Muhammad and Kartini

How long? Dating for four years.

What do you like most about her? She’s very outgoing, unlike my previous girlfriends, yet sensitive and caring.

What do you like most about him? He has a deep, masculine voice that I love, especially when he sings Malay love ballads like “Chinchin Emas” (“gold ring”).

What’s her silliest habit? She wakes up in the middle of the night almost every night to make sure the cat hasn’t run away.

What’s his silliest habit? He treats his four-year-old deaf cat Putih like a human being.

Who wears the pants? M: We both share the pants but I usually give in to her when there is the need, though we agree on most things.

Aaron and Joyce

How long? Dating for two-and-a-half years, engaged to be married.

How did you meet?
A: The boring version of the story is that she mistook me for someone else.
J: But the story we like to tell is that someone pinched his butt. He turned around to see who it was, but there was no one.
A: But then I looked down and there she was! (Joyce is short.)

Was it love at first sight?
A: For me it was.
J: I was with someone else, so no.

Plans for the future?
To live happily ever after.

Who wears the pants?
A: I would say me.
J: Secretly I do.

What face cream does she use? Olay. (Correct)

What aftershave does he use? He doesn’t use any. (Correct)

Fred and Lila

How long? Been together for five years, married for one year.

How did you meet?
F: We met through martial arts. I was working in Tahiti, and I was very impressed with Lila when she came to my class.

Was it love at first sight?
F: For me, yes. I thought, “she’s the one for me! Can you cook? Ok, marry me!”

Plans for the future? To have babies. One, two...we’ll see. But for now, we want to travel around the world to meet new martial arts masters, and to spread our teachings. Our common passion of helping people grow through martial arts keeps us together.

Who wears the pants? F: Me, but we are a team.

Raymond and So Young

How long? Been together for eight years, married with a son who is eight-months-old.

How did you meet?
R: Ours is a made-in-Korea love story—think of a Korean Sliding Doors. We met when I was backpacking in Seoul in 1998. I was on a train when I realized that my fly was open. Instead of zipping up in front of everyone, I moved in-between carriages to do it there. And I saw a beautiful lady reading an English newspaper. The person sitting beside her got up; I took his seat, got out my map, pretended to be a lost tourist and used that as a pretext to ask for her phone number—which she gave! I called her a few days later and we met for drinks. I bought her a bouquet of baby’s breath, which turned out to be her favorite flower, scoring me points immediately! We bravely held hands, and I attempted (but failed) to kiss her at the end of the date. On the day I was due to leave Seoul, she came to say goodbye, and we wrote to each other every week for two-and-a-half years before she moved to Singapore. I later found out that she didn’t normally take the train to work, and just happened to be on the train that day because she was running late. What a lucky coincidence!

Was it love at first sight? Yes for me, but not for her.

Alphonsus and Irene

How long? Dating for two-and-a-half years.

How did you meet?
I: I was working in a dive shop and we were short-handed and I asked Alphonsus to help out.

Was it love at first sight?
I: No. We were working. But he called me a few days after his stint, and we went wakeboarding. It all started there!

Plans for the future?
Lots of scuba diving, wakeboarding, and ice hockey.

Who wears the pants?
A: I do.
I: He likes to think that he does.

Shilton and Jennifer

How long? Together for 17 years, married for 10.

How did you meet? Through a mutual friend at school.

Was it love at first sight? S: Uh...no. Well, actually it’s a yes.

What makes her happiest?
When I quit smoking two years ago, she was very happy.

What makes him happiest?
He’s always happy when I spend time with him. He needs a lot of attention.

Who wears the pants?
S: Me! No, actually we share. We each take one leg.

Plans for the future? To go backpacking through Europe when we’re 40.

Amber and Alex

How long? Dating for four months.

How did you meet?
Through a mutual friend at a pub over a World Cup soccer match.

Plans for the future?
Amber: We’ll probably get married in a few months and have a couple of kids before we are 30!

What’s her silliest habit?
She insists on wearing this old T-shirt all the time...which is falling apart and is full of holes!

What’s his silliest habit?
Cursing and swearing at inept drivers who can’t hear him.

Who wears the pants?
Alex: We try not to dominate each other and give each other space.
Amber: Me!

Nick and Sorelle

How long? Dating for two-and-a-half years, now engaged.

How did you meet? Through a friend at university.

Was it love at first sight?
N: No. I pretty much ignored her and treated her like dirt.
S: Yeah, I hated his guts. But I fell in love when I saw through his tough exterior.

What makes her happiest?
Winning at Scrabble. It doesn’t happen very often. Last time we played, she tried to spell “quilt” with two T’s.

What makes him happiest? Cheese. Only cheese will please him.

Who wears the pants?
N: She lets me think I do.
S: I do.

Glenn and Kathleen

How long? Together for 3 years, married less than a year.

How did you meet? We met at a mutual friend’s house party.

Was it love at first sight?
G: No. More curiousity. I actually tried to set Kath up with a friend of mine and he blew her off so we got to get to know each other. He had his shot, so now it was my turn.

What’s her silliest habit? She dances for the baby and cracks baby Kate up.

What’s his silliest habit? He walks out of his socks. When he comes home, he will slip his socks off using his feet, and leave them in the middle of the floor.

Who wears the pants?
G: I do.
K: I do.

Gregory and Coral

How long? Dating for four years.

How did you meet?
C: I was in a play, and Greg was my stage manager.

Was it love at first sight?
C: For me it was. I thought Greg had great hair, so I asked him if he would go out with me and he said OK. That’s the short story. The truth is, I struck up a conversation with him that led to me asking him out to dinner.

Plans for the future?
C: I have the biological need to have curly-haired children. But for now, we have no plans as a couple.

Who wears the pants?
G: Coral thinks she does, but it’s actually me. No, we share.

Chee Gee and Enny

How long? Been together for five years, married for one year.

How did you meet? Through friends.

Was it love at first sight? Yes, it was.

What makes her happiest? Traveling.

What makes him happiest? Playing with his X-box.

Who wears the pants?
C: I think we discuss stuff and go for the best solution for both of us.
E: He does.