Michelle Chia's famous long tresses have been chopped off.

Yes, those lovely locks that made her such a memorable Lux shampoo ambassador are gone. She now sports shoulder-length hair for her upcoming drama in April, Pillow Talk. She's excited about her new look; the last time she had short hair was when she was in school. "This is a big step for me," she exclaims. "It took a lot of courage for me to say yes to cutting my hair; I'd always wanted to go back to having short hair, but there was no motivation for me to do so until now."

Perhaps the new look is also meant to be a cathartic change for her, given her recent divorce from husband and fellow artiste, Shaun Chen? She admits with a laugh: "I would love to say that it is. But no, I had to do it purely for work."

But Michelle is still recognisable no one can miss those lovely big eyes and dimpled smile. And being recognised on the street is something the friendly actress is used to, and enjoys.

However, there are days when she's in an 'off' mode "We (celebrities) are like any other normal person; we have mood swings, too. But when we wear a blank face, it doesn't mean we are unfriendly."

Michelle is well aware of how everything she does is under scrutiny, much like her televised May 2009 wedding to Shaun, now 33, a year after they registered their marriage and their subsequent divorce. No detail was left unexplored; the media and fans speculated on what went wrong; there was even talk of infidelity and financial problems.

The photogenic pair first met in 2004, on the set of the Channel U drama Power of Love and dated for four years before tying the knot. When talk of their marriage hitting the rocks first surfaced in the media in October 2010, the couple denied it. Michelle did admit the pair had 'some problems' but she insisted they 'were still trying'. Six months later, it was official: The fairy-tale union was over.

Michelle says her divorce will be finalised by February and now, she's eager to put it all behind her. "Being constantly discussed is making things very hard for us to leave the past behind us. We both want to start anew and hopefully, have a fair chance in doing so."

She adds: "I don't think this (failed marriage) means I'm a failure. It's a pity the relationship cannot continue, but I treat it as one of life's lessons." In previous media interviews, Michelle had cited 'personality differences' as the cause of her divorce, not 'monetary problems', 'difficult family members' or a 'third party'. She had explained then that both hers and her ex-husband's pace of life and lifestyle habits were not similar, something she declines to elaborate on.

She muses that from this marriage and the other relationships she has had, she's learnt that loving someone takes a lot of hard work. "When you fall in love, you do it effortlessly. But you need a lot of effort to continue to keep that love alive. You can't have one without the other."

She declares she has not given up on love, but is not dating anyone at the moment. "It's very hard to describe in words how I feel right now. I will need time to heal. At times, it's very difficult to see friends getting married or couples with lasting marriages. But I hope that one day, I can have that again, too."