Entertainment

Jeffrey Xu Has Moved Out Of His Bukit Timah Bungalow to Experience Living Like a Local

2022-09-24 , 12:38 pm

In every country, there are always the more “atas” neighbourhoods, and Singapore is no different.

But while some of us might dream of living in these fancy neighbourhoods and living out our best taitai lives, it seems like some people who live (or, used to live) in them have moved out for their own reasons that others might not be able to relate to.

Amongst these people is Jeffrey Xu, a Mediacorp actor and former actress Felicia Chin’s fiancé.

Recently, the 33-year-old revealed on Hear U Out, Channel 8’s talk show hosted by fellow artiste Quan Yi Fong, that he was influenced by Chin to move out of his Bukit Timah bungalow to “integrate” into Singaporean society.

Didn’t Feel a Sense of Belonging in Singapore Until He Met Chin

During the newest episode of the talk show, which has hosted other local celebrities such as Mark Lee and Brandon Wong, Xu admitted that he never felt like he “belonged in Singapore”.

However, that all changed when he met Chin, who is three years his senior.

Xu, who is originally from Shanghai, China, credited his fiancée for allowing him to realise his “connection” to this country despite him initially feeling that he would only be based in Singapore temporarily. In particular, he even shared how he thought he would someday leave Singapore after working.

The actor then told Quan that he used to not know the difference between hawker centres, coffee shops and food courts in Singapore, and had no knowledge about how he should pay his utility bills either.

After meeting Chin, however, he started to gain more insight into the local lifestyle. Gradually, she also managed to convince him to move out of his bungalow at Bukit Timah.

Regarding this, he shared that he told himself the importance of living like a local since it would let him understand his environment and help him take on local characters in the future better.

Of course, most of us would probably be willing to do the opposite instead.

Did Not Even Know Where Singapore is Before Travelling Over

And if you think only non-Asians have difficulties figuring out where Singapore is, you’re completely wrong.

For Xu, who first came to Singapore over a decade ago in 2010 to participate in Star Search 2010, he did not even know where Singapore was situated at.

(So no, foreigners, Singapore’s clearly not in China.)

After his agent in China recommended him to take part in Star Search, Xu agreed but had one question: Where was Singapore?

Additionally, he recalled how he “never thought” it would be a scam despite not even knowing where Singapore was.

He explained that he “would really have fallen victim” to it if the programme had been a scam back then. (Thankfully, scams weren’t as advanced as they are now.)

However, he added that he was extremely “hungry for success” when he was younger and attended all the casting calls that he could, which prompted him to take a leap of faith and participate in the programme.

And it seems like that leap of faith did end up working in his favour, for he ended up being the tenth winner of the popular Star Search series and even ended up being named one of the 8 Dukes of Caldecott Hill in 2014.

More recently, he got engaged to Chin, also a former Star Search winner, in August this year after dating her for seven years.

Chin “Gives In” to Xu More

During the talk show, Xu also shared more details about his relationship with Chin.

He admitted that they are still an “ordinary couple” like others and do get into their own share of arguments as well.

As for who “wins” them more, Xu told Quan that Chin tends to “give in” to him more, but also acknowledged that he is stubborn and prideful at times which prevents him from “making the first move” after arguing.

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Couple Have Completely Opposite Personalities

Apart from that, Xu also mentioned how he and his fiancée have extremely “different” personalities since Chin is more “spontaneous” while Xu, who describes himself as more “organised” and “strict”, is the opposite.

When Quan asked if Chin is truly so laid-back in life, Xu insisted that she is, and that she does not ever regret anything that she does.

She also finds a silver lining in any situation, according to her fiancé.

And even though their personalities do clash at times, Xu spoke highly of how his partner deals with these arguments and praised her positivity when she faces difficulties.

Chin’s positive attitude has also influenced Xu himself, for she does try to show Xu that “things are not as bad” as he thinks, which encourages him to “accept” whatever obstacles that stand in his way.

Xu also talked about the importance of “adjusting” to each other’s behaviours due to their differences.