Wong Cho Lam’s In-Laws Did Not Approve Of Him Dating Leanne Li; Forbade Him From Talking About Marriage With Their Daughter For First 3 Years Of Their Relationship

Hong Kong star and TVB’s Chief Creative Officer Wong Cho Lam, 43, is the guest on the latest episode of Hear U Out. He met up with host Quan Yifeng at an apothecary-style cafe in Kowloon City, where he looked back on his childhood, career, and his relationship with his wife, Leanne Li, 38.

“I heard you had a hard time courting your wife, and you guys even split up for three years while dating,” probed Yifeng.

Cho Lam, ever so good with words, replied: “Our love story is like [the movie] Infernal Affairs. It was three years and three years, then three years again.”

According to reports, the comedian and his pageant queen wife first went public with their relationship in 2009, though it now appears that they had met at least three years before that.

Speaking of their first break-up, Cho Lam revealed that he was okay with letting Leanne go. At that time, she had just won the Miss Chinese International Pageant, and had not gotten the opportunity to meet other guys.

“She was just starting out in showbiz, and there was no reason for me to get in the way of that. Her parents wouldn’t have been fond of the idea, and she also wasn’t sure if what she felt for me was friendship or love. So we took a pause on the relationship and there weren’t any expectations for us to get back together at all,” he recalled.

So how did they end up together three years later?

“Back then, we were both part of this thing called the Hong Kong Artistes Christian Fellowship, and we were amongst the group of entertainers who were invited to attend some events in North America,” he explains.

Cho Lam was afraid that after spending three years trying to get over Leane, his feelings for her would rekindle on the trip.

He then got his friends from TVB to arrange for Leanne to take part in the filming of a new dance show in China so she wouldn’t be able to go to North America.

As fate would have it, Leanne injured her foot and was unable to participate in the dance show. She decided to go on the trip to North America instead.

“In the end, we really rekindled our relationship [during that trip],” said Cho Lam.

He thinks the break had worked out for the best.

“If we had planned to meet one-on-one, we would obviously only display the best versions of ourselves. But in those three years, because we remained platonic friends, we were able to see the genuine sides of each other. We were able to know if we liked the real versions of each other and not base our feelings off past impressions,” he explained.

Yifeng then asked if the height difference between Cho Lam and Leanne was ever an obstacle for him. FYI, Cho Lam is 162cm-tall while his leggy wife stands at 175cm.

“I don’t lose anything by confessing my feelings to her. If I don’t confess, I don’t gain anything. If I confess, a ten per cent chance with her is still a chance,” he said, adding that he displayed his affections for her by writing her letters and songs.

Even after his feelings were reciprocated by Leanne, and the two went public as a couple, Cho Lam was met with another challenge — her parents. To put it simply, they weren’t fans of him.

“She is a pageant winner… She also has a sister who is 11 years younger than her, so for the longest time [Leanne] was the only daughter of the family. She was really the apple of their eye,” he said.

His in-laws forbade Cho Lam from speaking about marriage during the first three years of his relationship with Leanne. They wanted to see if he was a good influence on their daughter within those three years, and did not want to come across any negative reports about them in the media.

As such, the couple were “very low-key” about their relationship during those three years.

Thankfully, he passed their test and eventually proposed to Leanne during the 48th TVB Anniversary Celebration in 2014.

The happy couple tied the knot in 2015, and have since welcomed two daughters, Gabrielle, four, and Hayley, two.

Photos: meWATCH, Leanne Li/ Instagram

Catch part 1of the episode below, or watch both episodes of Hear U Out on meWATCH.