Paige Chua Spent Most Of Last Year Travelling & Taking A Break From The Spotlight

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Considering Mediacorp actress Paige Chua has won the Top 10 Most Popular Awards eight times at the annual Star Awards, we expected her to be in a shoo-in for 2024.

But due to this year’s eligibility criteria for the Top 10 categories, the actress didn’t make the cut.

Paige tells 8days.sg via text that when the news broke that she missed out on a nomination, she had to “copy and paste the reason why [she] wasn’t nominated” to her friends, family and colleagues. 

“I ended up consoling them,” she jokes.

Paige shares that though she wasn’t privy to the rules, she somehow knew not being nominated was a possibility.

“I was prepared as I didn’t have any shows in 2023,” she says.

Paige’s last drama was Healing Heroes which ended its run last February. As the show premiered in 2022, it was already considered for last year’s Star Awards.

When we ask how she feels about having to wait longer to win her 10th popularity award and to ascend the All-Time Favourite Artiste altar, Paige says her fans seem more affected by the news.

“I think they are more upset than me as they have mentioned that they want to finish the race sooner rather than later,” she says.

When asked if any of her fellow colleagues reached out to her, Paige laughs and says, “Bonnie (Loo) and Desmond (Tan) sent their 'condolences' and wrote along the lines of 'You are more than this'".

As for attending local showbiz’s biggest night on April 21, Paige simply says she feels “a little strange to feel more relaxed” compared to previous years.

So, we are rather curious. What has she been up to?

Apparently, after finishing up Healing Heroes, Paige took her long-deserved break away from the limelight.

“I had been working non-stop since Singapore exited the circuit breaker so if you notice my socials, I went travelling every month,” she laughs.

The actress shares that she brought her parents to Hanoi, while she went with different groups of friends to Hong Kong, Hokkaido, and Bintan.

Paige also says that she spent more time volunteering with Willing Hearts, a charity she has been involved in since 2008.

Having a relaxed schedule also allowed her to return to her alma mater, Mayflower Secondary School, and she got involved in a host of activities including a Teacher’s Day performance.

But of course, her family must have been concerned that she didn’t appear on any shows, right?

In fact, a quick check on Paige’s socials has followers voicing out how much they missed seeing her on their screens.

“I didn’t think my family realised or minded as much as I was spending more time with them during my break,” she shares.

However, Paige says she is excited to start afresh and can’t wait for audiences to see her in the upcoming drama.

The 14-episode show is scheduled to air in April 2024 and also stars Desmond Tan, Pierre Png, and Evelyn Tan.

You can now cast your vote for both performance and popularity awards here.

Catch the Backstage LIVE event of Star Awards 2024 from 3.30pm - 10.30pm on mewatch or Mediacorp Entertainment YouTube Channel on April 21 (Sunday).

The Walk Of Fame will be from 5pm - 6.30pm, on mewatch, Ch 8, Ch U, and Mediacorp Entertainment YouTube Channel on the same day.

It will be followed by the Star Awards 2024 Live Show from 7pm - 10pm on mewatch, Ch 8, Ch U, and Mediacorp Entertainment YouTube Channel.

The repeat telecast for the Walk of Fame and Award Ceremony will air on Ch 8 from 2pm - 6.30pm on April 28 (Sunday).

Photos: paigechua_tpc/Instagram

Catch Paige in When Duty Calls Season 2 here or in the video below: