PUBLISHED ONOctober 11, 2022 8:27 AMByKhoo Yi-HangThis soon-to-be-married couple hope to share their happiness with the world.
In an interview with AsiaOne at Mediacorp's Localicious event last Saturday (Oct 8), Jeffrey Xu revealed that his wedding plans also involve a generous donation to charity. The 34-year-old is engaged to local actress Felicia Chin.
Said the actor: "To us, our wedding is something that will be memorable and we also hope that the guests invited will feel the same. Aside from receiving blessings from our guests, we hope to share blessings with everyone."
Because of this, Jeffrey and Felicia, 37, intend to donate a portion of their ang baos from their wedding on Oct 22 to World Vision, which Felicia has contributed to on prior occasions.
Localicious was a Mediacorp event that took place on Oct 8 and 9 at Our Tampines Hub that included holding meet-and-greet sessions with the cast of the latest Mediacorp dramas such as Dark Angel, Healing Heroes, Soul Detective and Third Rail.
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian aid organisation that allows people to sponsor and support children in need across the world. Felicia recently flew to Zambia to meet one such child who had chosen her as her sponsor.
Speaking about Felicia's experience in Zambia, Jeffrey said: "After she went there, she came back with some wishes — that's why she decided to do something like this to share the blessings.
"I also hope that we'll be able to do something unforgettable like this for our wedding — things with purpose."
Although they're both well-known local celebrities, they don't want much fanfare to go with their wedding celebrations — in fact, Jeffrey stated that they prefer a simple wedding ceremony.
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"We haven't really thought about any special flamboyant events or parties to go with our wedding. The most important thing is that the simpler it is, the better," Jeffrey said.
However, he intends to keep traditions a core part of their wedding to respect and honour their elders. This means including certain customs like the tea ceremony.
And although he's strived to keep things simple, the amount of preparation that must be done has kept him on his toes ever since he first made their marriage announcement on Instagram.
"The truth is that the things other people take a year to prepare, I've to do the same within a month or two. There really is a lot of pressure," Jeffrey admitted.
Not only is he planning his wedding, Jeffrey is also juggling acting in two dramas. When November comes around, he'll be working on a third drama.
Because of this, he's found himself extremely tight on time, so much so that he's having trouble planning his own honeymoon with Felicia — but he's also enjoying how busy he is.
"The pressure is definitely there but I think I can appreciate this process," Jeffrey added. "In my life, I've never been this busy before. I think this is a good thing — the pressure is only there because I've never had this many things to manage at once."
When asked if he's discovered anything about himself or Felicia from the pre-marriage counselling courses they attended, Jeffrey said that he had learned "too many things".
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The couple also tried out stress-finder tests and found out that they are very different.
"The counsellor told us that if we can learn to work with each other, our relationship will be excellent. On the flipside, however, if we fail to do so there'll be a lot of quarrelling," Jeffrey said.
In order to ensure that they can work together in sync, the couple are putting in a lot of effort into learning to work with each others' flaws.
One of the characteristics that Jeffrey highlights about himself is the fact that he's good at communication — but that also depends on the language used.
"When conversing in English, there might be a hint of fear in my heart — I won't dare to speak because of it. But speaking in Mandarin changes this circumstance, and suddenly I'm able to talk about anything," Jeffrey, who comes from Shanghai, explained.
Another difficult aspect he hopes he'll be able to change is managing his emotions.
He has played various roles as an actor and he occasionally unknowingly brings home certain characteristics of his roles.
"Because of this, there are times when I'll suddenly feel very frustrated," Jeffrey said.
Additionally, his respect for his craft also causes him to flare up when he sees anyone on set treating their job frivolously.
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Admitting that this is something he needs to change about himself, Jeffrey added: "Many people say that it's necessary to zuo ren (treat people and matters appropriately) — to me, being an actor comes first.
"I think it's better to fulfil my responsibilities as an actor first, everything else can be dealt with later… I feel that most people put emphasis on proper conduct and being an actor second, so they put in the minimum effort required in their acting."
Jeffrey added: "Whichever field you focus your efforts on will yield you greater results in that field — or at least that's what I think. Of course, I don't think having proper conduct is bad, it's definitely something I need to learn."
Catch Jeffrey as Gu Wangming, or Boss Gu, in the new Mediacorp crime and courtroom thriller drama Dark Angel. His character is also the coldhearted and ambitious young president of the Wang Group and is deeply involved in the criminal underworld. The NC16 series is now available for viewing on meWATCH.
ALSO READ: Popular kid Jeffrey Xu once had dozens of people waiting outside school for him... to beat him up
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