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Xiang Yun, 61, and Edmund Chen, 62, are one of Singapore's best-known celebrity couples.

The couple is famously known for their love story: falling in love on the set of 1989 Mediacorp (then called Singapore Broadcasting Corporation) series "Patrol" and marrying just months after.

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A post shared by 陈之财 Edmund Chen (@edmundchen.sg)

Despite their short courtship, the couple's marriage has been going strong and they will be celebrating their 34th wedding anniversary this June.

Mothership spoke to the couple to find out more about their thoughts on romance tropes, Valentine's Day celebrations and other romantic topics in the spirit of February 14.

Love at first sight or love that grows with time?

The couple believes that relationships require both "love at first sight" and "love that grows with time" to be long-term and sustainable.

Well, that was at least how it worked out in their case.

When they first met on the set of "Patrol", most of the actors and actresses came from similar circles: through acting troops, radio teams or plays.

Among the rest of the actors, Chen stood out to Xiang Yun as he was an "ang moh pai", meaning a westernised Singaporean Chinese.

However, she did not think about dating him at that point.

Chen, on the other hand, shared that there was an initial attraction towards Xiang Yun.

Guess this still counts as love at first sight?

As fate had it, the couple were paired together for the show and began developing feelings for each other.

"While we were filming, he would be very enthusiastic [in taking initiative] at times. He would often wait for me to wrap up and we would take a cab home together. That was how we started dating," Xiang Yun laughs.

She continues, "A relationship solely based on the initial attraction is bound to be unstable, which is why feelings that continue to develop are important in keeping the connection going."

A popular saying that Chen lives by is "happy wife, happy life."

He jokes, "Whoever said that is a true genius."

Throughout their 33 years of marriage, the couple has experienced it all—the honeymoon period, working out their differences and emerging stronger as a couple as time goes by.

Chen recalls,

"I believe all couples will get into this situation once in a while -- stepping into each other’s boundaries. We had our fair share too, but we have forgotten how many times it happened, can’t remember how we worked our way out too. I guess remembering to forget is important too."

Not celebrating Valentine's Day

Although they make it a point to have dinner together on V-Day every year, the couple admits that they pay little attention to the occasion otherwise.

Even when one of their vacations happened to coincide with Valentine's Day, they only realised it when they saw their children celebrating with their significant other.

"Flowers are so expensive on Valentine's Day, so I'd much rather celebrate it on the other 364 days of the year," Chen quips.

How dating has changed with the times

While it has been more than three decades since the couple got together, the concept of dating is still very prevalent in the family.

Their 22-year-old actress daughter, Chen Yixin, has been dating local actor Gavin Teo since 2019.

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A post shared by 陈之财 Edmund Chen (@edmundchen.sg)

Watching the younger Chen's relationship blossom, the two have seen first-hand how dating norms have changed since their time.

"Dating back in the day was like boiling water, it's a very slow and steady process. Without social media and phones, relationships took longer to form and couples would have to build their relationships from scratch," Xiang Yun muses.

"Writing love letters was very in trend too, so you would have to wait for another two weeks before you received a reply."

Something else that they have observed is that younger couples are more receptive to the idea of sharing their relationships with their parents.

For Chen and Teo, this has helped to contribute to a more open and transparent relationship between the young couple and her parents.

Despite all the changes time (and technology) has brought, the couple agrees that the pure and romantic intention of dating is something that has remained unchanged throughout the years.

"No matter what era, all couples just want to have a passionate and romantic relationship. There isn't any generation gap in love because love is still a genuine and fundamental human concept."