THEIR kind, forgiving characters in the long-running Taiwanese soap opera Love have touched the hearts of many television viewers.

And they've made actresses Fang Xin and TeresaDe - both, in real life, single mothers with teenage children -two of Taiwan's hottest aunties at the moment.

"I was really surprised at Love's massive success," admitted the soft-spoken, demure Fang, 37, to The New Paper at Taipei's Fullerton South Hotel last month.

"It's really rare that a Taiwanese production can extend its reach to so many people outside of Taiwan."

The 787-episode drama was shown in Taiwan in 2008and currently airs daily over Channel 8.

Each episode attracts an average of 864,000 viewers, according to statistics provided by MediaCorp.

Fang and De play Love's self-sacrificing main protagonists. And you cannot help but root for them.

These women also often wring the most tears from fans - both Shuhua (Fang) and Jialing (De) are down on their luck when it comes to love, having been cheated respectively by scheming evil-doers Guo Congmin (Ni Qi Ming) and Hong Zhizhong (Huang Yingxun).

"I get most elderly folk coming up to 'comfort' me on the streets," Fang said with a smile.

"They speak to me as if I'm Shuhua and give me advice such as, 'my dear, don't be so silly, you should leave Guo Congmin as soon as possible'."

De, 33, had similar incidents to share.

She said: "During the show's run in Taiwan, a lot of viewers adored Jialing as she possessed personality traits that are too good to be true in our real lives.

"Many gong gongs and po pos (referring to grandpas and grandmas in Mandarin) would tell me with a sorrowful look on their faces, 'Ah, you're so pitiful'."

Fang and De, along with other cast members of the hit series, were promoting the year-end Love Of My Life Concert, which will see them entertaining Singapore audiences with songs and skits.

On the topic of success and how Love has given their careers a huge boost, both women were surprisingly rather blase.

One couldn't help but wonder if jadedness had hit these "aunties" earlier than their peers, due to their failed marriages in their early 20s.

Fang, who has a 13-year-old daughter, stressed that while she is currently at the top of her game, there are always two sides to the coin - more fame inevitably results in more personal sacrifices.

"In my job, I think I've been climbing staircases all this while," she said metaphorically.

"Over the last 10 years, I've been lucky to receive meaty roles from time to time.

Give up time for family

"Love was very popular and it paved the way for several future opportunities, but at the same time, it means my hours of filming are now longer and more irregular... I've had to give up some time with my family."

De, who, like Fang, is divorced, agreed. She has two children, a daughter in secondary school and a son in primary school.

"Love changed my life, as it's one of the longest series I've ever done. When it finally wrapped up, all of us in the cast and crew had become as close as family," she said.

Before Love, De said she had been somewhat typecast, playing a string of bad women on the small screen.

"My portrayal of Jialing made a lot of people sit up and watch," she said.

"But Love also took a toll on my health.

"The hours on set were super long, there were times when I didn't sleep... and once, I fell so seriously ill, I vomited."

FYI

WHAT: Love Of My Life Concert
WHERE: Suntec International Convention & Exhibition Hall 601
WHEN: Dec 26, 1pm, 4pm and 7.30pm
TICKETS: $98, $88, $78, $68 and $48 from Sistic (www.sistic.com.sg or 6348 5555)

This article was first published in The New Paper.

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