His wife's face may not be familiar to the public but his is.

He is the instantly recognisable Dennis Wee, chairman of realty giant Dennis Wee Group, whose face has been plastered all over town in wacky property advertisements.

You may have seen him dressed as Superman, for example.

On meeting the flamboyant 57-year- old, he does not hesitate to tell you that he used to be a skinny shaggy-haired hippie in his youth. Quite the rebel from the get-go.

His wife of nearly three decades, 50-year-old Priska Tan, on the other hand, gives the impression of being prim and proper.

So naturally, the first thing you ask her is whether she likes the rascal in him.

Before she can answer, he chips in playfully: 'She doesn't like it one lah. She will kao peh kao bu. Last time, girls don't like bad boys.' The pungent Hokkien phrase means to complain noisily.

She then replies with a resigned shrug: 'The secret to our long marriage - you have to accept that you can never change your man.'

They are a walking advert for the saying: opposites attract. He is extravagant while she is frugal. He is boisterous while she is reserved. He talks in rapid- fire bursts while she thinks before she speaks.

Today, they are a team, with her overseeing operations and paperwork at their office in Toa Payoh Central while he busies himself with seminars and training.

Their company is one of the leading local real-estate agencies and last year, with 2,500 agents, it sold over $5billion worth of property.

Long-time friend Thomas Lee, 56, a project manager, says: 'Dennis is a very patient guy. You can tell he loves Priska a lot. He will give way to her. People say a husband and wife should never work together but they can.'

It was not all smooth sailing, though. They dated for about five years and weathered a rocky patch in their marriage in the early 1980s when he was struggling to establish his career.

Now, home is a lavish three-storey bungalow in Katong with a private cinema and a patio that opens out onto a semi-circular swimming pool.

They share the estate with their three children, son Denka, 26 - who is in the food business - and daughters Daphne, 21, who is helping out at the company, and Denise, 19, a student.

Ms Tan, the voice of caution and naturally the disciplinarian in the family, reins in her husband when he goes overboard on spending, as can be seen when they talk about plans for the pool.

She says: 'He wants to convert the pool into space to park our three cars but I said 'no'. It cost $100,000 to build. It is such a waste since we have spent so much on it.'

They have two BMWs and a Porsche.

Despite their wealth, the couple are by no means pompous.

Warm, genuine and unassuming, you get the impression they are common folks who wandered into this mansion and just got used to it.

Ms Tan, who left school after Secondary 4, was the third child among four children. She has an elder sister and brother, and a younger brother.

The family lived in a zinc-roof house in Joo Chiat. Her father sold toys at a nearby market while her mother worked as a housekeeper.

Mr Wee was a Secondary 2 drop-out from StPatrick's School, who took on an assortment of odd jobs, from delivery boy to shaver salesman, before becoming a freelance oil-rig surveyor.

Born to a Peranakan family with one sister and four brothers, he was the first grandson of his paternal grandparents, who doted on him.

Most of his childhood was spent living with them in their Ceylon Road apartment in the Katong area.

The couple were introduced by friends. But he had to win her over because he looked like a vagabond and everyone was sceptical about him.

She says: 'Once, he came in shorts to pick me up on his motorcycle, a slipper on one foot and a cowboy boot on the other foot that he used to rev the pedal.

'I was so paiseh. Why couldn't he just wear jeans, and boots on both sides?' she recalls. Paiseh is Hokkien for embarrassed.

Thankfully, though, he cleaned up his act, according to sister-in-law Jean Yip, 50, chairman of hair-and-beauty chain, Jean Yip Group. She is married to Mr Wee's brother Mervin, 50.

She says: 'I got to know Priska through Dennis when I was dating Mervin. He slowly toned down his hippie image after knowing her, he cut his hair and got a steady job.'

In 1976, two years after meeting Ms Tan, Mr Wee became a full-time oil-rig surveyor.

It was a tough gig that required him to be overseas for months on end but it paid well.

He sent back his monthly income of $3,000 to $7,000 to her even though they were not married.

The couple tied the knot in 1981 and rented a room in her sister's five-room HDB flat at Bedok Reservoir.

They moved into their first home, a four-room Tampines HDB flat, four years later, shortly after their son was born.

In the recession of 1985, Mr Wee lost his oil-rig job. He applied to be a taxi driver but was rejected because he could not speak Mandarin.

He then went into property on the suggestion of a mahjong kaki but struggled as a rookie.

Ms Tan says: 'He was often angry and depressed. He had to force himself to do cold calls. He would also quarrel with his boss.'

She worried about whether his new job could support the family.

He recalls: 'At work kena tekan, come home wife tekan. We had violent arguments. I threw plates and an entire nasi lemak meal on the floor.'

Kena tekan means bullied in Malay.

But Ms Tan, who was working as a cosmetics salesgirl, stood by him. She says: 'I saved up whenever I could. I told him to take it easy because we still had our savings.

'Dennis is quick to flare up but also quick to cool down. So usually he will say sorry after our arguments.'

He dedicated himself to learning the property ropes and by 1987, he joined property firm ERA where through grit, quick wit and a knack for conversation, he became its top agent and trainer.

She did her best to play the supportive wife, accompanying him to meetings with clients, but says: 'Because I was shy, I stayed in the car and read Qiong Yao love stories or cross-stitched.'

Two years later, he moved into sales training full-time, which he still does today. He says he is 'addicted' to attending courses and has spent over $100,000 on self-improvement classes and videotapes.

It was through these courses that he would later get creative about his property ads, the craziest idea being a bus advertisement showing two versions of him dressed as an American Native Indian and a cowboy.

She says in mock exasperation: 'Every time he comes up with another of his ideas, I will go, 'Oh no, not again.' '

With his monthly income now more than $15,000, they upgraded to a semidetached bungalow in Bedok and in 1992, he started his company, setting up shop in a small Katong office with a staff strength of 10.

She was running a beauty salon in Paragon but quit to help him out two years later.

Their business prospered. In 1998, they moved to their current home.

Now with the running of the company in the capable hands of management staff, they can afford to take time off for their favourite passion - food.

She prefers to dine in restaurants while he likes local fare such as char kway teow.

Their middle ground is steamboat in Geylang and the occasional weekend trip with friends to Johor to savour everything from prata to bak kut teh.

How does she maintain her svelte figure?

She says: 'I try only a bit of everything. He, on the other hand, can eat and eat because it is a straight tube in and out.'

Decked out in a blue sleeveless silk dress, her second outfit for Life!'s photo shoot, she still looks every bit the belle she must have been when she caught her husband's eye all those years ago.

True to their different natures, he has the last word, capping the interview with some classic Dennis Wee cheek while she rolls her eyes: 'Priska's mum used to tell me that I was very lucky because her daughter being with me was like a fresh flower on a patch of cow dung, as they say in Mandarin.

'I told her, 'Yes, but a flower without the dung beneath cannot grow.' '

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This article was first published in The Straits Times.