FOR three years, Simone Heng lamented about her singleton status in the Sexless In The City column that appeared in this very newspaper.

Well, the 25-year-old Chinese-Australian host-DJ, who moved to Dubai 13 months ago, is single no more.

She met Englishman James Ellis, 27, a month after she moved to the emirate.

Mr Ellis is a property valuer and they have been dating for a year. They met at the swimming pool of their Dubai condominium complex.

Simone, who hosts a daily lunchtime radio show there, told The New Paper over the phone: “I was at the pool one day and he was sitting on the lounge deck beside mine. We started talking and hit it off.

“I wasn’t even thinking about dating anyone when I moved to Dubai. I’ve heard that Dubai is not a good place to meet your partner.

A lot of couples are separated because one is made redundant and is sent back while the other still has a job.”

Although it’s just been a year, Simone thinks Mr Ellis is “the one”.

“Yes, we’ve talked about marriage. I can tell you that he is the love of my life. But I think it’s too soon for us to get married.

“A lot of people get married fast. But I think we need to date at least two more years.

“Then we need to be engaged for a little while more before we finally get married. Plus I’d like to live with him in another country because life in Dubai is just not as real as living in somewhere like Singapore.

“Having children later in life is better too because you’ll be financially more stable.” Born in Singapore and raised in Perth, Simone, who has Chinese-Portuguese parentage, had lived in Singapore for four years.

Despite being the host of cable TV entertainment guide HBO Central and a Power 98 deejay, the ambitious babe wanted to do more.

More importantly, she wanted “financial security”.

Her goal is to buy a house before she reaches 30.

She said that rates in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are “three to four times higher” than those in Singapore. “I was doing well on cable and my time with Power 98 was wonderful. But at the same time, I felt like I was in a rut. I wasn’t breaking through mainstream media.”

In early 2009, she was asked to helm media mogul Richard Branson’s Virgin Radio Dubai’s daily lunchtime show.

It seems her bold move is reaping some rewards. Simone claims her show has the third highest listenership across the emirate’s English-speaking radio programmes. There are seven major English radio stations in Dubai.

In addition, Simone hosts TV lifestyle show Dubai 101, which airs across the UAE. She is currently filming the second season.

Downpayment

She has also saved enough money for a downpayment for a house and said she has been scouting for properties in Perth where her older sister and mother live.

This year, Simone debuted on UAE magazine Ahlan’s annual Hot 100 list which, according to the website, features UAE’s “trendsetters, style icons and unsung heroes”.

She says she’s the only deejay from her station to be on the list.

Others featured include UAE director Ali Mostafa and Michelin-starred French chef Pierre Gagnaire, who recently opened a restaurant in Dubai.

Although life in Dubai is going swimmingly for Simone, she said she misses Singapore, where she used to live with her grandmother in an HDB flat in Toa Payoh.

She and Mr Ellis will be in town later this month – her first return since her departure – to attend a friend’s wedding.

True to her Singapore DNA, she is going to binge on her favourite local food when she gets back.

“There used to a rather authentic restaurant which serves Singaporean food near my apartment here, but it moved too far away.

“When I’m back, I’m going to eat the equivalent of my body weight. I’m going to take James to hawker centres and the heartlands, and show him where I used to live.”

This article was first published in The New Paper.