Taiwan-born Singaporean host Lee Teng, 37, and his 28-year-old Taiwanese wife, Gina Lin, went through the worst kind of heartbreak in July when she suffered a miscarriage six months into her pregnancy. The tragedy happened when Lee Teng was in Singapore and Gina, in Taiwan — she had flown back home that same month to prepare for the birth — but COVID-19 travel restrictions and how he had unfinished work here meant that Lee Teng could only see her a month later.

And when he finally reunited with Gina, he would end up taking the longest break in his 15-year career, spending the past three months in Taiwan healing from the grief with his wife.

It's now been a little over four months since the tragedy, and both Lee Teng and Gina are back in Singapore. He's dived headfirst back into work, which has piled up since he's been away.

8days.sg is meeting him today at the Skechers boutique in Jewel Changi, where the launch of the Skechers x Chinatown Market, a LA-based streetwear label, collection is happening. P/S: Lee Teng has been the face of the sneaker brand since 2018.

We also spot Gina at the event, and she gamely poses for our photos, though she kept her mask on. I'm not wearing lipstick, she laughs, when we asked if she would remove it for the pics.

After the launch, Lee Teng sat down with 8days.sg for a chat, where he was his usual bubbly self, joking about how stressful it was for him to have to draw on his sneaker, and how he's now a fan of Chinatown Market's quirky designs and concept.

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When we broach the topic of the miscarriage, we could feel a shift in Lee Teng's chirpy demeanour. I'm a very optimistic person, so I was more concerned about my wife, he says somberly. After all, she's the one who carried [the baby] and I'm sure she felt the loss a lot more than I did.

I'm very grateful that my company and working partners were very understanding of the situation and were okay with me taking time off to be by her side. At that point of time, I felt that it was absolutely necessary for me to fly to Taiwan, so I packed my bags and flew over as soon as I could.

He says that he and Gina have since come to terms with the tragedy.

[Losing a child] is something you can't ever recover from. You just have to accept [that it happened] and move on. What's important is that we're here for each other and will face whatever the future has in store for us, together.

On a lighter note, Lee Teng tells us that when he and Gina were in Taiwan, he had secretly contacted a bridal studio to organise a wedding photoshoot in a bid to cheer her up. The couple had registered their marriage in June in Singapore but have yet to throw a wedding bash.

I know that she's been wanting to do a shoot like that for a long time, he chuckles. She's been looking at wedding photos for months, so she wasn't really subtle about it. I thought that it was the perfect time to do the shoot because both of us were in Taiwan.

The studio I spoke to had really beautiful gowns and was able to come up with a one-day package for us very quickly. We started our day around dawn and wrapped up really late at night. I was okay because I'm used to the long hours, but I think Gina was a bit tired out from the whole experience. But it was definitely an uplifting experience for us.

Now that the pre-wedding photoshoot is done, what else is next for them?

We registered our marriage in Singapore back in June, he tells us. We haven't done so in Taiwan because there are a lot of procedures to go through as I'm a Singapore citizen and am considered a foreigner there. We'll probably have to wait until the COVID-19 situation stabilises before we can go back to Taiwan to file our paperwork.

As for the banquet, Lee Teng says they are unlikely to hold one in Singapore because of the safe distancing measures that are still in place.

I've been in Singapore for quite some time, so it would be a challenge if I had to narrow down the guest list, he said. Under normal circumstances, we'd have to invite a lot of people but it's just not possible right now. Rather than hurt the feelings of those not invited, we'll probably hold an informal party once [we're out of Phase Three] so that we can have everyone there.

What he is planning for is a small banquet in Taiwan with their parents and loved ones present.

I'm very grateful to both our parents because they're very understanding of the situation and why we can't have a banquet right now. We don't have a date set yet, but that's definitely going to happen once we're able to fly back home.

Photos: Mediacorp Photo Unit, Left Profile, Gina Lin's Instagram