My son doesn't want me to wear a bikini, says Zoe Tay

At 51, our ah jie Zoe Tay looks absolutely divine.

But to her son, she's fat.

Speaking to Shin Min Daily News today (Sept 30) to promote her upcoming drama My Guardian Angels, Zoe laughed as she said: "My eldest son doesn't want me to wear a bikini."

This comment came about during a family trip to Bali where her son, 14-year-old Brayden, seemed displeased after seeing her in a bikini.

She shared: "He kept saying I was fat and it made me wonder if I really was. Perhaps as the older brother, he doesn't want me to show too much skin.

"Since we rarely go to the beach, my kids might not be used to seeing me in swimwear. When we went to the Maldives this year, Brayden also refused to let me put on a bikini."

Upon hearing this, Zoe's co-star, 45-year-old Pierre Png, said in mock anger: "He can't be this selfish, there are other men out there as well. Besides, I think Zoe is really hot."

The veteran actress has been married to pilot Philip Chionh for 24 years and the couple have three sons — Brayden, 11-year-old Ashton, and eight-year-old Nathan.

As with all Singapore mums, Zoe is facing the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) with her son, Ashton, and he's actually taking his Chinese paper today.

She told the Chinese daily that she's "not nervous" because it's already the third day of the national exams and she was more concerned about the English and Mathematics papers which he took last week.

When asked if she fed him any herbal soup during this period, Zoe replied that she has prepared it in advance because she works long hours filming the drama and barely has time to see him except at night.

Zoe also confessed that she doesn't really put too much pressure on her son: "I always tell him that he has to start revising early and he can't cram for the exams at the last minute."

"For now, I can only encourage him because all the necessary preparations have been done. I also have to make sure he doesn't fall ill in these two weeks."

She added: "I don't want him to have any regrets in the future. I told him, 'I'm very worried for you because you don't seem worried for yourself.'

"My youngest son will be taking the PSLE in a few years' time. Well, let's take it one step at a time. I'll think about that later."

bryanlim@asiaone.com