Mrs Usha Lingam, 47, waited close to 10 years for her friendship with Mr Lingam Kalimuthu, 45, to turn romantic.

In those years, they saw each other about thrice a week and she moved into the spare room in his flat. Mrs Lingam even took care of his parents who were living in the same flat, preparing their meals and changing their diapers. His father, in his 80s, was bedridden and his mother, in her 60s, had dementia.

The housewife and logistics officer, who are now married, knew each other when they were teenagers worshipping in the Sri Krishnan Temple in Waterloo Street. They lost touch for about 10 years and met again by chance in 2003.

Mrs Lingam, then a beautician, developed a "liking" for Mr Lingam, who was then working in administration.

She says: "I felt we had very good chemistry and understood each other."

But he was not keen to take things further because of his parents.

Mr Lingam, who is the youngest of 10 children, was living in a four-room HDB flat in Ang Mo Kio with his parents. He was mainly responsible for taking care of them as his siblings had all moved out.

Mr Lingam says: "They were one of the reasons why I did not want to get married just yet. I was afraid that my wife would not be able to get along with them and that it would cause a strain on married life."

Says Mr Lingam of his then platonic girl pal: "We did not talk about it, but I knew she liked me. I told her that we were only friends."

Still, in 2006, Mr Lingam invited MrsLingam to move in with him. She was living by herself in a rented three-room flat in Ang Mo Kio.

Her mother had died when she was a teenager and her father lives in India. She has three brothers, aged between 43 and 55 years old. Mrs Lingam, who moved in partly to help Mr Lingam out with his parents, did not pay rent.

Mrs Lingam says: "I felt that taking care of his parents was too much for him and that I could be a great help to him and carry half his burden by moving in."

She treated his parents like her own and scheduled freelance beautician jobs in between looking after them. Her devotion touched Mr Lingam, who grew to like her.

He says: "She is loving and caring. I had found my life partner."

Although Mr Lingam sometimes went out with women, he did not consider them dates. His longest relationship lasted about a year and he did not have a serious relationship after meeting Mrs Lingam.

In January last year, while they were in a coffee shop with friends, he casually said to her: "When will you be free this month? Let us go and register our marriage."

A shocked Mrs Lingam started to tear. The couple tied the knot last year in the temple where they had first met. They hosted a reception in Golden Landmark Hotel in June and flew to India for a traditional wedding several days later.

Mr Lingam's father died of old age at 89, about two months after the proposal. He was glad that his son was finally getting married. His wife, then in her mid-70s, died of a viral infection later that year.

Mr and Mrs Lingam continue to live in the flat. They celebrated their one-year wedding anniversary last week.

Despite waiting close to a decade for her husband to propose, Mrs Lingam says their friendship kept her going. She never felt like giving up on it.

Of her husband, Mrs Lingam says: "We are the best of friends and he is a wonderful guy. I had been waiting for the milliondollar question."

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