Mrs Dorothy Tay did not consider Daniel Tay to be boyfriend or marriage material when she first met him. This was because he behaved like a shao ye, or snooty young master.

They were in their late teens and moved in the same social circle at church.

She says: 'He was the sort who wore branded clothes and shopped at the posh Paragon whereas I came from a humble, thrifty family. We were worlds apart.'

Her impression did not improve when she worked as a cashier at his dad's now defunct bakery in Marine Parade during school breaks. 'He would leave the shop whenever he wanted to and customers would come and find that their cakes had not been baked.'

Also, he had a reputation for being a playboy. 'He was popular among the girls because he was charming and, when he sings, he sounds like Jacky Cheung. Two of my friends were interested in him but I stayed far away from him.'

Ironically, things changed after one of her friends, who was interested in him, asked her to help ask him out.

Every time they were supposed to meet, however, her friend would be unable to do so at the last minute. So she ended up going out with him for casual meals and found that they clicked. He says: 'We could talk about everything. The conversation flowed naturally.'

But they did not start dating until he asked her out formally in 1994.

Of his first impression of her, he says: 'I found her kind-hearted. Also, she has a mole on her lower right cheek - I found that sexy.'

He asked her to marry him in early 1996 after they had dated for more than two years. By this time, his wholesale baking business had failed. She says: 'We were driving by the Registry of Marriages when he suddenly turned in and said, 'Should we get a date?''

She was shocked by the sudden proposal but got out of the car anyway. Halfway on the walk to the building, she got cold feet. 'I explained that I was afraid of getting married. My parents had an unhappy marriage and I did not want to go through the same thing.'

About half a year later, he popped the same question when they drove past the registry again. This time, she said yes.

They got engaged on her birthday, Oct 3, in 1996, and celebrated it with a dinner for about 60 family members and friends at Les Amis where he was a pastry chef.

A few months later, he bought her a $700 diamond ring and they held a wedding lunch in 1997 at the now defunct Sin Leong Restaurant.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.