SINGAPORE - Her biological clock may be ticking, but she is in no hurry to have any children of her own. Not even her husband's eagerness to start a family will change her mind.

Local actress Kym Ng, who has been married for three years to a man the media only knows as Mr Yang, admitted to this newspaper that remaining childless was for selfish reasons.

Ng, who is in her 40s, told The New Paper: "I think I'm too selfish to have children. I want time for myself. I can't imagine the commitment involved in having to take care of kids.

"Every night, I spend half an hour before bedtime massaging 20 different types of serum into my face and my husband always jokes: 'You purposely make me wait until I fall asleep'."

With a twinkle in her eyes, Ng revealed that what he meant was that there wasn't time for any intimacy before sleep.

The irony is that she once wanted to have four children.

She recalled the warmth of growing up with four brothers and in a close-knit family. But somewhere along the way, she changed her mind about being a mum.

Ng's husband, who wants two children, has even asked her if she would be open to adopting. But, said Ng: "I have said 'no' to adoption. Why should I adopt when I can give birth to my own kids?"

Ng, who plays a mother of three in the Channel 8 television drama It Takes Two, added: "Playing a mother in a movie doesn't make me want to have my own. Neither does seeing my friends with their own children.

"After I finish playing with their children, I'm just happy to return them to their parents." She is adamant that she does not want to be pressured into having her own children, even though she is running out of time.

Her parents and in-laws have "given up" on her.

Ng said she is lucky that she and her husband come from big families so there's always the pitter-patter of little feet around the house, thanks to their siblings' children.

Her honest take on child-bearing also included the financial burden of being a parent.

So what luxuries would she have to cut back on if she were to become a mum?

For now, Ng gets to pamper herself with the creme de la creme of facial serums, which costs more than $100 per tiny bottle and lasts less than a month.

That's about $2,000 spent every three weeks on the 20 bottles or so that she uses up.

There are the weekly diamond and caviar facials, which cost $100 a session.

Ng also splurges on her fitness regime, but not in the conventional manner, such as running on a treadmill.

Instead, she hires a professional table tennis coach from China - paying $50 an hour - to train her at least three times a week.

Read the full story here.

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