Newsmakers

The great love story behind the BIG group CEO and Bowerhaus co-owner sounds like it should be the newest rom-com of the year. Not as dramatic as Crazy Rich Asians but then again, this is real life. At a ball, her sister Shen-Tel Lee knew that Benjamin was the one for her sister. In fact, she told him so, much to the embarrassment of Elizabeth.

“They came home and told me, ‘We’ve met your future husband, he’s going to be part of the family.’ I said, Oh, he sounds like a creepy person and you guys sound like stalkers.” But then, ten months later while in Malaysia, she had a last minute meet-up with the mystery man and her sister. What was meant to be a quick lunch turned into four hours, with both completely engrossed in conversation. The lunch led to balloons in Kuching, which led to a transit that turned into an all-day date, to them coincidentally living in the same apartment building and sharing melted ice cream by the pool.

“My mother always told me, when you meet the one, you know. When you close your eyes and imagine looking at yourself in the mirror and you’re holding a child, you have to imagine someone standing next to you, who is it. Every single time I tried doing that with anyone it didn’t work. But a few hours after meeting Ben, I could. So I called my mum and said, I think Shen-Tel is right for once, I met my future husband,” she says with a laugh.

Benjamin’s romantic side shone through fairly early in the relationship. “He’s a really big mushball,” to which he argues that he is “more considerate than romantic, but if she thinks it’s romantic more points for me.” She’s been surprised for Valentine’s, dates and even her own engagement, which was extravagant beyond words. But what she really loves about him is “the many little things he does. He’s very thoughtful.” He’s equally mushy when he speaks of her, saying, “There are so many good things about her. She’s kind and considerate and I love that she has a lot of love to give.” Still going strong with two kids in the house, family around and their own businesses to manage, this couple is sailing through life, giggling at and with each other along the way.