Gigi Lai and her husband Patrick Ma met after the actress retired from show business in 2008. Photo: Gigi Lai/Instagram
Former Hong Kong actress Gigi Lai took to Instagram to share a rare photo with her billionaire husband Patrick Ma on Jan 19.
The couple, who met after she retired from show business in 2008, celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary on Jan 18.
“Hand in hand, we have walked through 15 years together,” Lai wrote in Chinese on Instagram, along with a photo of her with her 67-year-old husband.
Lai, 56, also shared a photo of a bouquet of red peonies featuring a card with the inscription, “To my wonderful wife Gigi”. Portraits of the couple and their three children could be seen in the background.
She wrote: “Thank you for remembering to send me my favourite flowers every year. Our relationship is like these flowers, colourful and full of vitality.”
Describing their relationship as “nutrients for flowers”, Lai thanked her husband for his “unwavering support and companionship”.
She ended her post with the hashtag #truelove.
Dubbed the “Goddess of Beauty” by the Hong Kong media, Lai rose to fame after starring in the Young And Dangerous trilogy (1996) about Hong Kong triads. She went on to star in popular TVB dramas such as The Heaven Sword & The Dragon Sabre (2000), War And Beauty (2004) and The Gem Of Life (2008 to 2009).
Her abrupt retirement at the peak of her career in 2008 – to look after her younger brother, who had been involved in a serious car accident – took fans by surprise.
Lai married Ma in 2009. They have three daughters – 13-year-old twin girls Patricia and Gianna, and Pegella, 12. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
