MARRIED BUT KEEPING SEPARATE BEDS

No, there's no marital strife as Christopher Lee shares how he and Fann keep the sparks flying

YOU'D think that less than two months into their marriage, Christopher Lee and Fann Wong would behave like most newly-wed couples.

LIANHE WANBAO FILE PICTURES, ST FILE PICTURE

You know, spend hours in the bedroom, then wake up making googoo eyes at each other and other numbing activities like that.

But surprise, surprise, Chris and Fann - married for a mere 11/2 months don't even live together.

Yes, at the end of the day, they go home to their separate apartments, purportedly in the same condominium.

Welcome to marriage, Singapore-style.

Chris and Fann, both 38, may have registered their marriage on 16 May, but they have not held their customary Chinese wedding rites.

That doesn't mean Chris is not spending time with his 'baby', his affectionate nickname for Fann.

He confessed to me that he and his wife have been getting all hot and sweaty during their clandestine afternoon rendezvous.

He even revealed that glamour queen Fann looks just as gorgeous dripping with perspiration.

Never mind it's related to their latest addiction of playing badminton in deserted community centres.

We are expecting flushed faces when the couple spend nights at each other's apartments after their wedding rites in September.

--TNP PICTURE: CHOO CHWEE HUA

For now, goody Fann lives with mum and pop, and Chris' grandma, mum and younger brother occasionally travel from Malacca to stay with him.

Yeah, bummer.

So how do the couple 'cosy up' when her parents are out in the living room?

Chris snorted: 'Her parents are not so boh liao (bored in Hokkien) to eavesdrop through the bedroom door! They are probably more loving than us, ha ha ha!'

Fairy-tale marriage

So while they have no intention on buying a love nest in Singapore because 'property prices are too high', the couple are thinking of buying a home in Beijing since they fly there for work so often.

You can practically hear the birds singing as he talked about this fairy-tale marriage.

They will manja (act coy in Malay) each other though Fann's better at it.

She asks him every day if he wants to play badminton with her.

But it's not all a bed of roses.

Chris revealed that the couple have their fair share of quarrels.

He said: 'We used to fight because we are both so stubborn. Now, we just don't speak to each other for the whole day.'

During these cold wars, they contemplate, but kiss and make up the next day.

But he insists they are 'very happy' most of the time.

Though the naughty couple love leading Fann's parents into thinking that they are fighting again.

Chris said: 'Fann's mum gets quite anxious when she sees us giving each other the cold shoulder and would try to calm the situation.

'So sometimes, just out of fun, we pretend to fight and see how her parents react. It's quite funny to leave her home lovey dovey and then return in few minutes shooting barbs at each other!'

Humph. That's what you get for having children who are actors.

Chris even confided: 'It took me more than a week to call Fann's parents 'mum' and 'dad'.

'Fann joked that I should be fined every time I call them 'auntie' and 'uncle'.'

But he was quick to add that both families are chummy with one another.

The couple even hope to have everyone living together in the future.

But perhaps they should try living under the same roof themselves first?

In the meantime, though, Chris won't have much time to spend with his 'baby' in the upcoming weeks.

His wedding ring, a teeny band of platinum on his left ring finger, reminds him of his responsibilities to bring home the bacon.

And da man is now working on his new movie, Kidnapper, directed by Rule #1's Kelvin Tong.

(With one wedding dinner in Singapore for at least 1,000 guests and another dinner in Malacca - on top of the Teochew custom of giving the bride four gold jewellery items - God knows he needs the money!)

Playing undoubtedly the most handsome cabby in Singapore in the movie, he will have more than 100 weepy scenes after his screen son gets abducted by a rogue played by Malaysian actor-DJ Jack Lim.

Hugs

And for all that effort, precocious child actor Gerald Tan (aka the young Tay Ping Hui in Channel 8's The Ultimatum) thinks Chris is only 'okay-looking'.

But no worries, there's a warm bosom to come home to after much blubbering on set.

Chris confided happily that the wife, in Singapore for a break until next month, teases and gives him a big hug every time he comes home with puffy eyes.

And when Fann has had an exhausting day of filming crying scenes, Chris would sayang (cuddle in Malay) her and take her out for a good meal to 'replenish her energy'.

But Fann didn't used to be so welcoming though.

Chris said: 'She used to push me away because the prickly hairs on my beard and moustache hurt her.

'Now that the hairs are longer, it isn't painful for her anymore. She thinks it looks good on me too!'

He is even now considering keeping that facial fluff for their big day on 29 Sep.

All would depend on his wedding suit, he said, which he hasn't seen yet.

Just as long as he doesn't mind looking like a old scruffy uncle next to the ever-youthful Fann.

---

LOVE STORY

1996 - Christopher Lee and Fann Wong act together for the first time in the Channel 8 drama Brave New World.

1999 - Fann breaks up with her businessman boyfriend but not before slapping him outside Zouk after spotting him with another woman.

Aug 2001 - Chris and Fann are spotted holding hands while on vacation in Bali.

May 2003 - Chris claims he parks his car at Fann's house at Upper Thomson only because it was a convenient place. His car has been spotted many times there.

Jan 2004 - An unnamed source tells Shin Min Daily News that Fann and Chris has bought units in the same condominium block. Chris admits he has been staying there for half a year.

Dec 2004 - Fann releases a book of her drawings, including a sketch of a man skipping outside her house. Chris is widely known to skip to keep in shape.

Feb 2005 - A source close to Fann reveals she will move into a studio apartment with Chris. The latter neither confirms nor deny the rumour, while Fann could not be reached for comment.

Apr 2005 - Fann denies Chris is her boyfriend. However, Chris admits to TNP's Sylvia Toh Paik Choo that they are together.

May 2005 - They finally go public about their three-year relationship and said they hope to be married before they turn 40.

Dec 2005 - Zoe Tay goes on stage during Star Awards and badgers Chris to propose to Fann.

May 2009 - They register their marriage in a suite at The Shangri-La Hotel.

Torn wedding photos strewn on Jurong street

AN UNUSUAL sight greeted Madam Wu Rong and her son when she was taking him to school on Monday morning .

CLOSE-UP: A closer look shows the pictures are of different couples. PICTURES: LIANHE WANBAO

Strewn on the pavement, grass patch and the road at Jurong East Street 32 were numerous torn wedding photographs.

The 41-year-old housewife told The New Paper in Mandarin: 'There were at least 100 photos and it was strewn over a 100m area.'

The first thought that came to her mind was that it could be the result of an ugly divorce.

That's what she told her son, 8, when he asked her what she made of the strange sight.

'I told him that maybe a couple had broken up and that they were having a tough time,' said Madam Wu.

SCATTERED: The torn pictures on Jurong East Street 32.

But she later realised that the photos had different couples in them. She then called the Lianhe Wanbao hotline.

'The streets were really untidy because of the photos - they were everywhere,' she said.

So how did the photos end up on the streets?

According to a cleaner in the vicinity, a bag of trash had fallen off a garbage truck.

The cleaner told Wanbao that the bag, which contained the torn wedding photos, fell off as it was not tied up properly, and the photos fell out of the bag.

There were also dozens of name cards of a wedding planning company.

When The New Paper contacted the company, a man who identified himself as the manager and who gave his name only as Mr Chai, said one of its female employees, who lives in Jurong East, could have taken the wedding photos home.

He said the torn photos were 'rejects' from its clients and were meant to be disposed of.

A check with wedding boutiques found that some of them print photos to show their clients.

'Sometimes, our employees take work home, and this was one of those occasions,' he added.

According to him, this is the first time an incident like this has happened.

'We will discourage our workers from taking work home from now on,' Mr Chai added.

A spokesman from the company told Wanbao that it shreds rejected photos in a shredding machine.

If the photos are too big to go into the machine, they would then be cut up so that their clients' faces cannot be identified.

A wedding coordinator, Ms Abbey from My Bridal Room, told The New Paper that its practice is to cut out the faces of their clients or use a penknife to scratch out faces before throwing the photos away.

'Our policy is to make sure our clients cannot be identified in the photos we throw away,' she said.

Mr Gordon Ang, 32, director of Wedding Matters, said the company usually returns rejected photos to the couple or to the photographer.

'We don't keep any photos at all, unless it's for advertising purposes,' he said.

Jovita Chua, newsroom intern

Marriage Enrichment Seminar

Sunner Romance Bridal Fair

李铭顺剪小平头拍婚照 获文芳支持

李铭顺最近刚投入唐永健惊悚电影《绑匪》拍摄，昨天蓄着胡子与小平头亮相，他说：“虽然结婚照还没拍，但文芳支持我剪小平头。这个造型对电影有帮助，以工作为优先。”他说发型师颜天发届时会根据这个短发，来设计他的婚照造型。

李铭顺在《绑》中原是留着较长的头发，但为了让片中的德士司机角色更有说服力，才剪了小平头。他也是第一次为戏留胡子，很喜欢目前的新造型。

他表明与文芳想过到日本或欧洲拍结婚照：“但还是得看能不能挪出时间。”

李铭顺赞郭蕙雯“进步很多”

《绑》中李铭顺有个9岁至10岁的儿子，他不介意有个那么大的孩子：“我过了30岁以后，就可以接受演爸爸。本地市场小，艺人的机会不多，若自我限 制这个不可演，那个不可演，会失去许多机会。”他与第一女主角郭妃丽有多场对手戏，反而与戏中的太太只有几场：“她只是客串，我还不知道她是谁。”

谈到终于熬成第一女主角的另一女星郭蕙雯，李铭顺说：“她已走了一段路，能胜任女主角，我在《仙人掌》与她合作过，这回再度合作，她进步很多。”

李铭顺在《绑匪》与将推出的电视剧《难兄烂弟》都饰演草根的角色，出席记者会，他满头黑白发穿插，流露出成熟男性的魅力，他打趣说：“草根的角色比较颓废，我轻松得很，白发都不必染。”

郑各评靠保养装“小”

他在《难》中演冷气工人，与死党郑各评因故反目。40多岁的郑各评越来越有魅力，身材好，演技好，名气也越来越红，两人在《难》都是第一男主角。各评这号熟男的崛起是不是给他很大压力？顺哥说：“不会，多几个性格男星，编剧写剧本也更好发挥。”

郑各评说现实中有不少“烂兄”朋友，他们最常的问题是借钱，他的数万元有借无还：“现在学乖了，不借了！”他在现实中较顺哥大好几岁，《难》中反比他小，他说自己还特地去美容院保养一番。

朱厚任与陈丽贞是记者会上最幽默的艺人，顺哥的角色叫“有权”，各评叫“英磅”，林晓佩叫“美金”，厚任说：“这部戏很精彩，有英磅、美金和有权，一定要看。”剧中性感，还唱《热情的沙漠》的陈丽贞则说：“剧中有老娘在，其他人都凶不起来！”

《难兄烂弟》下个月8日起，每逢星期一至五晚上9时在8频道播映。

莫小玲遭“非礼”

郑各评：

小玲的翘臀最美

莫小玲前天凌晨在酒廊遭“非礼”，新闻还未曝光前，曾在电视剧中跟她搭档的郑各评已听闻。昨午出席《难兄烂弟》记者会的郑各评接受本报访问时透露：“她是个有魅力的女人，她的翘臀是东方女性中少见的！”

郑各评说一听到消息时，先关心她被摸到哪个部位：“小玲的腿与臀部最美，男人很难抵抗。”他说小玲很爱去喝酒，他与慧芳曾与她一起上夜店：“有时我们自己去，也会遇到她，通常有一班女性朋友陪她去，她酒量很不错。”他说自己还未打电话慰问小玲：“等一下有空会打给她。”

钟琴：报案是正确的处理方式

昨午出席《抢摊大行动2》记者会的钟琴，听闻莫小玲在夜店遭非礼时惊讶地说：“为什么会有人那么大胆非礼艺人！”

钟琴说自己不在现场，不宜置评谁对谁错，不过小玲报案是正确的处理：“小玲是个直率的人，有话直说。”她说不曾与同事包括小玲去夜店喝酒。

新传媒艺人莫小玲前天凌晨到克拉码头的某夜店狂欢，遭到一醉酒男人先扭臀部，小玲震惊怒喝对方，不料对方竟再摸她的敏感部位。

莫小玲忍无可忍，要求夜店巡场将他请出去，男子没离开，她上前与他大吵起来，引起现场不少人围观，事情越闹越大，莫小玲拨电向警方求救，警察凌晨3时20分左右抵达，并将该男子逮捕。

莫小玲证实已报案：“已是警方的案件了，我不会再多说什么！”

在非礼罪名下遭逮捕的男子已获保释外出。警方在接受本报记者的查询时证实，22日凌晨接获求救电话，抵达后，以非礼罪将一名31岁华裔男子逮捕以协助调查。传闻该男子是新传媒艺人陈汉玮的朋友，陈汉玮回应媒体：“有这样的事吗？我去问问朋友。”

《抢摊大行动2》惊吓连连

主持新一系列的《抢摊大行动2》，钟琴透露内容：“惊吓连连。”另一主持人权怡凤则说：“很真实，可看到节目中的人真正成功与失败的原因，还有人的悲欢离合。”她也说每一集虽拍4天，但一个摊位得跟3个月，几摊交错跟拍，是相当辛苦的一个节目。

They bond over TNP$

Newlyweds win widescreen TV with TNP$600,000 bid

THEY spent many nights together huddled on the floor of their living room, cutting, counting and sorting The New Paper Dollars (TNP$).

HAPPY COUPLE: Mr and Mrs Koh with the TNP$ they collected. TNP PICTURE: HAN YONGMING

For newlyweds Benjamin and Priscilla Koh, The New Paper Auction not only won them a 47' Philips TV sponsored by Courts, it also provided them with a chance to bond.

The couple won with a bid of more than TNP$600,000.

'Every time we finished cutting and sorting, we would wash each other's hands, and compare to see whose hands were dirtier,' said Mrs Koh, 25, a private tutor, laughing.

The couple was at the Singapore Press Holdings Press Centre yesterday to have their TNP$ counted by marketing staff. It took marketing officer Emily Peh an hour to count all their TNP$.

Mr Koh, 26, a civil servant, said: 'We would often joke about spending quality time together cutting out TNP$.'

They would start cutting and sorting TNP$ at 8pm, and end as late as 1am, he said.

The couple started collecting TNP$ in early May, buying up to 400 copies of the newspaper in a day.

'Collecting TNP$ became a common goal for us,' said Mrs Koh. 'We would SMS each other every day to check how many copies we'd already bought.'

What kept them going, said Mr Koh, was the 'thrill of it'.

They were kept on their toes predicting how much TNP$ would be printed on the front page the next day.

'We got worried once because we hadn't seen the TNP$500 bill in a long time,' said Mrs Koh.

So when the TNP$500 bill was printed, they rushed to snap up copies of The New Paper - more than 400 of them, said Mr Koh.

He laughed: 'We got many weird stares at newspaper vendors when we cleared the shelves of The New Paper that day.'

The couple has since spent more than $1,000 on copies of The New Paper.

But they said it's worth every cent.

The Philips HDTV they won usually retails for $6,599.

The Courts series of The New Paper Auction ended last Sunday.

本地调查：67％男子不介意与高薪女交往

67％的本地男性不介意与薪水较高的女性交往！

相对的，53％的本地女性排斥与收入比自己低的男性交往。

这项由本地红娘公司Lunch Actually针对本地、香港及马来西亚共600名单身男女进行的调查显示，本地女性比男性较重视另一半的经济能力及学历。

本地男性则较注重外表，并不会因为女性的学历与收入优势而排斥与她们交往。

马来西亚和香港的男性也很愿意与高学历、高收入的女性交往。在香港，不介意另一半收入较高的男性多达78％。

参与调查的男女表示，他们之所以仍然单身，是因为还没有遇到想要交往的对象。

Lunch Actually创办人林笑岏解释说：“许多男女都向往，能够在偶然的情况下，遇见心仪的对象，缺少主动寻找爱情的动力。这或许是因为电影中的男女主角通常都是在街上偶然相遇的，让人们对这样的机遇产生期望。”

林笑岏说，在现实生活中，要偶然遇见心仪的对象是相当困难的，单身人士应该主动寻找另一半。

在参与调查的三个国家当中，本地男女最常参与为单身人士举办的活动以及网上交友，但是，只有48％的国人选择通过自我提升让自己更具吸引力，这比香港的60％逊色许多。

校园萌恋情 回母校结婚

校园内恋情萌芽，新人回母校完成终身大事！

勿洛的尚志中学昨午上演温馨感人一幕，一对青梅竹马相识了14年的旧同窗，当年在校园共堕爱河，拥有许多美好的回忆，决定重回母校，注册结婚。

选择在校园共结连理的新人，是27岁的陈俊鑫（资讯科技顾问）以及林慧玲（接线员），两人都是尚志中学的旧校友，14年前是同班同学。两人念中三时 曾一度日久生情，毕业后虽然各奔前程，但一直都保持联络，一直到2年多前正式交往。母校对这对新人来说，不但孕育他们成才，也是撮合他们的地方，别具意 义。

新娘子林慧玲说：“在母校注册的主意是我想出来的，我们去年底决定结婚之后，我便决定要在一个有象征意义的地方进行注册仪式，因此电邮了我们的母校，而学校也欣然答应。”

一对新人昨天下午2时许，在学校的花园中央作了简单的摆设，在注册官的见证下，相互许下承诺，结为夫妻。现场迎来大约30名亲戚和密友，送上了真挚的祝福，场面温馨。

女方的母亲蔡女士（58岁）说：“女儿当初说要在学校注册，我原本并不赞成，不过后来女儿积极地向母校申请，说服了我。如今看到女儿这么幸福，也为她感到高兴。”

12年前级任老师 特地回母校观礼

12年前的级任老师，特地回母校观礼助兴！

一对新人不求铺张，注册仪式一切从简，受邀出席观礼的亲友不多，其中一名特地前来的，是两人当年中三的级任老师。

这名前级任老师卓秀兰（39岁）说，她收到了女方的邀请前来，但却一直到重返学校时才知道新郎也是同班的学生，又惊又喜。她表示，自己和这对新人的关系一向来亲密，他们毕业后离校多年，大家都还保持联络。

她说：“我自己也已经离开这间学校多年，再次回到这里，见证我当年的学生注册结婚，实在非常难忘。”

53岁娶19岁 本地越来越多老牛娶嫩草

本地越来越多老牛娶嫩草！

根据国家人口秘书处上周公布的最新数据显示，年龄在40岁以上的本地男子娶外籍新娘的百分比，已从1998年的18％上升至去年的35％。

在这些异国通婚的个案中，五分之四的新娘是在40岁以下，超过90％是来自亚洲国家和地区。

53岁的离婚公司董事叶福顺就是一个典型的例子，他在今年2月娶19岁越南女子吴（Ngo)小姐为妻。

叶福顺是一家电子公司的董事，他在5年前离婚，育有两名年龄分别是21岁和23岁的儿子。他和吴小姐是通过婚姻介绍所认识的，他说，他和少妻的年龄虽然相差34年，但是这个差距并没有影响他们的新婚生活。

这名少妻婚前在新加坡是一个油站当添油员。叶福顺受访时说，去年11月，他到位于乌节商业中心（Orchard Plaza）的一家国际婚姻介绍所寻求协助物色对象，他一眼看到吴小姐就对她一见钟情。他告诉《海峡时报星期刊》说：“我很难形容这种感觉，总之就像心有 灵犀的感觉。”

当时，吴小姐是和其他约10个来自越南的年轻姑娘坐在婚姻介绍所里，她们都在等“意中人”的到来。

几天后，他就通知该婚姻介绍所有意要和吴小姐共结连理。吴小姐也同意了。在婚前的3个月，他们两人几乎是天天见面，到圣淘沙和东海岸公园拍拖，生活很甜蜜。

吴小姐是来自越南和柬埔寨边界的一个村庄，父母亲是卖面的，育有4个孩子。吴小姐虽然只能说几句华语，他们之间还是可以沟通。她的大姐（20多岁）也嫁到台湾去。

董事带新娘 到越南宴客

今年2月，叶福顺带着新娘子到越南的家乡摆20座酒席，很体面的，而且还请来了乐队呈献娱兴节目。过后，叶福顺又在新加坡，靠近芳林公园的韩江大酒楼摆10桌酒席，宴请亲友。他的前妻不允许两个儿子出席宴会。

叶福顺花在婚姻介绍费和酒席的费用总计是2万元左右。

‘嫌我老了 就换一个’

叶福顺的两个儿子鼓励他再娶。他说：“我的儿子都是受英文教育的，思想比较开通。

叶福顺也鼓励朋友娶外国女子，他说：“因为她们不像新加坡女子那么多要求，对婚姻的期望也没有这么高。”

他说：“每当我和妻子到咖啡店用餐，周围的人都会投来异样的眼光，但我一点也不介意，这表示我的妻子漂亮嘛！”

叶福顺的一些朋友还甚至把他的少妻当作他的女儿。可是他一点也不觉得尴尬。

他们两人和叶的93岁高龄母亲，同住在实龙岗的一个共管公寓单位，家中有一名女佣。

如果叶福顺年纪越来越大，吴小姐嫌他太老要离他而去时，怎么办？他只是淡淡的说：“如果她不要我，我就换另一个女人。”

本地歌台新红人 小邓丽君未婚先孕

歌台新红人“小邓丽君”未婚先孕，台主陈志伟是孩子的爸爸！

继“嫩草怀孕疑云”后，娱乐圈再传怀孕喜事，歌台台主陈志伟去年底与泰国妻子离婚后，与“小邓丽君”袁瑾谱恋曲，对方已怀了他的骨肉，男胎已5个月大。

两人接受本报独家专访时证实传闻，陈志伟已准备给袁瑾一个名份，计划在孩子摆满月酒时，一起注册结婚和办婚宴，庆祝三喜临门。

目前，袁瑾已经搬进位于勿洛的陈家，以准媳妇的身份，接受未来家婆的细心照料。

袁瑾也将从“女友变女助理”，协助未来老公打拼歌台事业，她已辞去在歌舞厅当歌星经理的高薪工作，全心养胎。

本报记者日前专访陈建彬，他在澄清“嫩草”没怀孕的当儿，无意间爆料说：“我的女助理绝对是没怀孕，但是歌台圈有人怀孕，她就是志伟的‘老婆’袁瑾。”

出道时人称“最年轻台主”

去年11月初，陈志伟在歌台天王林利的丧礼上，还首次介绍泰国妻子给媒体认识。因此记者听到消息后，心中难免充满疑问，便第一时间找陈志伟求证。

33岁的陈志伟是丽星舞台秀台主，出道时号称“最年轻台主”，今年新年办了30场歌台，他的歌台精心策划、格调前卫，近年来带动一股歌台热，曾参与《881》和《十二莲花》的歌台电影制作。

人美歌甜的袁瑾，曾在上海教书，10年前来狮城在语言中心当华文老师，已成为我国公民。她能唱5种语言的歌曲，包括中文、英文、日本、福建和广东歌。她去年七月初登歌台，就接满40场歌台。

Age is only a number in dating game

Women who marry younger husbands are likely to have a shorter life expectancy.

The younger their husbands are, the more likely they will live a short life, said a study released last month.

For instance, women with husbands seven to nine years younger have a 20 per cent higher chance of death, compared to women who marry men their age.

But the risk rises to 30 per cent if the age difference is 15 to 17 years.

Women my paper spoke to were not too concerned by the findings.

Freelance writer Ana Ow, 33, said: "It's not realistic that someone looks for a partner with such studies in mind. People find their life partners because of an emotional connection."

Her husband is 22 years old.

Miss Jaclyn Lam, 26, said the study would only be at the "back of my head" because there are more important factors to consider when finding her partner. "Factors like common interests and feelings for the person," said the civil servant.

The study was done by Germany-based Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research. It covered 1.9 million people aged 50 and above in Denmark from 1990 to 2005.

It also found that men with wives seven to nine years younger have a 10 per cent lower risk of death, compared to men with wives of a similar age. The risk decreases further with even younger wives.

Max Planck Institute researcher Sven Drefahl told my paper that the reasons behind the results for women are not clear as few studies have been done on them.

He noted that younger partners are generally able to provide better care for their spouses because they tend to be healthier than older partners.

This, Mr Drefahl said, could explain why men have a lower chance of dying if they have younger wives.

But he said the most probable reason for the results in men is that "unhealthy men are less likely to be able to find a younger partner attracted to them", compared to men who are healthy.

Dr Francis Ngui, a psychiatrist with Adam Road Medical Centre, said that the study's findings might suggest that when men marry younger women, there could be lifestyle changes, like switching to a healthier diet, that could make a difference to their lifespan.

"But when women marry younger men, perhaps any lifestyle changes that occur do not reduce their risks of dying as they already live longer than men in general," he said.

Why men are marrying younger women

Men have one more reason and a good one at that to marry women much younger than they are.

A recent study showed that those who marry younger women tend to live longer.

However, the reverse is true for women. Women who land themselves younger husbands have a shorter life expectancy.

The survey, by Germany-based Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, covered 1.9 million married people, aged 50 and above, between 1990 and 2005 in Denmark.

Still, the couples and singles who spoke to my paper laughed off the findings, saying instead that love, rather than age, is what binds two persons together.

Civil servant Oliver Chia, 32, whose wife is six years younger than him, said that the study might matter to the older generation of Singaporeans as a man was often viewed as having to provide for his wife.

"So a man needed to be of a certain age and status. But I don't think it applies to my generation," he said.

Health-care professional Goh Chen Si, 30, who married a man 11 years older than her, also dismissed the findings.

"When you meet someone you are attracted to initially but do not know him or her very well, such studies might be a consideration. But once emotions are involved, it doesn't really matter what research says," she said.

Dr Tan Chue Tin, a psychiatrist at Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre here, said that the study's results for men marrying younger women "provide a statistical verification of a commonly observed phenomenon".

But young wives in such marriages could be under a lot of stress, he noted, because the qualities that attract them to older men could attract other younger women, too.