A RING FOR SORA: Malaysian actress Sora Ma (above, left) has credited Singaporean star Fann Wong for advice which eventually led her to decide to settle down.

On Monday, Ma, 37, shocked fans when she disclosed her nuptial plans by posting on Instagram a photo (above, right) of a ring with a large bouquet of roses and a video of the proposal. She said she had met her future husband on April 29, 2012, and they had begun dating in March 2013.

She told local media that her fiance is a Singaporean businessman in his 40s and is seven or eight years older than her. She met him through a friend at the Star Awards and he proposed to her in 2018.

She stated that she is not pregnant and that they plan to register the marriage later this year.

In an interview with Lianhe Zaobao yesterday, Ma revealed that she once had a big quarrel with her fiance after the proposal and almost left home.

Fann, 50, who is married to actor Christopher Lee, 49, then shared with Ma tips on how to get along with someone of the zodiac sign Leo.

Both Ma's fiance and Lee are Leos, while Fann and Ma are Aquariuses. Said Ma: "My heart settled down after the chat and I decided to take the next step."

Earlier in her relationship, she had also approached her friends - celebrity couple Hong Huifang and Zheng Geping, as well as former actor Vincent Ng - to evaluate her boyfriend.

"I was still not sure at that time if he was suitable for me, so I asked them to be my appraisers due to their vast experience in life," she said. "All of them felt he was good."

Ma said she could not recall many details of her fiance's proposal, but he had proposed to her with a gold ring carved with words from the movie series The Lord Of The Rings (2001 to 2003) and her English name. She is a fan of the film trilogy, which is based on the books of the same name by J.R.R. Tolkien, and said she rewatches it at least once a year.

She made headlines in April after she told Shin Min Daily News she had been bullied by a veteran actor, whom she declined to identify, while filming the TV series 118 II (2016 to 2017).

She will appear in Mediacorp's upcoming English-language drama series This Land Is Mine, which also stars Rebecca Lim and Pierre Png.