'The last day of primary school, we ended it': Romeo Tan shares about bittersweet puppy love

Puppy love may be light and fluffy but it doesn't mean that it was forgettable.

For Mediacorp actor Romeo Tan, his puppy love happened way back in 1995 when he was in primary four.

"At that time there was a popular telemovie called Cupid Love starring Athena Chu and Chen Hanwei. And in the show they had this game Paper Planes and Little White Boat. It's like a penpal thing where they write letters to each other," the 37-year-old told AsiaOne.

"So we copycat lah, we followed. I wrote a letter to her and she wrote a letter back to me. And we went back and forth for about three years."

However, as with most puppy love, it ended on a bittersweet note.

Romeo added: "Eventually in the letter we said that, 'Actually I like you' and all these. It was quite popular (as a game) and it was quite sweet… And on the last day of primary school, we ended it. I think it's more like we were too young and not ready."

He also recalled one of his relationships in polytechnic as it taught him one of his greatest lessons in love.

"I was insensitive. At that time, I was still learning to be a gentleman. I was not sensitive enough so the relationship didn't end well," he revealed.

"I didn't take care of the person's feelings or do nice gestures on special days. I remember I wasn't that sensitive and didn't make much of an effort on some important days. She was quite particular about the little things and she found details very important in a relationship. I wasn't always there to do all those things for her so it didn't end well."

In order to portray different roles better, Romeo added he had to mature faster when he entered showbiz, and he has become more sensitive as a person.

Romeo is currently filming his new drama Shero, which also stars Joanne Peh, Carrie Wong and Nick Teo.

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jolynn.chia@asiaone.com

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