Some people’s love language is gift-giving, but Mediacorp actor Chen Tianwen is definitely not one of them.
In a recent interview with Chinese media zaobao.sg, the 61-year-old Mr Unbelievable star opened up about life with his 40-year-old Mongolian wife Bao Xiao Hui.
Tianwen and Xiao Hui tied the knot in 2013 and welcomed their son, Genghis, who’s now nine, the following year.
When asked how they maintain their marriage for the past 11 years, Tianwen laughed: “Basically, she calls the shots for everything at home.”
He explained that making a marriage work requires a lot of compromise. For instance, he has to respect his wife’s wishes about not revealing her face on his socials anymore.
Even if that means he has to deal with all sorts of nasty comments from netizens.
“[People always ask] ‘Why do you [put a] mosaic [filter over] your wife’s face? Is there something to hide about her face?’ Eventually I stopped posting photos showing her face altogether,” he said.
Tianwen went on to admit that he’s not the most romantic husband out there.
“My wife once asked me why I don’t give her flowers. I told her: ‘You have to wait for me to strike 4D first’,” he said, adding that the only romantic gesture he recalls doing for Xiao Hui was that one time they went overseas together.
During the interview, the actor also shared about his son Genghis, whom he refers to as his “Little Boss”.
He revealed that Genghis, who’s in primary three and already 130cm tall, had asked to learn martial arts two years ago. He gave up after just 10 lessons.
“I was angry at that time, because I thought he has no perseverance,” he laughed.
Genghis now goes for swimming, violin and piano lessons, though Tianwen noted that the kid’s ‘strength’ is actually in playing video games.
“I have to limit the amount of time he spends on video games. He will start having exams this year, so I have to be stricter with him,” lamented Tianwen.
Tianwen shared that his son climbed the 342m-high Mount Wakakusa in Japan while on his birthday trip in June.
“He’s just like me. We’re curious about things and are willing to be adventurous,” he said.