PUBLISHED ONJanuary 23, 2025 5:36 AMByCandice CaiIt has been 10 years since Qi Yuwu and Joanne Peh said their 'I dos' in Sentosa, with the iconic but since-demolished Merlion statue serving as backdrop to their nuptials on Sept 9, 2014.
However, as the couple can attest, married life isn't always a bed of roses.
In fact, during the first few years of their marriage, "fierce arguments" were frequent, they revealed in the latest episode of the reality travel programme Camping Around the World, where they headed to South Korea.
Once notoriously private when it came to their love life, the proud parents of two peeled back the curtain by a crack during the show to reveal some aspects of their relationship few would know.
For one, Yuwu, 48, admitted that the pair "fought frequently" during the early years of their marriage.
"We fought so fiercely back then, and it was those heart-wrenching type of arguments," said Yuwu during one tender moment between the couple, as they sat in a tent which the crew had specially decorated for their anniversary surprise.
Reminiscing on their journey, Joanne, 41, reminded him that the reason they'd argued so often was because of his tendency to keep things to himself.
"You even said, 'If I have to say it out loud then it's meaningless'," added Joanne pointedly.
"I was flabbergasted," she admitted, adding, "I'm not a worm in your tummy, how would I know what you're thinking?"
In their own private confessionals, Yuwu shared his pragmatic view on marriage.
"We have our sweet moments, but we'll also have times when we would argue. Of course I wish that our marriage will be happy and blissful, but things may not always turn out the way we want them to," he said.
He intimated to the camera however, that the both of them "seem to be more mature than before" when it came to handling arguments. "We're more tolerant and not so competitive," he reflected.
Joanne, too, gave insight on her emotions as his partner, sharing how she is "easily affected" by his moods. "Even if he just furrows his brow, I'll worry that it has something to do with me."
Speaking to each other in the tent, the Guangzhou-born actor told Joanne that they've not only quarrelled less frequently in the past two years, but the arguments are also "not as intense".
"Perhaps it's because we know each other better," he reasoned. "Or maybe you've found a way to cope with me."
He added: "But one thing I think that hasn't changed is that we always resolve the issue in the end instead of avoiding it."
Expounding on her feelings when unhappy situations arise, Joanne continued: "You clam up when you don't feel your best, and you'll have this aura around you that scares me. Now I have an understanding of what it's about. But the good thing is, now you know that you have to tell me."
In a particularly heartwarming moment during the conversation, Yuwu told Joanne: "I hope to become a better version of myself, to give you a better marriage and a better life."
Joanne had earlier shared her belief that fate had led the pair together.
The couple had announced that they were dating in 2013, before tying the knot just over a year later in a low-key ceremony which took many by surprise.
"One of us is from Guangzhou, one is from Singapore, how did our paths cross?" she mused before adding, "I was a student back then and could only film two shows a year, and he was always my co-star!"
She also shared her apprehension about embarking on the relationship initially for fear of losing him as a friend.
Facing her husband in the tent, Joanne expressed her feelings candidly: "It's not easy to find the right person that you love, but I feel very blissful because I've found that person."
"I feel the same way too," said Yuwu somewhat coyly, as the pair burst out in laughter.
And as they say, laughter is the best medicine.
Putting Yuwu's cheesy one-liners on the show aside, the couple agreed that the key to growing old happily as a couple is not taking life so seriously and being able to "talk nonsense with each other".
"There's bliss in being able to share nonsensical stuff with each other," said Yuwu, as the pair discussed the tendency for couples to "communicate in a very functional way".
"You need some non-functional things in life to have fun," quipped Yuwu. "Don't forget the humour," Joanne added.
During the episode, Joanne gifted Yuwu with a photo scrapbook detailing the sweetest moments in their relationship.
Tearing up as she faced the camera, she also lamented how the pair do not have enough time together.
"Perhaps it's precisely because the future is unknown... I mentioned to him yesterday that I think there isn't enough time... I don't think we've spent enough time together.
"I hope we can be together forever."
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[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wABjLb7HQE[/embed]
candicecai@asiaone.com
