Yeoh and Todt tie the knot

Hitched at last: Yeoh and Todt during their wedding in Geneva, Switzerland. (Below) A card from the wedding posted by Massa on Instagram.

PETALING JAYA: This year is turning out to be an extraordinary one for Malaysia’s Oscar-winning actress Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh, who married her long-time partner and former president of the International Automobile Federation, Jean Todt, in Switzerland.

Congratulatory messages poured in from Malaysians after news broke about Yeoh, 61, and the 77-year-old Frenchman sealing their 19-year courtship with their marriage in Geneva on Thursday.

The happy news was first shared by former Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa on his Instagram account yesterday, with a post that read: “Happy marriage #JeanTodt & #michelleyeoh love you so much”.

The Brazilian also shared a card of the occasion, which stated that the couple had first met in Shanghai on June 4, 2004, with the one-time principal of the Ferrari F1 racing team proposing to Yeoh just weeks later, on July 26 that same year.

“Today, after 6,992 days on July 27, 2023, in Geneva, surrounded by loving family and friends, we are so happy to celebrate this special moment together!” read the card, which features a photo of the couple in their younger years.

Also seen among the images posted by Massa, 42, were a three-tiered wedding cake and the Oscar golden statuette.

“James Bond will be disappointed,” quipped a netizen, referencing Yeoh’s role as a Bond girl in the movie Tomorrow Never Dies.

“Congrats Michelle Yeoh Choo King, Aunty Julie is so happy for you! You deserve Jean Todt,” wrote Instagram user datinjulini.

“Congratulations Michelle and Jean ... and jealous that Massa gets to take a pic with the Oscar,” joked user mikeyipdotcom.

Many social media users also expressed wonder at the long engagement of almost two decades, and that it only took one-and-a-half months after they first met for Todt to ask for her hand in marriage.

“Jean was 57 and Michelle was 42 when that happened. I feel that when they are older and mature, they know what they want,” wrote user thegiram.

This year has been full of joy and success for Yeoh, who won a string of awards for her leading role in the Hollywood production Everything Everywhere All at Once. Most notably, in March, she became the first Asian woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Yeoh was previously married to Hong Kong billionaire Dickson Poon.