Despite having lived in Singapore for 17 years, American architect David Moore did not know Belinda Lee was a celebrity here when they first met in the middle of last year.
"He doesn't watch TV," Lee says with a laugh in a telephone interview, days after the couple tied the knot on Sunday.
The pair met at a church camp in Melaka organised by New Life Community Church.
Lee, 42, says their first conversation was "hilarious" - she had eaten too much and had to excuse herself to go to the bathroom.
"But he was very nice. He saw me later that night at the hotel lobby to ask me if I was feeling better," she says of Mr Moore, who is in his 50s and the chief operating officer at architecture and design firm WATG and Wimberly Interiors.
He has since caught up with the Star Award-winning host, actress and former MTV VJ's television work.
He has also read Lee's book about volunteer work, Larger Than Life: Celebrating The Human Spirit, and bought copies as gifts for his family in the United States.
Lee says that she knew immediately that Mr Moore was "husband material" after they met, but made sure that they connected as friends before they officially started dating in January this year.
"He knew that I wanted to take it slow. And that's why he respected my position and he said, 'I don't care if, today, you are going to be in a relationship with me or not. I just want to be friends with you because I truly enjoy your company'," says Lee, whose previous engagement ended in 2011 after a six-year relationship.
She says they had deep conversations about losing their loved ones and spoke candidly about the deaths of Lee's mother and Mr Moore's first wife of almost two decades.
The couple kept their relationship low-profile. "We felt that we could really have a very wonderful and healthy, honest relationship, just like everyone else, without having the public speculate about it."
Mr Moore proposed in March this year, asking Lee's father for her hand in marriage at a dinner.
Lee and Mr Moore were married in an intimate ceremony at a local Peranakan restaurant attended by about 100 guests. These included other local celebrities such as Rebecca Lim, Chew Chor Meng and Paige Chua. Mr Moore's family also flew in from California.
The couple will now shuttle between three residences: Lee's and Mr Moore's houses, as well as Lee's father's house.
Lee, who hosts the ongoing eighth season of reality series RenovAID, says that she is taking a break until the end of the year and will be taking on select hosting gigs.
And, while the couple intend to travel to the US soon to visit Mr Moore's family, a honeymoon - possibly in New Zealand - will have to wait until next year.
They plan to spend the next couple of years focusing on their marriage, their careers and humanitarian work, but Lee says they are open to having children.
"If a baby comes along, you know, I'm very open to the idea of anything, so it's fine as well for us. There are also lots of other children out there in the world who need love and care, and we are also open to the idea of caring for other children."
