Jeanette Aw may be notoriously tight-lipped about her current relationship with a Caucasian man named Marcus, but when it comes to her previous boyfriend, whom she dated in her university days, she seems willing to spill a little bit more – even about the difficult bits.
“It was a painful relationship, but I can talk about it now because it doesn’t bother me anymore,” she shared with us during an interview at the press conference for Let It Go, in which she plays a blogger who teaches her readers how to find happiness again after a breakup. The upcoming Channel U drama is produced by WaWa Pictures and was co-written by Jesseca Liu. “He was actually seeing other girls at the same time, but it didn’t occur to me to confront him (about them) because I was so blindly in love. (laughs)”
She went on to admit that this fling turned her into someone she is not: a girl who was constantly crying in one corner, never dared to speak up and stand up for herself, and who spent less and less time with her friends in favour of her beau. “It’s like those girls you see in TV dramas that make you go ‘Why are you so stupid!’” she said with a chuckle.
Thankfully, Jeanette eventually came to her senses and ended things with the cheating chap, whom she met in her dance group, after a year and a half of being together. However, really letting go of it emotionally was another hurdle.
“It took a long time for me to get over that relationship, I thought I was really in love,” she said. “Filming in Taiwan for a few months gave me some time to heal away from Singapore, but it wasn’t until many years later that I could let myself be in another relationship. It took some time to find myself and to build up my confidence again.”
Today, she is much happier with her mystery man, but she claims that there are no wedding plans at the moment. Instead, she will be busy gearing up for the launch of her second book, which will contain her illustrations, and an art exhibition in May this year. “There are lots of good things happening, but it’s not what you think! (laughs)”
That isn’t the only thing Jeanette has to look forward to in the coming months: in April, she will finally be conferred the All-Time Favourite Artiste award at the 2015 Star Awards with Vivian Lai, after being successfully voted into the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes rankings for a decade. “I’m very happy,” she beamed. “The All-Time Favourite award is actually from my fans, so I treasure it very much.”
However, the cause for celebration is also marred by complaints from devotees who are dissatisfied with her absence from this year’s list of Best Actress nominees, especially given her highly-lauded performance in The Journey: Tumultuous Times. While she declined to divulge her own thoughts on missing out on a nod, she said she was thankful for her fans’ care and encouragement, and wished only for them to just enjoy her dramas from now on.
Elvin Ng is the “very sentimental, irritating, romantic sort”
Elvin Ng will fight until his very last breath before giving up on a relationship © Provided by xinmsn Elvin Ng will fight until his very last breath before giving up on a relationship
A self-proclaimed “warrior” when it comes to love, Elvin admitted that he is the kind of person who will fight until his very last breath before throwing in the towel on a relationship. “Whatever you may have seen (a character do to try and salvage a relationship) in a Channel 8 drama, I might have done it – except jump from a building,” he chortled. “I’m the very sentimental, irritating, romantic sort. (laughs)”
In fact, Elvin is so sentimental, he doesn’t even throw away items belonging to his ex-partners, unlike what his co-star and onscreen love interest Jeanette confessed to doing, saying that they hold "good memories" for him.
When asked to recount the worst of his three breakups, Elvin admitted – albeit with an air of half-jest – that as an “emotional wreck”, all of them were “the worst thing that have ever happened” to him. That said, the most recent one, which happened over two years ago, stands out because he spent time abroad to write his book Our Epic Little Lives afterwards.
“I remember walking the streets of London alone and feeling emo,” he recounted. “Then at Christmas, a message came, and when I got back to Singapore, we got back together for another week or so before realising that it wasn’t going to work out.” Oh well, at least he tried again, right?
Related: It’s love over money for Elvin Ng
Cavin Soh’s son: a makeup aficionado at heart?
Elvin Ng and a beautified Cavin Soh in 'Let It Go' © Provided by xinmsn Elvin Ng and a beautified Cavin Soh in 'Let It Go'
If anyone still doesn’t believe there can be joy after a split, just ask Cavin Soh. Although none of his past breakups were “happy” per se, they did lead him to wed wife Serena Yeo, which then led to the births of his two children Kayden and Bethany, who are turning 4 and 2 respectively this year.
“Before I go to work, my daughter will waddle up to me to say goodbye and ask for a hug and cuddles,” said the proud papa, mimicking his toddler’s adorable actions. “So I see my ‘post-breakup happiness’ in her.”
In Let It Go, the amicable multi-hyphenate takes a hilarious turn as an effeminate (but straight) makeup artist, complete with kohl-rimmed eyes, false eyelashes and sassy hand gestures. According to him, it took up to an hour to beautify him every time – longer than female leads Jeanette and Mindee Ong.
A year before he took on his guyliner-wearing character, Cavin had another brush with cosmetics in a department store with little curious Kayden, but that incident left him quite concerned. “He pointed to the eyeshadows and lipsticks and said, ‘Papa, I like!’ and I thought to myself, ‘Oh my god’,” recalled Cavin. “I asked him why he liked them and he said he didn’t know, so I’m honestly a bit worried right now. (laughs)”
Catch Let It Go every Monday to Friday at 10pm on Channel U, starting February 23
