SOMEONE like dad. Responsible, who wouldn’t nag or even talk too much.
That was the kind of man local actress Zoe Tay wanted for a husband.
Her father was such a big influence in her life.
The Queen of Caldecott Hill was at the Similac Super Dad award ceremony yesterday. She was one of the judges for the contest.
Five fathers were selected out of 150 nominees to be awarded for actively sharing parenting responsibilities.
Tay told The New Paper on Sunday: “My father was the kind of man who had a lot of thoughts in his mind but didn’t talk much. When he spoke, he went straight to the point.
“That’s why I like men who don’t talk much. I think they are more mature. My husband doesn’t talk much too.”
The 42-year-old actress said she was very close to her father, a strict man who laid down firm rules for his seven children: no drinking, smoking, swearing or gambling. They also couldn’t come home late.
Once he even punished her for playing the board game Monopoly. He considered it gambling because paper money was involved in the game, she explained.
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It's a surprise for Zoe and husband Philip.
She is pregnant with their third son |
Respect
Still, she is full of respect for the man.
“There were so many of us but he treated each of us equally. He also fostered strong bonds between all my siblings. Those were no easy tasks,” she said.
Her father died in 1998.
From her elder relatives, Tay said she later learnt how her father had single-handedly taken care of his mother and two younger sisters when he was only five years old.
His father – Tay’s grandfather – was shot during the Japanese occupation of Singapore.
In Tay’s eyes, her husband is a wonderful dad too.
She married air force pilot Philip Chionh in 2001. They have two sons, Brayden, 4, and Ashton, 2.
The actress is now five months pregnant with their third son.
She described him as a “very responsible man”. Whenever he is not working, his time is spent with Tay and her sons.
Occasionally, she packs father and sons off to an activity for them to bond.
She explained: “Fathers are very important to sons, especially when they are young. Our maid and I know what make the boys tick. If we tag along on these excursions, it’ll be hard for my husband to understand that each of his sons has his own character.”
The Similac Super Dad awards yesterday was Tay’s first public appearance since talk of her pregnancy surfaced in late March.
She clarified that she had not wanted to keep the pregnancy secret. She was just a bit worried about it.
The actress told us that it was a surprise pregnancy for her and her husband and so she had not taken very good care of her body then.
She continued: “I had gone for a full body check-up, including taking X-rays, before Lunar New Year (in February). I had also done a lot of strenuous work and lifted heavy things during spring cleaning.
“So when I found out that I was pregnant (in mid March), I was very concerned. I wanted to share the good news only when I was 100 per cent sure that the baby was safe.”
Pregnant women should not do X-rays as the foetus might be harmed.
Tay said she was already more than one month into her pregnancy when she found out and spent the next three months worrying over her unborn baby.
She also had very bad morning sickness during the first trimester.
When she was four months pregnant, she did an amniocentesis test, in which fluid is extracted from the amniotic sac surrounding a developing fetus.
The fetal DNA in the fluid is then examined for genetic abnormalities.
Tay’s test showed that her baby was fine.
She admitted that she had hoped her third child would be a girl but she is just very glad that the baby, due in late October, is healthy.
This article was first published in The New Paper.
In middle age, attractive all the same
If this can't be achieved, then, yes, ps retire. If this is Taiwan, Zoe would have been out of screen long ago.
Ps:nothing personal, just mere objective view based on this very practical circle/life.