SINGAPORE - He flashed a big grin when we asked him a question sent in by one of his fans.

What's your deepest, darkest secret?

We were floored by what Ah Boys To Men star Joshua Tan said next.

The 23-year-old, who plays Recruit Ken Chow, revealed: "My dream was always to be a young dad."

Okay, not what we were expecting at all from the ladies' man, who was crowned the winner of Cleo Magazine's 50 Most Eligible Bachelors 2013 just 2 weeks ago.

Tan, who is pursuing a degree in arts with a minor in history at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, may just be our poster boy for family planning.

His girlfriend of two years, whom he declined to talk about to protect her privacy, is a student here.

Said Tan: "I find the idea of being a young father extremely appealing.

"I have a soft spot for babies and I love babysitting my cousin's kids.

"When I was younger, I wanted to get married at 23 and have children of my own.

"But sometimes you have to wait a little, until everything feels completely right."

This filial son also makes sure he hugs his parents every day.

When he was a teenager, his uncle died of a heart attack. And he hasn't taken anything for granted since.

Tan said he used to be a rebellious teen who gave his parents lots of grief and he was not big on physical displays of affection.

But he now hugs everyone, including his friends and now, fans.

Said Tan: "When my uncle died, it woke me up.

"I hug my mum and dad all the time now because if anything happens, they'll know that I love them.

"Don't you think that hugs make people feel better? It's therapeutic for both parties and it just helps people relax.

"When fans ask me for them, I always oblige."

He said the change in his life following the success of Ah Boys To Men has been phenomenal.

Where he once did short films for private screenings and television commercials, Tan now has his own fan club called Joshicated, which has close to 1,000 fans, mostly teenage girls. They turn up in droves to support him whenever he is slated to appear at an Ah Boys To Men fan meeting.

Gifts

So far, Tan said he has received gifts like soft toys, chocolates and photo collages from his fans.

Chocolates, which are his favourite and which he brought along for our photo shoot, are his weakness.

The girls also make sure they get the latest news update on him from his manager and share it with the rest of the fan club.

Tan credited them for his Cleo win, as the winner was decided by public voting.

"A lot of them told me via social media that they were going to vote for me.

"I replied asking them to vote just once each, even if each vote cost only a few cents.

"I was worried that for the younger ones, they would have no money left for recess!"

So whenever he can, Tan tries his best to make his fans happy.

For now, the question that many of them want answered is what Tan would do on his ideal date.

The way he would love to be romanced is by baking bread with his date.

"Baking bread from scratch is one of the most romantic things.

"It is a sensual experience, especially when you're kneading the dough together. The smell of the bread being baked is wonderful too... In contrast to the usual date fare of a dinner and movie.

"Don't people get sick of that?"

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