“I Can Only Blame Myself For Not Getting To Know [Him] Better First”: Kim Lim Reveals Why Her Second Marriage Lasted Just 2 Months

Billionaire heiress-turned-beauty mogul Kim Lim, 31, married 33-year-old IT entrepreneur, Leslie, in a lavish, fairytale wedding ceremony in February this year. 

The marriage, sadly, was anything but a fairytale. 

Four months after the wedding, traces of Kim’s husband were completely wiped from her Instagram, which led many to believe that there was trouble in paradise.

In a new interview with local magazine Icon Singapore, Kim finally opened up about what happened, revealing that her marriage to Leslie lasted just two months.

According to Kim, her dream was simply to find someone she could rely on, and a partner to support her while she hustled for her business.

However, not long after the wedding, the couple often found themselves at odds with each other, and disagreements would always lead to major quarrels.

Their relationship took a downward spiral, and eventually ended in the marriage turning sour and them living apart.

She said she found out that Leslie was a completely different person before and after marriage.

Her once gentle and considerate partner turned out to have a nasty temper and would sometimes “lose control” of his emotions.

A source tells 8days.sg that Kim was subjected to "verbal abuse that badly affected her mental health" during the short-lived marriage. 

"He would talk down to her and was very nasty to her staff," said the source, adding that he did not like Kim to spend time building her business.

“I’m someone who likes to share happy news over sad news, especially on social media. I am also a person who doesn’t like showing my weak side to friends and family. That was an extremely tough period of time for me. The house contained so many memories of the both of us, and for a few nights, I slept alone in my dressing room, hoping that the unhappiness I went through would disappear, just like a bad dream,” Kim told Icon.

She's been travelling a lot the past year. "I actually went overseas to get away from everything and cope with my depression," she told Icon. "The past few months were painful for me. I thought I found my happiness but I didn’t expect to be made use of again by a man who took advantage of my longing to be loved."

This marks Kim's second failed marriage and she is well aware that those around her might think that she treats marriage as child's play. 

“It is possible for everyone to make wrong decisions, but [we] must learn from our mistakes. After giving it some serious thought, I realised that I did not need to stay in an unhappy marriage, especially when I knew that it would bring me more damage in the long run,” she said.

Kim adds that she has always been the kind of person to “choose her own path” and believes that her decision doesn’t harm anyone else. As such, she will not be hurt by the words of haters.

“Looking back, I feel like I was longing for a loving family to call my own, and I [wanted] to settle down with a good partner. For a moment I was blinded by the good I had. I can only blame myself for not getting to know someone better first and for making a hasty decision [to get married]. Now, I think it is more important to love my family around me and myself,” she said.

After giving herself time to heal from her failed relationship, Kim dived headfirst into work and business for her beauty empire is now booming. 

In just three years, Kim’s aesthetic medical brands, Illumia Therapeutics, Illumia Medical, as well as scalp treatment centre, Papilla Haircare, have expanded from their flagship Ngee Ann City outlet, to NEX mall and Katong i12.

Kim also launched her own line of skincare, IllumiaSkin By Kim Lim.

She is now working on breaking into the Thai market, and together with her team, has been spending the past month working the grounds in Thailand to better understand the needs of the local market. 

Kim told Icon that she has learnt a lot about relationships the past year. She said her first marriage taught her to be more tolerant. Though she split up with her first husband due to different values in life, she remains in contact and on good terms with him, so as to provide a healthy environment for their son to grow up in.

Through her second marriage, she has learnt the importance of looking past fancy words, and taking her time to really know a person.

She remains positive when it comes to love, and believes that she will one day be able to find a partner who will truly be able to understand and support her.

Photos: Kim Lim/ Instagram