Jayley Woo, 31, On Wanting A Second Child, And Whether She Plans On Acting Again

This weekend (May 14), local actress Jayley Woo, 31, will be celebrating her first Mother’s Day as a mum. She and her non-celeb husband, Bryan Tan, welcomed their daughter, Jan, in, well, January this year. 

Jayley appears on the latest episode of #JustSwipeLah, where she speaks to host Juin Teh about motherhood, and her plans for the future.

P.S. Baby Jan appears in this episode too!

When Juin asks if she enjoys taking care of her baby or having time to herself more, Jayley says she enjoys both aspects of motherhood.

“Yesterday, I spent five hours out of the house, having my me-time. I quite enjoy it.” 

While her parents take care of Jan when Jayley's out, her husband is in charge of “earning milk powder money” and “playing with [Jan]”. He also helps with changing Jan’s diapers and feeding her.

Jayley goes on to recall an interesting scenario that happens whenever Jan does a number two.

“Once she’s done pooping, everyone will be very happy. My mom will say, “Jan Jan has pooped, [she’s] so obedient!”. It’s really a celebration for us,” she says while mimicking her mom’s exaggerated clapping.

Then, it was time for Jayley to think into the far future.

“At what age can you accept [your daughter] having a boyfriend?” asks Juin.

Although Jayley wishes for Jan to wait until she’s 18, she has to concede: “But I had my first boyfriend at 16, so I don’t dare to demand that she must be 18. If she matures early, I will also accept it.”

While on the topic of future plans, Jayley also reveals that she “definitely wants a second child”. She wishes to give Jan a companion, though she is still not sure if she wants to have more than two kids.

As for her acting career, Jayley plans to wait until Jan is “maybe 1.5 years to 2 years old” before she returns to work.

“I love acting. I will continue to act as long as I’m able to. But at this stage, she really needs me. I also have to breastfeed her, so I really can’t be away,” she explains, before expressing her respect for working moms.

What will happen if Jan tells Jayley she has a boyfriend when she's 15?

“[I will tell her to] let Daddy and Mommy see how the boy looks like first. Because Grandpa (Jayley’s dad) also knows how to read faces,” says Jayley.

A curious Juin then asks: “What did Grandpa say about your boyfriend’s face when he met him for the first time?”

“With my previous boyfriends, he’ll look at them, but not tell me [his opinions] until after we broke up. But it was different for my husband. My husband is like friends with [my parents]. Sometimes I feel that my presence at home is not felt,” jokes Jayley.

This Mother’s Day, Jayley will have a simple celebration at home and she hopes to receive a very meaningful present from her husband.

“I want a travel voucher made by him, and the voucher cannot have an expiry date. When Jan Jan is older, or when things become stable, the whole family can travel overseas together.”