LUM MAY YEE & STEVEN LAM
She had already made a name for herself as a highly sought-after model in the early 1990s. Then, Singapore director Eric Khoo turned her into an actress by casting her in his film 12 Storeys.
For all her star credentials, however, Ms Lum May Yee, 40, did not make a good first impression on her future husband, Mr Steven Lam, when they met at a friend's house party in 2000.
"We were introduced through mutual friends and went out partying together," recalls Mr Lam, director of home-grown jeweller, The Canary Diamond Company. "But I thought she was stuck up. Very pretty but also really stuck up."
With mock horror, Ms Lum tries to defend her younger self: "I was not stuck up, please. Aloof, maybe, but not stuck up.
"Besides, I don't like all these pretences and niceties. I don't see why I have to smile and talk to everybody that I see."
Plus, she adds, Mr Lam is three years younger than her. She was 27 and he was 24 when they met.
"To be honest, I thought he was really cute but too young. He looked like a boy and I like guys who are a bit more mature."
In 2003, however, sparks began to fly.
When both were at the same party at Zouk one night, she started to notice Mr Lam.
"I'm not sure what happened in those three years but, suddenly, I felt he looked different - more handsome and more mature," she recalls.
That fateful night, Mr Lam also plucked up the courage to ask Ms Lum, who had remained his party pal and drinking buddy, out on a date.
Was he ever intimidated?
"No, we were doing well in our own fields. Also, our group of friends included actresses, models and successful professionals, such as architects and lawyers.
"So, everyone was already quite comfortable with one another."
The couple went out the week after to East Coast Park with Mr Lam's pit bull, Nike, for coffee. He said: "She's not the friendliest of dogs, but May was very good with her. I think that was what attracted me most to her - the fact that she was loving towards animals.
"It shows compassion and you cannot fake that, especially not with a pit bull."
In 2007, the 1.77m-tall beauty, who is a political science graduate from National University of Singapore, married Mr Lam, who was then the retail manager of Ermenegildo Zegna in South-east Asia.
That same year, she became business partners with American jewellery designer Matthew Campbell Laurenza, whom she had met at a party in Hong Kong the year before.
The brand is now distributed here by The Canary Diamond Company, which is owned by Mr Lam's father, Mr William Lam. Its first store in Delfi Orchard opened in 2000.
These days, the couple work closely together, even sharing a desk in The Canary Diamond Company's main office, where Ms Lum is currently the marketing director.
Mr Lam left his job at Ermenegildo Zegna in 2010 to join the family business, working under his father, who is the company's managing director.
Last year, the couple opened a second branch of The Canary Diamond Company in Takashimaya Shopping Centre.
They are also working on expanding the company's stable of jewellery brands.
Working together has not been a bed of roses.
"As we have strong personalities, disagreements happen all the time," says Ms Lum.
So who gives in first when there is a fight?
Mr Lam says: "We always talk things out and it depends on who's in the wrong. We try not to dwell on things for too long.
"So if I think that I'm wrong, I'll just apologise."
Ms Lum chimes in with a laugh: "It's easy between the both of us. He'll just go, 'Ah, okay. I buy you dinner later, okay?'. That's his way of apologising."
Being married to the heir of a diamond jewellery company certainly has its perks.
When Ms Lum gave birth to the couple's son, Aiden, in 2011, she received a chameleon diamond ring as her push present.
The rare stone changes colour from yellow to green, depending on the light. Mr Lam designed the ring himself.
He says: "May has a unique style and is particular about the jewellery she wears. So, the diamond is like her.
"It was a special stone from a very old cutter we have been working with for a long time."
Ms Lum smiles and then breaks into a girlish laugh after hearing this.
"Wah, so deep. I'm not complaining though. You can keep it coming, thank you very much."
The mood turns serious when she is asked for her thoughts on the negative reputation that models and actresses often get when they marry somebody rich.
She says: "I don't think that aspect of him played a part at all when we were dating. If it did, I'd have gone out with him from the get-go."
Mr Lam adds: "May's very level-headed and the gossip doesn't bother us."
This year, they will celebrate their 10th year of being together, of which five have been as husband and wife.
For Valentine's Day, they will not be doing anything special except to have dinner at home with their son.
"We don't celebrate Valentine's Day," says Mr Lam. "Besides, we'll be working and making sure our clients get their jewellery pieces on time."
'I THOUGHT SHE WAS STUCK UP. VERY PRETTY BUT ALSO REALLY STUCK UP.'
Mr Steven Lam, on his first impression of Ms Lum May Yee
'TO BE HONEST, I THOUGHT HE WAS REALLY CUTE BUT TOO YOUNG. HE LOOKED LIKE A BOY AND I LIKE GUYS WHO ARE A BIT MORE MATURE.'
Ms Lum, on being three years older than Mr Lam
HE SAYS, SHE SAYS
What quality about your spouse do you find most attractive?
Her: We click because we share the same love for the outdoors. Plus, he's intelligent and has great business sense.
Him: She's very independent and is street-smart. She is also a compassionate person and a hands-on mum.
What's the one thing you don't like about your spouse?
Her: Easy. That he doesn't pick up after himself. Even our son knows where the laundry basket is and he is turning two this year. (Laughs)
Him: She nags at me all the time (laughs) and asks me to pick up after myself. If I could, I'd want to change that about her.
What is the one item in each other's wardrobe that you'd like to junk?
Her: Generally, he's quite good at dressing up. But he has this pair of Gucci sneakers with the logo all over it - it is awful. Luckily, he doesn't wear the shoes any more, but he still has them at home. I have no idea why.
Him: I don't think there's anything I don't like in her wardrobe. She knows how to look good and be put together.
If tomorrow never comes, what is one thing you may not have had the chance to tell your partner but would want him or her to know?
Her: I cannot imagine a day without hearing his voice. Though we bicker all the time, I really think the world of him. He inspires me to work hard for what I believe in.
Him: I secretly hope Aiden looks more like her.
Complete this sentence. The key to making a marriage work is...
Her: To make time for each other every day, even if it is just half an hour.
Him: To speak your mind.
