Irrational expectations

The absence of her father - until the pair reunited for a six-hour talk at Changi Airport in her early 20s - left Lee scarred and she said she brought irrational expectations into her relationships, which led to her bad break-ups with her boyfriends.

After staying away from relationships, she said her friends noticed that she was "glowing". Then when she met Ou, her friends noticed a "spring in (her) step".

When The New Paper spoke to Ou separately, he said he does see Lee adapting to his more agreeable outlook.

"I do think that I'm bringing that positive side to her," he said.

He has no regrets leaving Los Angeles behind to move back home, and has been busy working with brands like Starbucks and Uniqlo, as well as shooting spreads for magazines like Esquire (Lee was one of his subjects for the magazine in its October issue), Nylon and Prestige.

He has also been travelling around Asia to expand his portfolio in the region.

"My parents are very happy that I'm back," he said. "Well, the initial excitement has died down, because they've started travelling quite a bit, but it's nice that we see them quite often.

"They've welcomed Rozz."

However, Ou has had to get used to her bad mood "cycles".

"I let her have her outburst, and then she'll come round again," he said with a laugh.

In any case, their "yin and yang" romance works for both of them, he said.

"Sometimes I think I'm way too soft when it comes to business and work. She's a lot more iron-fisted about things," said Ou.

Lee demurred when asked how she felt about Ou making such sacrifices to be with her.

"He likes to say it's because of me, but I think it's also because there are more work opportunities here in Singapore," she said.

Isn't it romantic, though?

"I'm not being anti-romantic here, but I don't want someone to put (the responsibility) on me like, I was the only reason.

"The truth of the matter is that his family is here, and there are lots of opportunities here," she reiterated.

But she did admit that both have taken big risks - emotionally and, for Ou, professionally - in committing to each other.

Said Lee: "You fall in love, you fall in love, right?"

She's adamant, however, that she is never getting married.

"I just feel that marriage is not something that solidifies a person's commitment to another person," she said. "You see a lot of divorces nowadays and they are a more elaborate break-up that costs more money.

"Kevin and I are on the same page on that, and we are not planning to have kids anyway."

[email protected]

Get The New Paper for more stories.