At a cosy enclave in the heart of Singapore, behind a white brick and glass facade, Liv Lo sits planning out her schedule for the week.
It’s busy: She’s flying out to London in two weeks, then off to Taiwan for some quality family time with her parents, followed by a red-eye across the ocean over to Los Angeles where she’ll meet up with her husband, Hollywood’s man of the moment, Henry Golding, star of hit film Crazy Rich Asians.
WATCH THIS VIDEO TOO:
Behind-The-Scenes At Our March Cover Shoot With Liv Lo
It’s been somewhat of a whirlwind year for Liv who’s had to re-evaluate her place in the world when her relative anonymity was busted as soon as the love of her life was chosen to play the leading man in Golden Globe nominated rom-com, Crazy Rich Asians.
Henry’s face would go on to plaster the front pages of almost every glossy magazine across the globe. He’s appeared on primetime talk shows, giving interviews to news outlets both big and small, and gracing the red carpets of many a film screening. But beside him through all the pomp and pageantry stands Liv.
Strong & Steady
“Me and Henry, as a couple, we’ve been working really hard with everything going on and even after our marriage, it’s been about two years, everything has kind of changed and shifted. But it’s great,” says the 33-year-old.
“We’ve been preparing for everything to happen for a long time and then now that we’re here, it’s so fantastic to be in this space and to be able to enjoy all of our work and everything we’ve been building towards.”
A lesser woman would perhaps cower at the sudden intrusion that fame can impose on her life.
She could have easily balked at the thought of having to stand in her husband’s shadow following the very public showing of adoration thrown his way, but Liv is not a lesser woman.
“I was asked a question recently which went like this, ‘What limiting belief do you have about yourself that’s hindering you from being who you want to be?’ and for me it was the notion that I could not have a successful career next to Henry. What happened to him was so big, so soon and so sudden that I found myself having to shift with him all of a sudden, too,” she explains.
“I think it’s very important for women to always be working on their self-development, even when it scares us. With Henry’s success, I was thinking ‘I’m not ready! I just started working with FOX movies regularly, I just got comfortable hosting on stage, and being an ambassador with Reebok but now you’re asking me to level up?’ I had to take a good hard look at myself and ask, ‘What can I do to place myself on the international arena that’s my own?’ And that’s how FitSphere came into being.”
Passionate Pursuits
Having taught yoga for 12 years, Liv would find herself feeling unchallenged by the discipline at times, so she decided to push herself out of her comfort zone by adding some high-intensity interval training (HIIT) moves into her routine.
She debuted her signature FitSphere programme at a workshop two years ago. And found the response to be overwhelming.
“I was teaching something like 16 sold-out workshops last year and it got so big I had to take it online. It’s a new phase for FitSphere that I’ve dubbed FitSphere 2.0, which exists alongside two new programmes that I developed last year called FitSphere To-Go and FitSphere Force,” says Liv, who has amassed an Instagram following of over 164,000, and counting.
Most of them are fitness enthusiasts who admire Liv for her healthy lifestyle, toned physique and motivational fitness posts.
“With social media, it’s been really interesting because the more I share about what I love, the more people pick up on it. So I’ve been able to create a really positive network around my personality and I’ve been able to connect with other women – my audience is 76 per cent women at the moment on social – and improve their lives from afar by helping them feel healthy and strong.”
Surprisingly, Liv’s personal pursuits have kept her closer rather than further apart from her husband.
“FitSphere also came from that need to travel and be on the road. I knew that I was going to be with him wherever he is. Taking everything online and going digital has really helped with that. I get to reach a wider audience, and at the same time be able to keep up with Henry,” she says proudly.
“Because, at the end of the day, this is a partnership that we have made and for better or for worse, no matter what happens around us, we’re still a married couple. We’re still Liv and Henry.”
Wanna look like Liv? Here’s how the Insta-famous fitness guru stays fit even when she’s busy:
Love & Loss
As this issue hit the stands in late February, Liv was hit with news that would shatter her world view: Her younger brother was gone, having passed away in a automobile accident after being heavily intoxicated.
After a short hiatus from social media, Liv gave her reaction to the news in an Instagram post while in Los Angeles with her hubby Henry Golding for the Oscars.
Here’s the full video of her update:
View this post on Instagram
The host and fitness star was also thankful for all the condolence messages that she has received with regards to the Instagram post of her brother’s passing.
“[That] may be alot to share on social media, especially since I don’t know many of you personally, but I hope that from my experience, you can learn as well,” she said.
Time Is Precious
“What I have learnt ultimately from his untimely passing is that time is precious — it really, really is, every moment we have is truly precious,” Liv said.
In the past, Liv spent five hours a day on social media, and was “the kind of girl who would have a glass of wine every night”.
Now, the star limits her social media time to just two hours a day, and has stopped drinking altogether.
“I may hold a glass at events… but I’ve had such clarity since not drinking. This is crazy to say, but I thought I was only going to stop drinking when I’m pregnant, but something like this has just changed my life,” she revealed.
“I don’t cite social media or alcohol as a reason for his passing, but it’s the way that I have come to understand that I really need to be more healthy and improve few areas of my life. I think that he (Sam) would have wanted that of me,” added Liv, who already eats well and works out a tonne judging by her Instagram feed.
Our condolences go out to our March 2019 cover girl and her family.
While Liv continues to mourn the passing of her beloved brother, she knows that life goes on no matter what and she counts her blessings that she has the support of loved ones, like friends, family and of course her hubby, Henry Golding. Here’s a look at what the pair got up to in Hollywood during Oscar season:
CREDITS
Art Direction: Janice Pidduck
Photos: Joel Lim/Calibre Pictures & Instagram: @livlo
Styling: Grace Lim
Hair: Ash Loi/Sonder Salon, using Keune Haircosmetics
Makeup: Keith Bryant Lee, using Lancôme
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