Joakim Gomez On His One And Only Date With Sonia Chew: “We Knew We Were At Different Wavelengths”

When 987 DJ Sonia Chew guested on The Mutton Sandwich Podcast­ ­— helmed by Class 95’s Justin Ang and Vernon A — back in July, she made a shocking revelation: she once went on a date with her The Shock Circuit co-presenter Joakim Gomez.

Before we proceed any further, here’s a quick refresher: in the debut episode of The Mutton Sandwich Podcast, Sonia admitted to have gone on a date with Joakim circa 2010, way before either of them started their radio career.

Long story short: they met through a mutual friend, they went on a date, had a meal buffet and caught the Judd Apatow rom-com, Knocked Up. And that was that. Joakim tried asking her out on a second date but that never happen. “It just fizzled out,” Sonia recalled.

And now it’s Joakim’s turn to share his side of the story. “I’m not going to refute anything [she said],” said the one-time Singapore Idol contestant in the latest episode of The Mutton Sandwich Podcast.

In the hot seat: 987's Joakim Gomez is the latest guest to be grilled on 'The Mutton Sandwich Podcast'.

As Joakim recalled, he first met Sonia at a Halloween party at the now-defunct The Butter Factory and after finding out who she is from a mutual friend, he tracked her down on Facebook, DM-ed her and got her handphone number. Other details: Their date happened in November, before Joakim’s enlistment, and they had the meat buffet at Carnivore at VivoCity.

The only thing Sonia got wrong about the date, says Joakim, was the movie they saw: it wasn’t Knocked Up but Due Date, the road-trip comedy starring Robert Downey Jr and Zach Galifianakis.

So why didn’t they take romance to the next level? Joakim said, “We more or less knew like maybe back then we were at different wavelengths but we maintain some conversations here and then.”

Duly noted: 'Due Date', the 2010 road road, starring Robert Downey Jr and Zach Galifianakis, which Joakim and Sonia watched on their first and only date. "It was one of those movies [that] was just slapstick humour all the way [and] she was laughing at every single bad joke," Joakim recalled.

Even though that relationship didn’t work out, Joakim, 32, and Sonia, 28, turned out to be great on-air partners years later, starting with The Wake Up Call in 2014.

“I say this to her often, I feel very blessed, I feel as if someone up there — or down there — was looking out for me to give me one of the best experiences one could ever ask for and that’s a partnership with Sonia Chew. I don’t want to jinx anything by putting a label to it, I’m just going to enjoy as long as it lasts.”

Elsewhere, when asked about his thoughts on Sonia’s investment banker boyfriend Jeremy Sng, Joakim said, “[After] my first meeting with Jeremy, I was, like, he’s the one!”

“Do you think they will get married in 2021?,” The Muttons asked.

“Actually, I don’t know, [but] I did ask Sonia, Is marriage on the cards? She says she wants to take her time with it,” said Joakim. “They are both practical people, I think they will do it when the time is right.”

And Joakim can’t wait for that day to come. “I keep telling her, I am looking forward to hosting your wedding — I don’t care if it’s work, I just want to do it,” he said.

You can listen to the rest of the interview on meLISTEN. Joakim and Jean Danker will be hosting the year-end countdown special Let's Celebrate 2021 on Dec 31.

The Mutton Sandwich Podcast is now streaming on meLISTEN. Catch Let’s Celebrate 2021 live on meWATCH, Mediacorp Entertainment on YouTube and Channel 5 on Dec 31 (Thur), 10.30pm-12.15am; encore on Channel 5 on Jan 1, 5pm-6.45pm. The show is also available on demand for free on meWATCH and Mediacorp Entertainment on YouTube from Jan 1. For more information, visit mediacorp.sg/letscelebrate2021.

Photo: TPG News/Click Photos