Singaporean singer Kelly Poon expecting first child with Taiwanese husband

Kelly Poon will soon have a new role to play — mother.

The 40-year-old Singaporean, who is best known for being the first runner-up in the 2005 Project SuperStar singing contest, is currently six months pregnant and expecting her first child with her Taiwanese husband, music producer Roger Yo, 40.

In a gender reveal party held yesterday (Aug 14) in a restaurant in Taipei, Kelly and Roger revealed to guests that they are expecting a baby boy.

Besides her parents-in-law, also at the party were various familiar faces, including Singaporean actress Yvonne Lim and her husband Alex Tien, Singaporean singer Huang Jinglun, former Mediacorp actor Jeff Wang and Taiwanese actress Eugenie Liu.

In a report by Taiwanese publication Liberty Times today, Kelly said that they have been trying for a baby for the past three years but had not been successful, and she began to seek medical help for the past year.

She shared: "I have sought help from Chinese and Western medicine to adjust my body. During this period, we experienced several failures."

Kelly added that she and Roger had decided that if they were still unable to get pregnant, they would accept the fact as they are happy with just the two of them.

When asked about why it took them six months to announce the good news, Kelly said that because of her advanced maternal age, the doctor wanted them to have an amniocentesis to test for genetic disorders in the baby, so they wanted to make sure that everything is okay before announcing it.

Kelly added that she has gained more than 10 kilograms since the start of her pregnancy and was told by her gynaecologist to slim down and control her weight as the foetus would be overnourished.

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She said: "I thought that I could use my pregnancy to let go of an artiste's determination for weight control and eat and drink as I like, but I didn't expect the baby wouldn't want me to grow fat.

"My husband also said that the baby wants his mother to not have to lose weight after giving birth, so that she can go and earn money quickly again!"

Kelly announced her marriage via an Instagram post on Feb 24, 2020, flashing a massive diamond ring on her finger. Netizens initially thought that she was announcing her engagement, but it was later revealed that she had tied the knot. The news came as a surprise as she had never announced that she was in a relationship.

The couple held a wedding dinner in Taipei later on Nov 20, 2022. As it was during the Covid-19 pandemic and Kelly was unable to return to Singapore then, she included various Singapore elements in her wedding, including pandan cake, bouquets of orchids and bridesmaids' dresses and shoes from Singapore brands.

Her Taiwanese guests were even taught to do the yam seng — a loud and hearty celebratory toast commonly practised in Singaporean wedding dinners — at their banquet.

Kelly shared then that she would have another celebration in Singapore when the pandemic was over.

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yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com