Engaged: Nick Teo proposes to Hong Ling after '7-year itch'

Consider the itch scratched.

After dating for seven years, celeb couple Nick Teo and Hong Ling are finally engaged.

The pair made the happy announcement on Thursday (Aug 18), two days after he got down on one knee at a surprise yacht party he'd planned for her.

The date of the proposal, Aug 16, also happened to be Hong Ling's 28th birthday.

"Out of over 7 billion people in the world, I found you," Hong Ling wrote in an Instagram post on Thursday.

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She continued: "The very first day you came into my life, I know you are going to be special to me. Thank you for everything, my love and my soulmate."

Nick, who also shared a short video clip from the birthday/engagement party, wrote: "Meeting you has been the best thing that has happened to me."

Addressing the "seven-year itch", Nick added: "I've decided! I want to… spend the rest of our lives together!"

The couple had met each other as newbies at a Mediacorp event but drew closer to each other after starring in long-running drama 118 together.

The highlight reel of the engagement party showed Hong Ling bursting into tears during the special moment, as Nick too, turned emotional seeing her cry.

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The couple also shared details with the media on how the 31-year-old actor managed to put a ring on it, not that he needed to.

"Actually, she always insisted that I didn't need to propose," Nick reportedly told CNA Lifestyle, with Hong Ling adding that it's because she was "sure he was the guy I wanted to marry".

Aww.

Then again, Hong Ling had already shared with AsiaOne back in 2019 that she was ready to marry Nick.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChkeNRyhfzg&ab_channel=AsiaOne[/embed]

Nick, however, felt the proposal ceremony was important, as a sign of respect for Hong Ling and her family. The When Duty Calls 2 actor had also asked Hong Ling's parents privately for her hand in marriage.

His effort was not for nought. "He knows how important my parents are to me," said Hong Ling, who admitted to being touched by his sincerity.

'Dream proposal'

The proposal was planned on a yacht, as the sea "holds special significance" for the couple.

Nick shared: "We enjoy being close to Mother Nature on our trips overseas and would snorkel, dive or hike up mountains to see the sunset and sunrise."

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Turns out, it was the perfect setting Hong Ling had envisioned, with Hong Ling sharing with CNA Lifestyle that it was her "dream proposal", even though she had never mentioned it to him.

In order to pull off the surprise, Nick shared that he had told Hong Ling that he couldn't be there for the party due to work commitments, which got her "a bit angry" initially.

But friends and family on board the yacht managed to keep her distracted while Nick put the final touches on the decorations — one for her birthday and another for the proposal.

"I know she's a very curious person and loves to ask questions and touch things. I had the words 'Marry Me' on a metal rack which I covered with a cloth. I was very worried she would lift it up!"

The weather was an additional stressor for Nick as it had rained earlier in the day. And with dark clouds looming once again, Nick made the split-second decision to go ahead with the proposal.

He got down on one knee with a diamond solitaire ring against the backdrop of the setting sun, and of course, she said yes.

@nickk_teo She said yes! @honglingg_ #sgtiktok #fyp ♬ Perfect - Ed Sheeran

And it seems the pair have already mapped out their future life together.

Nick revealed that they have been house-hunting and hope to find a bigger home for themselves as well as their children in the future.

"I know it's not up to us, but having a girl and a boy will form the Chinese character 'good'!" 

candicecai@asiaone.com