Hong Kong - Former TVB star Gigi Lai has confirmed her marriage to Hong Kong businessman Patrick Ma.

Lai, 36, was said to be preparing for her wedding later this month in Sydney but, last Friday, she released pictures of the nuptials and announced during a TVB phone interview that she has wed.

The pictures showed her posing with Ma, 52, in front of a church and at what appeared to be a wedding reception.

'I am thankful to have found someone who loves me and with whom I can share my life,' she said, without saying where or when she wed.

But Ming Pao Daily News said a computer check on the digital pictures revealed that she had wed on Sept 2 last year.

Lai had announced her retirement from showbiz on Oct 20 last year, saying she wanted to take care of her brother who was hurt in a road accident.

A TVB executive last Friday confirmed that Lai had married before Chinese New Year and said the former actress is planning to have a baby.

As her family did not attend the wedding, Lai is said to be throwing a dinner in Hong Kong next week for them and guests.

Ma, who walks with a crutch, is a scion of the Ma family which founded the Oriental Press Group, publisher of the Hong Kong newspaper Oriental Daily.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Feb 9, 2009.