After being together for 12 years, one would expect them to be taking each other for granted by now.

But four years into their marriage, Singapore's top showbiz couple Christopher Lee and Fann Wong say they are still very much in their honeymoon phase, despite being in a long-distance relationship.

Lately, they have been seeing each other only once a month because of overseas work.

Cynics may question their profession of undying affection for each other.

But the couple, who are both 42, seem confident that their determination to grow old together will stand the test of time.

And - brace for this - it seems Lee still pats Wong's back and counts sheep because she likes to fall asleep to his voice.

He even loves going to work and discovering that she had secretly decorated his mobile phone and other things in his bag with pink Hello Kitty memorabilia - "just to be funny".

Well, if it works for them, why not?

In the wake of reports a week ago of the divorce of fellow celebrity couple Allan Wu and Wong Li-lin, Lee and Wong shared their secrets to staying happily married.

'Always the man's fault'

Both say that when a couple quarrel, "it's always the man's fault" .

Earlier this year, Lee and Wong signed with Taiwanese celebrity management agency Catwalk Agency and now spend more time filming in Taiwan and China.

Lee told The New Paper over the phone from Taipei: "The secret (to staying in a happy marriage) is communication.

"Both parties in a relationship must always keep talking to each other no matter what.

"I'm not worried about being seen as a henpecked husband because I do believe that after a quarrel, the man must apologise first.

"I will also do funny things to make her laugh, like take the ugliest pictures of myself and sending them to her.

"Women are meant to be pampered because this is how their femininity is celebrated.

"Fann is very cute when she does things like decorate my car safety belt into a 'princess' one. She loves to see my reaction to what she does."

He and Wong can talk for hours when they are together. Recently, they chatted in a restaurant at Holland Village for seven hours until they were told to leave at closing time.

Sometimes, Lee drives around aimlessly so that they can keep talking in the car.

Wong, who was in Shanghai, said Lee treats her like a gem.

She told The New Paper in a separate phone in- terview: "You know how women are like, when we get angry, we just shut down and refuse to talk.

"Christopher was the one who told me that whenever I'm mad, I have to tell him what I'm feeling so we can talk about it.

"He was the one who taught me how to communicate.

"Sometimes when I come home at midnight from filming, we'll just start chatting and can go on and on and on. The next thing we know, it's sunrise and we'll head out straight for breakfast."

Lee also pulls out all the stops to make her smile.

For example, the walk from their house in Singapore to the carpark often involves him carrying her in some way or another.

Wong said: "Nowadays, when I ask him to carry me on his shoulders, he'll say 'Baby I'm old already and you're so heavy', then I'll tell him I don't care and he'll do it anyway.

"When people see me sitting on his shoulders, they'll look shocked and we'll laugh, enjoying their reaction."

They meet only once a month for two to three days each time, as Lee has been filming in Taiwan for the last eight months. But they still "see" each other daily.

Lee has to FaceTime her on his phone every morning when he wakes and every night before he sleeps, so that she's the first and last person he sees each day.

She said: "Being in a long-distance relationship to me is very sad because when I'm so upset over something and need a shoulder to cry on, my husband's not there.

"On the flip side, there is truth that absence makes the heart grow fonder.

"Perhaps that may also be the secret to why we are so in love. We just yearn so much to see each other so we never take it for granted.

Best friend

"Christopher is very romantic, he's a very good husband. He's also my best friend."

When she has to get up early for filming, he wakes up with her so she "doesn't have to feel so bad".

When she has overseas jobs, he takes her to the airport and meets her when she gets back, even if he is tired from filming.

Wong said they are still trying for a baby and will let nature take its course.

Quitting her job to try for a baby is out of the question because Wong feels the pressure of having all eyes on them would be too much for her.

Both Lee and Wong were "shocked" that Allan Wu and Wong Li-Lin were getting divorced as the actor-hosts - who have two young children - had seemed "like a very happy family".

Surprisingly, for such a lovey-dovey couple, Lee and Wong seem to have had a stormy start.

In the first two years of dating, they quarrelled every other day over the smallest things, she said.

"We were like two volcanoes as we both had very bad tempers. I don't remember what the fights were about, but strangely, one day, they just completely stopped.

"It was as if we suddenly learnt to appreciate each other and realised we love each other so much."

The lovebirds spent some time together recently when they held separate meetings in Shanghai with their China fans.

Ironically, Lee plays a man stuck in an unhappy marriage in his upcoming Taiwanese drama A Good Wife.

Said Wong: "Christopher always assures me that we'll spend the rest of our lives together.

"In this day and age, nothing is a certainty and divorce can never be ruled out. But what I know now is that I would love to grow old with him."

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