Put a ring on it
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In a recent appearance on television talk show The Inner Circle, local actress Joanne Peh recounted the details of her engagement to fellow actor and father of her two children, Qi Yuwu. “He flew from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur to visit me at work,” Joanne shared.
“When we were outside the hotel room, I noticed that he looked a bit nervous and was behaving differently. He was breathing very hard. “Suddenly, he took out an enormous bouquet of roses from his suitcase, and I immediately knew what was going on.
My memory’s a bit fuzzy here but I remember there were tears, and then he knelt on the floor and proposed to me.” The then 29-year-old said yes, and the pair walked down the aisle in September 2014.
We can never get enough of hearing stories of romantic proposals, stunning engagement rings, exclamations and tears of joy – especially the star-studded kind. Ranging from a dazzling fireworks display to a string quartet, these celebrities sure know how to win their lover over through their acts of love.
Keep scrolling to see how these celebrities scored their yeses.
The musical proposal
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In 2017, then-29-year old actress and daughter of beauty mogul Jean Yip, Cheryl Wee, tied the knot with her first love, Roy, whom she’s known since they were students in Victoria Junior College. The actress was taken by surprise when the song, “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” by the Beach Boys started playing in the background during a rickshaw ride through the Arashiyama bamboo grove of Kyoto.
As it turned out, Cheryl’s then-boyfriend had posed as a rickshaw driver and flown in a string quartet from Osaka to perform her favourite song. The actress said yes to her architect boyfriend’s romantic proposal, and the rest is history.
In September 2019, the couple welcomed baby number two. Cheryl had previously revealed her second pregnancy at her son Marc’s first birthday party.
The yacht proposal
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Channel 8 heartthrob, Xu Bin, shattered many female fans’ hearts when he announced in 2017 that he was getting married to his girlfriend of two years. Under strict orders not to date from his artiste manager, Dasmond Koh, he kept his romance under wraps.
But some of his friends from his management company, NoonTalk Media, like actress Kimberly Chia, knew about the romance. He enlisted her help for the proposal. Kimberly helped with the decoration of the yacht that Xu Bin proposed on.
Earlier this year, his wife gave birth to their second child, a girl. The gorgeous couple also have a two-year-old son.
The love-prevails-all proposal
While the couple walked down the aisle this year, we hear that Jesseca Liu accepted Jeremy Chan’s proposal two years ago when he proposed to her with a small diamond ring. At that time, Jeremy’s career was in its nascent stages. He revealed that he neither had an apartment nor a car and his career was nowhere near that of Jesseca.
Jeremy wanted to work on his career before getting married and Jesseca was willing to wait for him. Two years later, Jeremy plucked up the courage and popped the question and his wife-to-be became his wife.
The dynamic duo recently appeared in ghost-themed dramedy Crouching Tiger Hidden Ghost. This is not the first time the celeb couple are acting opposite each other on screen. They had previously worked on 2014 miniseries, Who Killed The Lead, and 2019 movie, When Ghost Meets Zombie.
The Facebook proposal
A classic example of how technology changed romance, Taiwanese singer Yoga Lin proposed with a moving love letter to now wife, Kiki Ting, on his Facebook page in 2016. An hour after his post, an elated Yoga posted a photo of him embracing Kiki with the caption in Chinese, “She said yes”.
The “Unrequited” singer and his wife welcomed a daughter into their family in March 2020. They also have a two-year-old son Kubbe.
The double happiness proposal
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Chinese actor, Li Chen, got down on one knee and proposed to Fan Bing Bing on her birthday party. The happy couple took two Weibo to share their bliss by posting a wefie. The couple had been dating since 2015. In 2019, the couple unfortunately parted ways, hardly four years after the engagement.
A music video-like proposal
According to Chinese website, Netease, Mandopop superstar Jay Chou spent a long time preparing for the proposal to ensure that it was as elaborate as a music video production. He orchestrated an ultra-romantic proposal complete with a spectacular fireworks display. Rumour has it that his now wife, Hannah Quinlivan was moved to tears by the proposal.
The couple are parents to three-year-old Romeo and five-year-old Hathaway.
The “spoil market” proposal
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Local singer, Alfred Tay, went all out for a lavish proposal for his then girlfriend, Tay Kewei. The first part of the proposal was Alfred convincing Kewei to take up a faux singing gig for a wedding. After which, Kewei was gobsmacked with her loved ones.
In a scene that feels like it was lifted off a movie, Alfred sauntered in with a guitar, playing an aptly titled song, So in Love. That was not all, as part of the extravagant five-figure proposal, Alfred prepared a week-long wedding shoot in Tokyo. The lovebirds flew off to the land of the rising sun the morning after the proposal.
In June 2020, the couple welcomed their second child, a boy. Alfred and Kewei first announced that they were expecting in January 2020 via their music video, Momo Ai Zhe Ni, which was written for their then-two-year-old son Momo.
The going-the-distance proposal
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Yes, long-distance relationships can work. Local actress, Seraph Sun, married her Japanese fiancé, Tomoya, after dating for two years, in an intimate wedding ceremony at Regent Hotel on Oct 14, 2017. The lovebirds met through the actress’s elder sister who played matchmaker. Her husband was her sister’s business partner. Seraph’s sister gave her Tomoya’s Facebook details and convinced her to reach out to him.
Tomoya who was based in an IT firm in Singapore, popped the question when he first broke the news of his relocation back to Japan to the Peace & Prosperity actress. When the actress asked what was going to happen to them, her Japanese fiancé asked for her hand.
In October 2020, Seraph shared a photo of her third wedding anniversary at Gardens by the Bay on Instagram. She wrote, “it’s been a tumultuous past year, but with you beside me, I can bravely face the lows. Till the day our up begins (sic) let’s stay strong together.”
The work-interruption proposal
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Actress Yvonne Lim was working on a photoshoot for Nuyou magazine when her then boyfriend, former Taiwanese boyband member, Alex Tien, got down on one knee midway through the shoot. He then pulled out a diamond engagement ring and popped the question.
Seven years later, they have two children: seven-year-old AJ and four-year-old Alexa.
The laidback proposal
Media personality Jade Seah’s then-boyfriend, Terence Lim, whom she has known since she was 16, decided to cut the frills and opted for a honest and heartfelt proposal. It was the couple’s anniversary celebration at their new home, Terence played a montage video which he made before he got down on one knee and proposed with a stunning emerald-cut diamond ring.
The pair lives in a charming loft-style shophouse in Tanjong Katong.
The mildly chaotic proposal
Proposing in Sunflowers? A Tale of Peril and Punch
When you’ve got a big thing like a proposal on your mind, the place is everything. Luckily for Mind Jumper star James Seah and influencer Nicole Chang Min, the odds were in their favor—after a wild detour through three sun‑soaked fields.
The Original Plan (and why it quickly went south)
- Location 1: Sunflower meadow, Khao Yai.
- Friend did a quick scout – flowers pointing down, wilting like a bad haircut.
- Result: Plan A doomed, so they had to locate a better spot.
Enter the Unexpected Return
They scooped up a smaller sunflower patch, hoping for a quieter moment. When they arrived, Nicole frowned at the cramped space—just a little clearing wedged between a road and a block of flats. “Could use more room for this weird dance thing,” she sighed.
The Final Chill Zone
- Location 3: A quaint garden in Thames Valley.
- There—the right vibe, the right saving‑the‑day setting.
The Ring Slip‑and‑Slide Moment
James was thrilled, but nerves had him frantically rehearsed: “Look, I need the ring on her left hand.” Yet, in the blitz of excitement, he held the ring with his own left hand, but hammered it onto Nicole’s right hand. The galaxy of his heart held up the moment in slow motion.
“I was gagging on ‘left hand’ so hard that I didn’t even realize I was putting the ring on her right hand,” he admitted, eyes watering but a grin breaking out.
Once the ring switched over to her left hand—and they both laughed about the misstep—the couple celebrated with the perfect sunny mood, crashing a Thailand holiday as newly engaged stars. The story? A little scramble, a misdirected ring, and a romance that still blooms brightly.
The rescheduled proposal
Well he did plan to propose, just not on the day it actually happened. At a 2008 press conference for the TV series Rhythm of Life, veteran actor Christopher Lee opened up about how he asked long-time girlfriend, actress Fann Wong for her hand.
He had initially planned to surprise her with a two-carat diamond ring on Valentine’s Day but ended up doing so on the second day of Chinese New Year. “I wanted to book the entire restaurant, but her schedule did not allow it,” he said jokingly.
“Every time when I checked if she’s free, she’s either working, or not in Singapore. “So only during Chinese New Year, when everyone is around, I could propose… Fann was shy, but touched, and said yes immediately,” he recounted.
Fann Wong/Instagram
The surrounded-by-friends proposal
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Taiwanese boy band Fahrenheit member Calvin Chen surprised his girlfriend Joanne Tseng at his house in January 2020 and got down on one knee in front of their friends. Rumours of the relationship between the entertainers surfaced in 2009 after they acted together in the drama “Love Buffet”.
The couple announced their engagement on their respective Instagram accounts. “Entering the next phase of my life. It might not be early, but everyone has their own pace,” Calvin wrote. Joanne shared the same photo and wrote, “We are married. We have known each other for a long time. Mr Chen watched me grow from a girl to a woman and accompanied me all the way. From today onwards I am Ms Tseng and also Mrs Chen.” Aww!
The birthday proposal
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Chinese singer-songwriter Li Ronghao’s proposal was surprisingly simple and fuss-free – but that only made it all the more romantic. In a vlog uploaded to Rainie’s YouTube channel, the singer included a never-before-seen clip of her then-boyfriend popping the question.
The proposal took place in Okinawa, Japan. In the video, friends of the couple were seen carrying gifts, flowers and a bottle of champagne. The group knocked on Ronghao and Rainie’s hotel room door at the stroke of midnight on July 11 (which also happens to be Ronghao’s birthday). The What Can I Do singer opened the door to greet his friends.
A surprised Rainie screamed when her friends entered the room. “I’m so ugly! I’m still in my pajamas!” she exclaimed. While it might not be the reaction Ronghao was hoping for, he persisted and asked the important question. Rainie was so emotional that Ronghao had to repeat himself (“Will you?”). Of course, she said yes.
This article was first published in Her World Online.
