Taiwanese singer Kerris Tsai reveals Singapore's 'crab prince' was the man she'd wanted to marry

She's known as Taiwan's "queen of bitter love songs", but perhaps she's simply been drawing from experience.

Kerris Tsai, 56, recently opened up about her love life on popular talkshow Ladies First, giving fresh insight on her most high-profile romance with local restaurateur Francis Ng, purportedly known as Singapore's "crab prince".

Francis is the founder of the House of Seafood restaurants in Singapore.

Among the biggest reveals on the show was Kerris' candid admission that Francis was the man she'd wanted to marry.

Met through agent

Kerris shared that the pair had met more than 10 years ago through her agent when she performed at an event sponsored by Francis' restaurant. After she returned to Taiwan, however, Francis surprised her three days later by flying over to meet her.

Kerris revealed that although she liked him, she wasn't open to a relationship with him due to the distance as well as her family.

Upon learning this, Francis bought eight business class seats for her and her family to come to Singapore so that they could all get to know each other better — an act which moved her.

Recalling this on the show, Kerris appeared choked up with emotion as she blurted: "To be honest, he was the one I'd wanted to marry."

Kerris had previously alluded to having had only three past romances, with one of them being someone "she wanted to marry", but had never dropped their names.

When asked why they broke up, Kerris, who's five years older than Francis, revealed on Ladies First that their values differed greatly and they called it quits after just eight months of dating.

Kerris lamented that the timing for both of them wasn't right.

She had previously shared on another programme that the pair's blossoming romance "made the headlines daily as Singapore is small". As a result too, Francis' fledgling crab restaurant business suddenly boomed.

Francis, then 38, became intently focused on growing his business, but for Kerris, who had enjoyed a decades-long showbiz career by then, it was a time in her life where she wanted to slow down.

Despite the years that have passed, however, it seems the embers to their romance may still be burning.

Kerris shared that Francis never got married and the pair are still in touch. She revealed that on a recent trip to Singapore for a concert, he even contacted her about wanting to send her crabs.

He was said to have asked: "Can we be like Nicholas Tse [and Faye Wong], to split up and reconcile again and again?" 

Without shutting him down completely, Kerris replied in jest: "Since you said to reconcile, first you must hand over half your assets to give me a sense of security!"

candicecai@asiaone.com