Meet CLEO’s Coolest Couple

Forget cheesy matching couple T-shirts and never-ending streams of PDA on social media. When it comes to being the cool couple, less is always more. But it’s not just about style, as we learnt from the newly-minted CLEO’s Coolest Couple – it’s about attitude, which they doled out in spades.

Portrait of Tammy Strobel
Forget cheesy matching couple T-shirts and never-ending streams of PDA on social media. When it comes to being the cool couple, less is always more. But it’s not just about style, as we learnt from the newly-minted CLEO’s Coolest Couple – it’s about attitude, which they doled out in spades.
Ivanho Harlim, Shysilia Novita
Ivanho Harlim, Shysilia Novita

Once upon a time...

Turns out, love at first sight is not just a romcom cliche for this couple.

When Steph first laid eyes on Xiang Ming five years ago during rehearsals for a dance showcase, she immediately declared to her friends that he was her eye candy. But instead of waiting for him to make the first move, the anti-damsel-indistress took matters into her own hands and added him on Facebook first, initiating the conversation.

“We texted each other fairly often, but there weren’t any signs that he liked me,” recounts Steph. “So I was really shocked when he confessed that he had feelings for me. It felt like I had won the first prize in the lottery!”

Their four-year-old romance has seen the pair sticking by each other through various milestones in life, like their university graduations and first jobs.

“It’s like we went from being kids to official adults,” says Steph with a laugh. When asked about why they make such a good couple, we’re hardly surprised when both of them gave the same answer: mutual understanding.

For Xiang Ming, who works in the finance sector, working hours can get quite crazy at times. A typical workday sees him reporting to the office at 1pm and knocking off only at 10pm, which leaves little room for other activities outside of weekends.

“She’s so understanding – she never complains that I don’t have enough time for her,” he gushes.

Just like any other pair of lovebirds of the new millenium, they often post couple pictures on social media. But instead of your usual selfies during Sunday brunch, the too-cool-for-school pair opts for matching OOTDs that will give Kimye a run for their Yeezys.

It takes hard work to maintain a stable relationship in the age of texting and Tinder, where breakups can happen easily over WhatsApp and a new squeeze can be found just by swiping right on your phone. What then, is their secret?

“Communication and transparency. You have to be very honest with each other in a relationship, because if you don’t put everything on the table from the start, it’ll snowball into something bigger,” divulges Xiang Ming.

“You can’t expect your partner to just magically understand you if you don’t say exactly what’s on your mind. If you assume that they know, then it’s easy to have misunderstandings,” Steph elaborates. Sounds like common sense, until you realise how many relationships have failed because people weren’t being honest with each other. All you starry-eyed lovers, are you taking notes?

Ivanho Harlim, Shysilia Novita
Ivanho Harlim, Shysilia Novita

He said…

The thing I love most about her is… her character. She has a strong personality and is very independent.

Her best feature is… her eyes and smile. I like it best when she doesn’t have any makeup on.

The most romantic thing she’s ever done for me is… buy a tanning kit for me. It was when I wanted to audition for a part as a parade performer at Universal Studios Singapore, but the role required me to be tanned. I couldn’t get a tan in time for the auditions, so she bought a selftanning kit for me. I later found out that it was quite expensive and she wasn’t earning much then. To me, it was very romantic.

I realised it’s love when… I found myself doing things that I’ve never done for anyone else before, like folding tons of paper stars to fill up a jar – that was so tedious! I knew that I’d fallen in love with Steph when I realised that I’m very willing to go the extra mile for her.

To me, love means… being able to sit with each other in silence and not feel awkward.

The one piece of relationship advice that I have is… to always show appreciation for your partner. Remember to say thank you whenever they do something for you, like sending you home or buying you a gift. Don’t ever think that they’re supposed to do all that just because they’re your boyfriend or girlfriend.

Ivanho Harlim, Shysilia Novita
Ivanho Harlim, Shysilia Novita

She said…

The thing I love most about him is… his dorkiness. It gets annoying sometimes, but he’s very funny. He’s also very caring, and always puts me before himself. That’s husband material! We have yet to [buy a] BTO (Build To Order flat) but he’s The One, for sure.

His best feature is… his jawline. I like guys with very strong jawlines because they look very masculine.

The most romantic thing he’s ever done for me is… when he hid two CC Skye bracelets in my room for my birthday, and gave me little clues on their whereabouts. I was really surprised! I thought he only bought me a shoe bag at first.

I realised it’s love when… I began to feel very comfortable around him. That’s when it hit me that I could be with this man for the rest of my life.

To me, love means… not looking for the perfect one, but finding someone that brings out the best in you.

The one piece of relationship advice that I have is… to not harp on the bad things. Nobody is perfect, and before you pick on your partner’s bad traits, it’s best to consider if they’re really that detrimental to the relationship.

The Five Rules of Being a Cool Couple

As told by Steph and Xiang Ming.

1 Never ever air your dirty laundry in public. Posting about your arguments on social media is never cool.

2 Be yourself around each other. You don’t have to tone down your quirks around the person you love.

3 A relationship is about compromise; learn how to give and take.

4 Say yes to adventure. Always try to do something that the both of you have never done before, even if it scares you.

5 Always dress up for a date. It takes a little effort but your partner will appreciate it when you look nice for them.