Her Reaction to a Fire in His Room Was How Brandon Wong Knew His Wife Was “The One”

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It often takes a daunting experience to see who truly matters and Mediacorp actor Brandon Wong knows this all too well.

In Mediacorp drama Under The Net, the 54-year-old plays Wang Da Tian, the quirky husband of feisty housewife, You Mei Ren, who is played by Kym Ng. 

The on-screen couple has a heartthrob musician son (Gavin Teo) and a driven netballer daughter (Gladys Ng).

Da Tian, who has always dreamed of becoming an actor, begins exhibiting strange behaviour as he goes through andropause... and develops an unusual obsession with wanting to see ghosts.

Thanks to his quirks, there’s never a moment of peace in the Wang household. Chaos reigns, the banter never stops, and only occasionally are there brief, sweet moments sprinkled in.

It also makes us wonder whether Brandon’s real-life wife, Helen Lee, is watching the show and secretly thinking, “Thank God he’s not like that at home."

When 8days.sg asked Brandon about his marriage at the drama's press conference, he joyfully tells us that he and his Singaporean wife met through a university friend from Johor Bahru. 

"My schoolmate from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia came to Singapore for her Master's degree. My wife was her junior. We met at a gathering and started off as friends," he recalled with a smile.

The Star Search 1995 finalist stressed that it wasn't love at first sight, and that he and Helen remained pals for months before taking things to the next level.

He did, however, have a great first impression of Helen, whom he described as demure and family-oriented.

"Slowly, we got along and were on the same 'frequency'. It took almost a year before we both felt: 'Oh, other than best friends, we can be more than that'."

He was the one who made the first move. 

"Of course it had to be the guy. Me, the shameless one." 

"Back then, we just went out for meals and movies. We were very reserved," laughed Brandon. "People from our generation are different, we won't boldly chase after a person and tell the whole world we like them. We are not as daring."

As much as they took things slow, Brandon vividly remembers the moment he realised Helen was "the one". 

"At that time, there was a fire in the room I was renting. Luckily I wasn't at home but the firefighters knocked down my door, When I got home, everything was in a mess," he recalled. 

The incident forced Brandon to relocate quickly.

"I saw how she, who is usually very demure and gentle, helped me move out of that place. Wow, she took it on like it was her own burden to carry," he gushed.

"This person treats my problems like they’re her own and handles them wholeheartedly. I thought: 'This is someone who will stay by my side for the rest of my life'."

And that's how they went on to tie the knot in 2004. They now have three sons —Yu Jie, Yu Xin and Yu Xuan — who are 16, 14 and 10 respectively.

So how has marriage been?

“When it was just the two of us, we were very loving. As life settled into something simpler and we had kids, the spark came back again. But as the kids grew older, there were also times we would argue because of them. That’s the circle of life,” he laughed.

Brandon does "feel a bit guilty" about something.

"I feel like I didn't keep the marriage fresh at all times, some friends do perpetually seem like they're still in the honeymoon phase," he explained.

He shared that he and his wife interact more like family now. They care deeply for each other, but they’re not the type to be constantly smooching or showing affection in public.

"I believe if I go home now and do such things to my wife, she'd ask me: 'What happened to you? Did you do something wrong that made you change your attitude suddenly? (laughs)'"

While the actor stressed that they’re still very much in love, he admitted he “didn’t expect” to turn into the kind of older-generation couple whose relationships naturally become more routine.

“I think we need to reflect on ourselves properly,” he laughed.

To Brandon, the most memorable moment in their relationship thus far is still the time when he asked for Helen's hand. 

"At that time we were at her house, when she went to take a shower, I quickly prepared the ring and music," he told us. 

"When she entered, the room was dim and the lighting was romantic. I went on my knees with the ring in my hand while the song 'Say Yes' was playing at the back."

Believe it or not, her hair was still wet with a towel wrapped around her head at that time. An emotional Helen said yes.

Helen’s parents were actually in the living room at the time and they only found out about the engagement afterward.

“Back then, we were together all the time. To find even a short window to prepare everything… that was the only place I could think of,” he giggled.

The proposal was so simple and private that the couple didn’t even take a single photo to commemorate the moment.

“But you see, I still remember it. Sometimes when you take pictures, you end up forgetting about them. Yet when you asked me, the image of me proposing immediately came to mind.”

Under The Net is available on demand for free on mewatch and on weekdays 9pm on Ch 8.

Photos: Mediacorp, The New Age Parents