Hongkong actress and eligible bachelorette Charmaine Sheh may not be willing to participate in reality matchmaking programmes, but it looks like she’s cool with helping others to find love on one.

The 46-year-old recently appeared as a “celebrity assistant” on Chinese variety show Dating with the Parents, where host Meng Fei grabbed the opportunity to grill the actress about her relationship status.

To everyone’s surprise, the star was a lot more forthcoming than expected.

After confirming that she’s still single at the moment, Charmaine was asked if there are any potential suitors she’s currently “observing”, to which she candidly replied, “Yes!”

She later dropped another bomb when Meng Jia asked if there was a time when she was very close to getting married. Charmaine replied that there actually was such a time, though she hedged: “I can’t tell you [who it was]!”

Out of all the male celebs that Charmaine has previously worked with, has there been anyone who's ticked all the boxes of what she thinks makes her ideal boyfriend, Meng Jia later asked. Unfortunately, her answer was no.

“Their characters did, but not the real people [who played them], ‘cos the men in shows are always perfect, but they’re not like that in real life,” Charmaine explained.

Netizens were loving her honesty and “refreshingly straightforward personality”. Soon, “Charmaine Sheh talking about love” became a trending topic on social media.

Of course, there were those who also tried to guess which of Charmaine’s famous exes almost put a ring on it. Some believe it could be Benny Chan, whom she broke up with in 2006 after dating for four years, while others think it’s Kevin Cheng as she’s never had another public relationship since they split over 10 years ago.

Photos: Charmaine Sheh/Weibo, Dating with the Parents/Weibo, ontvb.com