November 09, 2023, 09:59 PM
Singaporean influencer Xiaxue released part one of her tell-all interview series with billionaire heiress Kim Lim.
There will be a total of three parts to it.
To keep you up to speed, Lim is the daughter of Singaporean businessman Peter Lim and is the boss of her own beauty empire, with brands like illumia Therapeutics and Papilla Haircare.
Kim Lim, from Xiaxue's point of view
Xiaxue started the 33-minute video by telling the viewers her impression of Lim as one of her good friends.
Here are some choice words she used to describe the 32-year-old entrepreneur:
- "Super not" poised
- Very straightforward and honest
- Chor lor (unpolished)
- Very loyal and supportive
Lim then went on to answer questions about her personal life that many may not know about.
Here are some highlights from the interview (you're welcome):
Didn't know she was rich when she was younger
Yup, Lim grew up not knowing she was rich.
In fact, she only found out about her family's wealth "on the news" about her parents' divorce.
Her parents, Peter Lim and Teo Geok Fong, went through a long-drawn divorce that was covered widely by the media.
The divorce settlement was finalised in 2002.
The Singapore Chinese Girls' School alumni briefly recalled living a "normal" life, in comparison with her schoolmates.
"My dad always believed that all kids just grow up normally, must go to school, have proper education [and] mingle around with everybody," she said.
Parents' divorce was "traumatic" for her
When asked about the start of her parents' divorce, Lim couldn't remember much except for some shouting and screaming.
Her parents divorced when she was around four or five years old.
She said it was "quite traumatic" as she had to live with her mother five days a week and then spent the weekend at her father's.
"It's quite sad. I remember during recess he couldn't see me so he would buy McDonald's to my school and then we'll eat in the car [secretly]."
Her father doesn't "spoil" her, really
Lim said she's "super close" to her father and he is very encouraging to her.
She stresses, however, that he provides tough love and behaves like a "typical Chinese parent".
"He maintains his ground till today [saying I] 'cannot anyhow spend money, you want to spend then you earn yourself'," she said.
The most expensive gift she's received from her father is a Patek Philippe watch.
Lavish gifts like these, however, are only for "big occasions... once in a while".
And if you've seen Lim posing in a private jet, she'd like you to know that it's not her father's. She chartered it herself with her own money.
As she puts it: "My dad die also won't let me use his plane ah!"
Sent to boarding school in London
At 13, she was sent to a boarding school in London, UK.
She feels she was sent to a boarding school overseas because her parents' divorce made her a "naughty" and "rebellious" individual.
Lim shared that in boarding school, students could only go out of campus about two weekends per month.
"[That's] provided the parents are there. Obviously, my parents were in Singapore so sometimes I stayed in school during the weekends and just study lor," she said.
While she didn't hate the experience, she did miss home a lot. Looking back, she also thinks her father made a good decision as it forced her to "grow up quickly".
And if you're wondering if she has ever had a British accent, Lim exclaimed: "I am true to my roots! I am Singaporean, I will be Singaporean and I will have my Singaporean accent. It's ok."
Physically abused at a young age
Further into the interview, Xiaxue revealed that Lim had "quite a traumatic childhood" where she was physically abused.
She didn't specify who abused her but mentioned that it was a family member that she is no longer close to.
She received beatings frequently from this family member when she was "six or seven years old".
"The other party was drunk a lot and come back home cry[ing] and take it out on me, basically," she revealed, looking visibly emotional.
Xiaxue elaborated that some of the cigarette burn scars that Lim received from her abuser are still apparent on her hands.
Lim said:
"She (Xiaxue) was telling me I shouldn't be shy to share [...] I mean, maybe it's good thing to teach others who are going through this also.
Things do happen to me. People might think that I really live a good life but I think as a kid, I did have it harder than a lot of people."
Her father eventually found out about the abuse and Lim believes it is one of the factors that made him send her to the UK.
"What he could do best for me was to ship me away... so that's one of the reasons why I moved overseas, to stop this whole thing from [affecting her too much]," she explained.
Part two coming soon
The end of the video gives a dramatic preview of part two of the interview, including conversations about her past marriages.
You can watch part one here:
Top image from Xiaxue's YouTube
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