Dream come true: Yvonne Lim relocating back to Singapore with 2 kids

Moving to a different country often involves new challenges, even if one is moving back home.

In a Lianhe Zaobao interview on Tuesday (Jan 10) for her new drama Strike Gold, Yvonne Lim revealed that she would be moving back to Singapore with her children — a dream come true.

"The earliest is the end of this year. There are many matters to deal with. I get a little scared at the thought of these matters," she spoke candidly.

Her Taiwanese husband, former boy band member Alex Tien, 43, will be travelling to and fro Singapore and Taiwan. "His job does not follow a typical nine-to-five schedule, so it is easier to make flexible travel arrangements," she elaborated.

The 46-year-old attended the press conference virtually as she is supporting their eight-year-old son AJ who is preparing for exams. She was back in Singapore from July to September last year to film for Strike Gold.

In May 2015, Yvonne relocated to Taipei with Alex and AJ. They initially wanted to see if AJ could get used to Taipei before deciding if they would remain there for good.

At the same time, they wanted AJ to spend more time with his grandfather, who is also in Taipei. The purpose of the move was also for Alex to manage his family's footwear manufacturing and export business.

Their daughter Alexa was born in Taiwan in January 2017.

Yvonne mentioned before that she wished to return to Singapore for the long term, so that the children could receive education in Singapore.

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She said in the Zaobao interview that she's worried about AJ's studies, because the boy learns Chinese in traditional characters in Taiwan. Once back in Singapore, he will be in Primary Three and must get used to learning the language in simplified characters as well as the local education system.

"My daughter may have an easier time because she starts Primary One next year, so she starts with a blank slate and does not have to expend too much energy adapting to a new education system," Yvonne explained.

In the series Strike Gold, she plays Lisa Fang, a woman who tries to avoid creditors when she accumulates a lot of debt. She escapes them by feigning insanity after she meets an accident caused by Mei Youyong (Yao Wenlong), a former muay thai boxer and instructor.

An opportunity presents itself in the form of her neighbour Grandma Dudu's (Jin Yinji) secret recipe for pineapple tarts, sought after by many at a high price — and she must steal it to get the money she needs to cover her debts.

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Yvonne's performance in Strike Gold is nuanced and layered — there are scenes involving twisting her hips, looking messy, unkempt and acting insane.

She told the Chinese daily that the difficulty in embodying this character comes from presenting her with soul: "People have not seen me in this state, my actions are exaggerating — but I did not want to come across as too superfluous, so I had put careful thought into it."

To refine her performance, she repeatedly rehearsed her expression and gaze with a mirror back in Taipei, before joining the cast for filming in Singapore.

She recounted, her first scene in Strike Gold is a drunken scene with Wenlong. "Outside of work, we don't drink much so it was a lot of acting. But I saw how my husband behaves when he drank, so I replicated his behaviour then."

Strike Gold also stars Desmond Tan, Jin Yinji, Edwin Goh, Kiki Lim, Benjamin Tan, Tyler Ten, Jeffrey Xu and Ayden Sng. The show will be telecast on weekdays from Jan 16 at 9pm on Channel 8 and also on demand for free on meWATCH.

ALSO READ: Yvonne Lim arranges surprise visit from Vivian Hsu to Strike Gold set, cast and crew 'all become very shy'

jolynn.chia@asiaone.com