Why HK actress Sandra Ng and director Peter Chan, who have been together for 26 years, are not married

Peter Chan and Sandra Ng have been together for 26 years. Photos: Filepic

Hong Kong actress Sandra Ng and Hong Kong director Peter Chan have been together for 26 years but the couple have chosen not to wed. They have a 16-year-old daughter, Jillian.

Many assumed that it was Chan – who directed hit movies such as Comrades: Almost A Love Story and The Warlords – who doesn't want to get hitched.

But according to the 59-year-old award-winning director, it is Ng who has refused marriage.

"She's the one who doesn't want to get married, not me," Chan said in a TV interview recently, adding that he had proposed to Ng twice but she turned him down both times.

Chan revealed that the first time he proposed to Ng was in 2006 when the actress was pregnant with their daughter. And later, after Jillian was born, he proposed again.

In earlier interviews, Ng had stated her reason for not tying the knot.

"I feel that two people are not defined by a wedding certificate. That piece of paper is just for memory's sake," the 56-year-old actress said.

Ng is currently starring in the comedy Chilli Laugh Story (showing at cinemas nationwide) alongside Ronald Cheng, Gigi Leung and Edan Lui from boy band Mirror.

Ng's daughter also makes an appearance in the movie. Ng revealed that she paid Jillian HK$100 (RM57) for her work as an extra on the movie. Jillian also made a cameo in Ng's 2021 film Zero To Hero.

Ng said she allowed Jillian to work in these movies as she wanted her to know the difficulties actors face in the film industry.