Actor Chen Xi and his Japanese fiancee met on a language-exchange app

We thought Mediacorp actor Chen Xi has just been busy studying arts management in the UK since last September. Turns out, he secretly had other big plans going on there as well.

On Sunday (May 5), the 32-year-old son of Xiang Yun and Edmund Chen, took to his Instagram to share that he is now engaged.

Chen Xi wrote: "From the Land of The Rising Sun, across the seas, and all the way to England – thank you for being my anchor, my compass, and my home from home."

“I know it wasn't easy making the decision to follow me, and indeed, we've faced tumultuous times with constantly changing contexts. Despite the variations and shifting environments, having you by my side has been the constant.”

There was also a message in Japanese, which roughly translates to: "Thank you so much for being by my side. I love ya. Let's write the next chapter together."

Chen Xi also shared a series of photos taken at a chapel. The first picture showed him and a woman taken from the back and the last photo was a close-up of his hand holding a woman’s hand with a diamond ring on her fourth finger.

When 8days reached out to Chen Xi, he revealed that his fiancee Mimi is Japanese, works in IT, and is “slightly younger” than him. He also shared that the engagement happened only two days earlier when the couple were out with Chen Xi's cousin for the latter's birthday.

“I already had the ring in my pocket and was wondering when would be a good time (to pop the question)," he recalled.

He finally found the perfect moment when they were in a 17th-century manor with a chapel in Northern England.

"It was raining outside and I was like: 'Hey this is a very nice-looking church, lighting is good' so I seized the opportunity and went for it," he said. 

"In Singapore, people are like, I must plan this and that, I need balloons and stuff. But I'm here (in London) and I have literally no connections, so I just memorised my proposal in Japanese. It was tough," he laughed. 

That said, Chen Xi did inform his family, who are in Singapore, about the proposal, but told them he had "no idea" when and how it was going to happen. 

Chen Xi has no concrete plans for their wedding as of now.

Finishing up his masters comes first – he will graduate in January next year – and "then we’ll move forward from there”, he said. 

His relationship with Mimi, Chen Xi said, was unexpected.

They got to know each other four years ago in Singapore, right in the midst of the pandemic, when he signed up for an online language-exchange app.

"When I met her, it wasn't like I was trying to date her or anything. I was just trying to learn Japanese," he chuckled. "We just started from there and she was like: 'I want to learn Singlish!' and I said: 'Sure, I can teach you Singlish!'”

They hit it off and gradually became an item. In fact, everything happened so naturally, Chen Xi can’t pinpoint the exact moment they started dating. 

"We have known each other for four years. Details-wise, it's hard for me to give you a definite answer also," he laughed. 

"It really wasn't anything at first because, when we got to know each other, she was still in Vietnam (for work). Then the lockdown happened and we all couldn't work so I just tried to brush up my Japanese, and the friendship just developed from there," he said, adding that they were merely "online penpals" initially. 

Chen Xi said he made sure his family – namely his mum, dad and younger sister Chen Yixin – got to know Mimi before taking things to the next stage.

"When she came to Singapore, I was like: 'Let me take you around!' and my family has always been very welcoming. They would be like: 'Come let's go for chicken rice! Let's try bak kut teh!'," he shared, adding that it's been a bit of a "cross-cultural journey".

When asked if there's a language barrier between his family and Mimi, the actor said it hasn’t been an issue since they can all converse in English.

"But my mum is more comfortable with Mandarin, so we go slow and try to communicate at our best," he explained.

It wasn’t all smooth-sailing for the couple. Chen Xi said he thought he and Mimi would have to call it quits when he decided to pursue his studies in the UK last year.

"When I finalised my trip to the UK, I thought: 'Sorry everybody, this isn't gonna work out'. Then she told me that she got a visa (to work in England)," said Chen Xi.

Thanks to the remote nature of her work, Mimi was able to find a job in the UK. It allowed her to move there with Chen Xi, and their relationship blossomed after. 

"That's why I said, everything just worked out so smoothly," he chirped. 

This story was originally published in 8days.