HANIS HUSSEY & STEVE HUSSEY
Mrs Hanis Hussey met the man of her dreams in the air, on a first-class Cathay Pacific flight.
"Back then, we models never really cared for anything else except spending every cent we got on luxuries such as first-class air tickets and designer togs," says Mrs Hussey, 48. She was the first Singapore model to break into the world of high fashion in Paris when she closed the Yves Saint Laurent show in 1983.
It was on one of those flights that she met Mr Steve Hussey, an American businessman who would later become her husband. Now 56, he is the international senior director in an American company that distributes aviation parts, while she runs a shopping events company called International Expat Affairs.
Mrs Hussey, born Hanis Saini, was only 16 when she won a contest called Catwalk Model Of The Year Singapore in 1982. She moved to Paris the following year and clinched a two-year Yves Saint Laurent contract at her first casting. Hubert de Givenchy also began asking for her.
While on a flight from Singapore to Tokyo for a modelling assignment in 1988, she was seated beside Mr Hussey and noticed his shoes.
She says: "I can't remember what they were, but I can usually tell what kind of guy the person is from his shoes and I felt Steve was a nice guy."
While he was interested in chatting her up, she was in no mood to socialise and wanted to sleep. But she relented and the two started talking about their jobs and travels.
There was a stopover in Hong Kong - his destination - and before he disembarked, he asked for her number. "He actually wanted me to join him in Hong Kong but I had a fashion show to go to."
Mrs Hussey told him to call her a month later when she would be back in Singapore, where he was based.
He did and six months after their first date in 1988 at a French restaurant in Le Meridien Singapore (now the Concorde Hotel Singapore), they were engaged. The following year, they had a traditional Malay wedding ceremony in Singapore, followed by another ceremony in Los Angeles, where Mr Hussey is from.
His job requires him to shuttle between Singapore and the United States and the couple decided to settle down here.
Asked if her husband ever felt intimidated going out with a top model, Mrs Hussey laughs.
"He told me he used to date a model from Indonesia. I've no clue who she was because, as I told him then, I didn't walk in Indonesia.
"But we've talked about it and I think he was overwhelmed by the fact that he was dating a model who was actually working the Paris and Milan circuit."
One would have thought her status as a top model could have led her to more famous men or hot male models.
"I'm not sure why I went with Steve," she concedes with a laugh. "Maybe it was because I was looking for a father figure and Steve gave me that sense of security. He's very mature.
"Also, I was done with male models. I used to date some of them and they're never dependable or stable."
The couple have been married for 24 years and have three children - Chris, 23, Nicole, 19, and Lisa, 15.
Mrs Hussey retired from modelling in 1997, after the birth of Lisa.
She credits her husband, who was in the United States for work at the time of this interview, for making her a better person.
"I used to be extremely high-maintenance and was always dressed in designer togs from head to toe. But all that has changed and I have Steve to thank for that," she says.
These days, Mrs Hussey wants to give back to the industry that made her. She has been conducting workshops on grooming and fashion. Later this year, she plans to open a finishing school catering to young adults and business executives.
"You know you're a different person when nothing else means more to you than your family and your happiness. Wealth and fame are not everything," she says.
Recalling the earlier days when she was juggling motherhood and her modelling career, she says: "Steve would follow me around, even though I think it was hard for him to keep up with the model lifestyle of attending parties and events."
In turn, she tries to be understanding. "I usually give in, especially when we have a disagreement," she says.
"I mean, when you have been married for so many years and have kids, you realise that many arguments are silly. Plus, you don't want to fight in front of the children."
HE SAYS, SHE SAYS
What quality about your spouse do you find most attractive?
Him: Not only is she classy and elegant but she is warm and caring as well.
Her: He is very pleasant to talk to and he is mature.
What's one thing you don't like about your spouse?
Him: If you let her, she'll work 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Her: I like to have his undivided attention when I am talking to him. I require eye contact but he doesn't give me that sometimes when we're talking.
What is the one item in your spouse's wardrobe that you'd like to junk?
Him: A pair of her ugly, cheap wedge heels that I once threw from our apartment on the eighth floor. The shoes landed in the pool and she made me retrieve them. My daughter and I actually hid the shoes once when we were on vacation, hoping that she would forget them. But she made us look for them.
Her: His LA Lakers T-shirt. It's not about his style but I really don't like that team. (Laughs) If tomorrow never comes, what is one thing you may not have had the chance to tell your spouse but would want him or her to know?
Him: That I appreciate all her effort in keeping this marriage together, and her endless love and time for our kids and my mother, whom she cared for during her 11/2-year stay in Singapore in 2009.
Her: I have so much to be thankful for, being married to him for 24 years. He has guided me through the ups and downs and, together, we have successfully raised three beautiful and happy kids. I have never regretted a day of my life with him.
Complete this sentence. The key to making a marriage work is...
Him: To respect each other and come to a mutual agreeable solution when there is a conflict.
Her: To have respect for each other and to compromise.
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