kiwi social media celebrities with a rich and tangled love story to tell.
Shared through the eyes of this inspiring duo, The Modern Singhs reveals their experiences as migrants to New Zealand as they struggled to find footing in new surroundings. They describe how they met and pursued a relationship that was forbidden by Money's culture, where he felt he had to choose between his family and the love of his life. The couple opens up about the difficult birth of their son, their journeys with mental health, a complicated sense of home, and what it's like to raise bilingual children across three cultures.
The rest is history - or at least uploaded to YouTube, where Abbey and Money's joyful outlook and celebration of tradition unites 1.3 million viewers from all over the world, encouraging others to embrace difference with open hearts.
Shared through the eyes of this inspiring duo, The Modern Singhs reveals their experiences as migrants to New Zealand as they struggled to find footing in new surroundings. They describe how they met and pursued a relationship that was forbidden by Money's culture, where he felt he had to choose between his family and the love of his life. The couple opens up about the difficult birth of their son, their journeys with mental health, a complicated sense of home, and what it's like to raise bilingual children across three cultures.
The rest is history - or at least uploaded to YouTube, where Abbey and Money's joyful outlook and celebration of tradition unites 1.3 million viewers from all over the world, encouraging others to embrace difference with open hearts.
- GenresNonfiction
269 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 1, 2022
16 people are currently reading
165 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 18, 2022
Thank you so much to Harper Collins NZ and the Singh's for sending me this book in exchange for a review. Please know that the gifting of this novel does not change or alter my opinions, an I am as honest as ever :)
The Modern Singh is Abbey and Money Singh's joint autobiography, following the years of their lives together. This book starts with how they got together and we follow them as they navigate a bicultural relationship where it is hard (at times) to balance family and culture.
For full transparency, when I requested this book from Harper Collins (thanks again!) I didn't realise that the Singh's had a platform. If you don't know, they are the names behind the YouTube channel 'The Modern Singh's' and have over 1 million subscribers - so they're decently well known! Once I realised this, the book made a lot more sense, as it does feel like it is written for their audience. As someone who is not a part of that audience I did feel somewhat disconnected from their book. In turn, I did find myself a tad bored at times at skim read a few pages.
However, there were a few parts where I could relate; mostly when Abbey was talking about how she wanted to make sure she was respecting her partner's culture whilst gestures not coming across as tokenistic. That's me! Except replace Indian culture with Thai culture. So those parts were cool.
I recommend to people who are in a bi-cultural relationship (especially in a kiwi context) and people who already follow along on the Singh journey. Also, of you're interested in seeing how one may adapt culture from one country to another, this might be up your alley too :)
The Modern Singh is Abbey and Money Singh's joint autobiography, following the years of their lives together. This book starts with how they got together and we follow them as they navigate a bicultural relationship where it is hard (at times) to balance family and culture.
For full transparency, when I requested this book from Harper Collins (thanks again!) I didn't realise that the Singh's had a platform. If you don't know, they are the names behind the YouTube channel 'The Modern Singh's' and have over 1 million subscribers - so they're decently well known! Once I realised this, the book made a lot more sense, as it does feel like it is written for their audience. As someone who is not a part of that audience I did feel somewhat disconnected from their book. In turn, I did find myself a tad bored at times at skim read a few pages.
However, there were a few parts where I could relate; mostly when Abbey was talking about how she wanted to make sure she was respecting her partner's culture whilst gestures not coming across as tokenistic. That's me! Except replace Indian culture with Thai culture. So those parts were cool.
I recommend to people who are in a bi-cultural relationship (especially in a kiwi context) and people who already follow along on the Singh journey. Also, of you're interested in seeing how one may adapt culture from one country to another, this might be up your alley too :)
May 23, 2022
In picking this one up I had no idea who Abbey and Money were, but I was interested in their story. Going in I wasn’t too sure what to expect from the writing side of things. I am always a little hesitant when celebrities write books because you really have no idea how good the actual writing is going to be and this one was a bit of an example of that. Narrated by Abbey and Money separately, we often get pieces of the same story twice, and the writing was very straight forward and more sounded like a written account or personal diary entries. So I wouldn’t really say that I’d recommend this one for the writing side but if you are wanting a story about the successful merging of cultures and how they navigated that as a couple then this would be the one for you! This story definitely had heart and it was nice to see representation in NZ media of how to navigate a situation like this due to the multi-cultural nature of this country.
June 4, 2022
Loved reading this!! The mix of Scottish, Indian and New Zealand cultures was fascinating. I also loved learning about the Sikh religion. Well written and moved at a great pace. Now I’m off to find their YouTube channel.
April 2, 2023
A good account of cross culture marriage. Enjoyed reading about their life.
November 8, 2024
"The true story of a marriage of two cultures". Abbey & Money became Kiwi social media celebrities after uploading their wedding videos onto YouTube. It was intended for family & friends in New Zealand and abroad, but spiralled rapidly into an online sensation. The Modern Singhs currently still share aspects of their daily lives through various platforms.
This is a story about two youngsters who, in search of a better life, emigrated with their familes from their respective countries (Scotland & India), and settled in New Zealand. Abbey & Money both describe their experiences from when they arrived in a foreign country, and the adjustments that they had to make to their lifestyles in order to fit it.
It wasn't all smooth sailing when Abbey & Money met and fell in love with each other either. They broke barriers and braved unchartered territory to be together. Through patience, understanding and perseverance, this couple managed to bridge the racial divide. Through their love and acceptance of each other's cultures, they managed to create and maintain their own family values.
It's no wonder that their story is such an inspiration to the millions of online followers that they have.
This is a story about two youngsters who, in search of a better life, emigrated with their familes from their respective countries (Scotland & India), and settled in New Zealand. Abbey & Money both describe their experiences from when they arrived in a foreign country, and the adjustments that they had to make to their lifestyles in order to fit it.
It wasn't all smooth sailing when Abbey & Money met and fell in love with each other either. They broke barriers and braved unchartered territory to be together. Through patience, understanding and perseverance, this couple managed to bridge the racial divide. Through their love and acceptance of each other's cultures, they managed to create and maintain their own family values.
It's no wonder that their story is such an inspiration to the millions of online followers that they have.
August 16, 2022
I had never heard of the Modern Singhs, but I can never refuse the chance to win a book, and luckily I managed to win a copy of this book! It's always interesting to read about the lives of others, and this was a good introduction to the Singhs, ranging from how they met and dealt with the initial opposition to their marriage, to how they ended up with over one million followers on Youtube. They talk about their wedding, the birth of their son, and how they continue to respect and balance the needs of their cultures and families. They seem like a really sweet, genuine couple. The book is clearly written in their own words, lending credence to their assertion that they just want to share their normal lives and to be honest and open. It's a quick read and I'm curious to watch a couple of their videos now so kudos to the marketing. If you are a fan, I think you will enjoy the details in this book.
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August 19, 2022I was really interested in reading this book because their story in some parts is very close to my own. I’m an South African immigrant who married a Kiwi, so two cultures merging. Except I don’t think we had it as tough as Money and Abbey.
It was such a quick and easy read and I really enjoyed learning about how they overcame the hurdles in their relationship. They definitely proved that love conquers all.
Coming from an Indian family reading about what was expected of you etc I was nodding my head the whole way. This story shows that even though the generation before us are a bit stuck in their ways, been able to compromise isn’t such a bad thing when it means everyone is happy in the end. I was rooting for them the whole way through.
It was such a quick and easy read and I really enjoyed learning about how they overcame the hurdles in their relationship. They definitely proved that love conquers all.
Coming from an Indian family reading about what was expected of you etc I was nodding my head the whole way. This story shows that even though the generation before us are a bit stuck in their ways, been able to compromise isn’t such a bad thing when it means everyone is happy in the end. I was rooting for them the whole way through.
August 1, 2022
This book is one I had pre ordered and was looking forward to reading. We follow The Modern Singh’s on social media and love their family. I can see many similarities in their story to our own and this was a wonderful book. A beautifully written book that felt like they were here chatting to us. Proof that love can overcome any religious or cultural differences.
November 22, 2023
I bought this book because I followed Money and Abbey on social media. I love their stories however, I was not a fan of their writing style. It was hard to read a couple of pages as a few sentences needed to be reread to make sense. Overall it’s a lovely personal account and is inspiring for others in similar circumstances.
October 24, 2024
Beautiful read that I finished in one sitting. Very open about the struggles of interracial relationship which turned into a successful marriage. Helpful for people on the same pathway to get better insights. If you follow them on YouTube, there is a lot of content overlap which is actually helpful for the reader.
August 19, 2023
The book has poor grammar and structure. It’s chaotic going from one person to another. It’s local finesse and should have been proof read before publication
January 16, 2024
An interesting read written by Abbey and Money on how two different cultures strive to incorporate themselves into the Nz culture
January 30, 2024
Loved learning about the background of my fav Youtubers
July 29, 2025
Weak and vapid. I can't understand why so many people would follow their YouTube channel, voyeurism I guess, and they make money out of it!
June 1, 2022
I loved it. I've been watching them on Youtube with my mom since Noah was a born and their videos are always enjoyable. I enjoyed learning more about them and their story a lot.
April 26, 2022
Love it
What a great love story, so glad I read this book, it was so dam good, sad and funny. Abby is just wonderful and beautiful soul.
What a great love story, so glad I read this book, it was so dam good, sad and funny. Abby is just wonderful and beautiful soul.
December 7, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews