…but only fell in love last year, in late 2018. Akira shared in his Instagram post that their “long-standing friendship” had “evolved into something more” ever since they shared the stage in a 2011 production of Red Cliff, where they played husband and wife.

“I felt strongly that I want her to be my partner in life as we see our true selves in each other,” Akira wrote.

After dating secretly for half a year in a long distance relationship, Chi-ling and Akira registered their marriage in Taipei, Taiwan. It’s a significant location for Chi-ling, of course, as she was born there.

The 37-year-old pop singer, whose real name is Ryohei Kurosawa, has been part of the 19-member boy band Exile since 2006. Before that, he made his first debut into the scene in 2004 as part of the group Rather Unique which eventually disbanded.

He has also acted in various movies and dramas and even dabbled in voice acting, having voiced the titular character Mad Max in the Japanese dub of Mad Max: Fury Road.

She speaks Mandarin, English and Japanese fluently which is how she is able to communicate effectively with Akira.

“No matter how busy she may be, she always puts her family, friends and fans before herself and constantly strives to provide love and courage to many people across Asia, always staying true to her roots. I was strongly attracted to her sense of responsibility and caring nature,” he wrote.

“With a smile, she always accepts me for who I am, and I constantly feel nothing but appreciation for her kindness. It pushes me to be better and I truly want to make her happy.” Aww!

The philanthropic star, who loves children, established The Chi-ling Charity Foundation in 2011, which helps to build schools and dormitories in rural parts of China, mainly in the Sichuan province. Chi-ling told CNA in an interview last year that she plans to focus more on her charity work in 2019.

“It makes me sad to think that they don’t have a starting point in their lives – a basic education. If we could just [enable] them to study… Maybe one of them will make it out of their hometowns, and that’ll make all the difference,” she said.

Plans for a wedding ceremony have not been confirmed yet but their agencies have promised to share updates.

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Text: Elizabeth Liew & Tan Gin Yee