Out in the open

SINGAPORE — Before Shaun Chen posted his first family photo onto Instagram on Father’s Day, he told his wife to be prepared for what losing her anonymity might result in.

The actor had previously chosen not to reveal images of his wife in order to protect her and their six-month-old daughter, Nellie, from public scrutiny. “I was afraid people would look at me differently and say or write nasty things,” he said.

But his wife, a former beautician from Malaysia, wasn’t happy with having to hide her identity. “She felt that she couldn’t tell people who her husband and child were, and that she couldn’t reveal much on social media or give her friends straight answers to their questions,” Chen said. So, “I thought it was time to unveil my family”.

Before he did so, he told his wife: “‘You must have no regrets. You must know how to handle yourself. People might say bad things about you. Are you okay with that?’ She said, ‘I’m fine with that’.”

As Chen had feared, “weird comments” did appear under his post. “People said, ‘Oh, your wife is very beautiful compared to your ex. She’s younger’. And, ‘Since your ex-wife didn’t want to have children, you found someone else to have your kids’,” he shared, grimacing. Chen was previously married to actress Michelle Chia. “This kind of thing is really, really bad. It shows a lack of morals,” he said. “If you don’t like me, don’t comment. If you don’t know me, don’t try to hurt me.”

Chen was speaking to TODAY on Tuesday after a press conference for an upcoming Channel 8 blockbuster drama, The Dream Job.

Apart from the Instagram unveiling, life hasn’t changed much for the new father, who proudly proclaimed himself a diaper dad in spite of the fact that, he confessed candidly, “I don’t think she looks much like me”.

Chen, who is planning to apply for permanent residency for his wife, said his daughter’s features “are more like her mother’s”.

“But she has more of my personality. She is the tough kind,” he added — although “her mother is also quite strong — she can lift me off my feet!”

In The Dream Job, Chen stars as an illegitimate son who secretly plots against his wealthy father (played by Hugo Ng). It’s a role that he thinks will give him a good chance of being nominated for Best Actor at next year’s Star Awards.

“I’m very satisfied with my performance,” he said. “It reflects a lot of inner emotions including hatred, unhappiness and scheming. I think the storyline and pace of the show were very suitable for me as an actor — the character is both good and bad at the same time, and I think I am an actor who can take on both of those character elements.”

Some of The Dream Job’s scenes were filmed in Perth, Australia, which Chen enjoyed very much. This October, he plans to take his family back to Australia for their first vacation together, spending nine days in Sydney and Gold Coast. “My wife’s brother-in-law lives in Gold Coast, so we are going to see him together with her three sisters and her mother,” he said.

He isn’t too worried about travelling with a young child. “Nellie is quite a good baby. She’s not noisy or fussy,” he said. “But she wakes up in the middle of the night and wants to play instead of sleep. What a headache! If she doesn’t sleep well, she won’t grow properly!”

Catch The Dream Job starting June 28, weekdays at 9pm on Mediacorp TV Channel 8.