Kenneth Ma Reveals The "Biggest Problem" He Has Living With Girlfriend Roxanne Tong & How They're Considering Having A Wedding In Singapore Next Year

We've long known Kenneth Ma and Roxanne Tong to be a very sweet couple, but hearing the TVB actor gush about his girlfriend in person? Well, it almost gave us a sugar rush.

When 8days.sg arrived at co-working space JustCo at The Centrepoint last Friday (Dec 9), we spotted Kenneth, who was in town recently with Eric Tsang and Elaine Yiu, oddly quiet while getting interviewed by the Chinese media.

When Kenneth finally spoke up, we realised that it had something to do with how he's not exactly fluent in Mandarin.

So when it was our turn to chat with the 48-year-old star, we asked if he wanted to speak in Cantonese, and boy, did his eyes light up.

"Oh, I can speak Cantonese?!" he asked, his expression wide-eyed like a kid on Christmas morning. "That's great! Wow, [I'm] totally relaxed now that I can speak Cantonese." 

With the language barrier out of the way, we felt it fit to ask the actor about his relationship with Roxanne, 35.

While we were initially worried that he might balk at our line of questioning, it turned out that Kenneth, who's known to be one of the nicest stars in Hong Kong, actually enjoys talking about his girlfriend.

Kenneth looking dapper in his black and white suit at JustCo. Centrepoint

 

 

You and Roxanne recently started living together, have you learnt anything new about each other?

Not really, but the biggest problem we discovered is that we both don’t know how to iron clothes (laughs). When I used to live with my family, my mum would iron my clothes. You know, when we're working, we’re so busy. So when someone irons your clothes for you, you can just wear them. But because she and I both don’t know how to iron, our clothes are so creased. We can’t wear them out! (Chuckles)

We never expected that ironing clothes would be the biggest problem. Surprisingly, cooking, doing the dishes, mopping and vacuuming the floor haven't been much of an issue. Even looking after the cats isn't a problem! (laughs)

We know you're a huge fan of Donald Duck and you have a massive collection of memorabilia featuring the Disney character. Did you bring any over to your new house?

Just a few. The main ones are still at my old house. It's because we have two cats, and you know how they like to push things over? (Laughs) So I don’t dare to bring my Donald Ducks over (chuckles).

See, Kenneth really loves his Donald Ducks... But looks like the cats have taken over?

You mentioned in an interview that you accidentally stained Roxanne's shirt while doing the laundry. Have you gotten better with doing household chores yet?

Yes, I've become more familiar [with doing the chores]. Now I'm faster when I wash the dishes, and I also know how to separate the clothes [when doing the laundry]. I used to only to separate the light coloured clothes from the dark coloured ones. Now I know you can further differentiate them.

You really learn from your mistakes (laughs). She had this very white [shirt], I think they were her pyjamas, and they were pure white. And I stained it until it became slightly yellow. (Chuckles) 

Did she complain about it?

She did, but she’s usually okay once she’s done complaining. Actually I didn’t even notice it, she was the one who did. Maybe she’s just more sensitive to colours (laughs).

Kenneth and Roxanne at ex-TVB actor Stephen Wong's wedding in Sep

You also mentioned previously that you guys are in the midst of planning for your wedding. Any update on that?

We’re still arranging, it’s true that we intend to get married next year. But ultimately the pandemic is still not over, and Hong Kong isn’t as open as Singapore yet. There are a lot of things we cannot do, so we’re still thinking.

Earlier this year, my good friend [ex-TVB actor] Stephen Wong got married, and he shared with me that two to three months prior to his wedding, he and his wife were very stressed. They had things planned but every day they were worried that there would be changes to the COVID protocols in Hong Kong, and they would have to pivot their plans completely. 

We don’t really want to go through that kind of stress. We feel that marriage is a once in a lifetime thing, it should be happy and not stressful. It’s why we didn’t get married this year, and are planning to do it next year. Hopefully, the regulations will be more relaxed soon so we can better arrange everything. 

But have you proposed to her already?

Oh, this is a secret. I can’t say yet. We’ll announce when the time comes. (Smiles)

Kenneth wants you to just wait for their good news, okay?

Have you thought about having an overseas wedding? Maybe in Singapore, perhaps? 

We did think about it. But if we really were to have an overseas wedding, then we'll have to think about our parents 'cos they would have to fly over too. But they’re not really suitable to fly for such long distances. To fly for more than 10 hours is quite taxing for old people. 

So if we have to accommodate them, it’d be better to go somewhere near Hong Kong. So actually Singapore is one of the choices (Laughs). Like Japan, Singapore, these few places. But right now we’re still thinking and haven’t decided.

What about your honeymoon?

Initially, [Roxanne] suggested that we go to England because that’s where she studied, and I suggested Canada 'cos that’s where I studied (giggles).

Since you started dating, people are always asking about your relationship. Does it stress you out?

It doesn’t. It’s just that many things are not confirmed so I don’t know what to say to you guys. (Laughs) I always tell reporters, once everything is arranged, we will say. Maybe we’ll inform everyone through our social media. 

It’s actually a happy thing 'cos we realised many people are really concerned for us. From the moment we announced that we have plans to get married, I’ve already gotten so many messages to congratulate us. We’re really thankful towards our friends and reporters who’ve given us their blessings since long ago. We don’t find them annoying. [We know] they’re just concerned. 

Photos: Pyron Tan, Kenneth Ma/Roxanne Tong/Instagram