Tay Kewei, Alfred Sim expecting first child

Photos: Toggle, A Better TV Channel, Instagram

2017 is shaping up to be a very good year for Alfred Sim: after winning Best Theme Song at last weekend’s Star Awards and Best Stage Performance at the Hong Kong Asian-Pop Music Festival in March, the Project SuperStar 2014 champion, 35, has announced that he is expecting his first child with wife Tay Kewei, 33.

The couple broke the good news in the second episode of their newly-launched reality web programme Married, And Then?, which included a clip of Kewei, too overwhelmed by happy tears to speak, whipping out a positive pregnancy test kit to show Alfred, who sat dumbfounded for a few moments before pulling her into an embrace.

In a phone interview with Toggle, Kewei shared that she found out she was expecting the morning she recorded that video, which was the first day of Chinese New Year. “I’d been watching a lot of pregnancy announcement videos and found them very sweet, so I wanted to do something similar to capture [Alfred’s] reaction,” explained the singer.

However, her husband didn’t believe her at first because a fortune teller friend of theirs had predicted that a child would only come later in the year. They had also pretty much given up hopes of conceiving after a year or two of fruitless attempts. “We reached a stage where we were trying but not thinking too much about it, and it really happened!”

Now, Kewei is about four months pregnant, with the baby due to be born in late September. Although both she and Alfred already know the gender of their child, they will only be revealing it in a later episode of their reality show.

“We don’t really have any preferences for a boy or a girl, but I personally feel that I would get along better with a son because I’m an athlete,” said Alfred – who is also a sports coach – in a separate interview, to which Kewei responded, “Alfred’s a very ‘alpha male’ type of guy so he would prefer a boy, but I’m fine with either one.”

As for the name, Kewei said that they have entrusted the task to their parents. “[Alfred and I] have been so busy with other things, especially with our home,” she said. They will be collecting the keys to their new flat next week. “We’re targeting to move in around August right before the baby comes, so the timing is just nice; I couldn’t have planned it better.”

Kewei has also been fortunate enough not to experience any morning sickness or other unpleasant mother-to-be symptoms, save for intense cravings for heavy foods. “I was attracted to curry and spicy food for a while, and nowadays when I eat very creamy ice cream, I feel very shiok. (laughs)”

When asked if she plans to let her career take a backseat after she gives birth, Kewei told us that the thought has never even crossed her mind.

“Of course I can’t do anything during my confinement period, but after that it shouldn’t be a problem as long as it’s not something that requires major commitment,” she said. She also sees herself working all the way up to about July or August. “My manager asked me if I would be okay but I said, ‘Can lah, just do it’.”

Alfred doesn’t seem too worried about his wife either. “I can rest assured that if she has any problems, she will find a way to overcome them, but of course I will always be there when she needs my help.” When we pointed out how calm he sounded as a first-time father-to-be, he said, “I have a lot of friends who have shared their horror stories of being parents, so I’m quite prepared for it!”

Alfred and Kewei started dating in 2005, but their relationship did not come to light until almost a decade later when Kewei was spotted supporting her beau at the Project SuperStar finals. In May 2014, Alfred popped the question with an elaborate – and expensive – proposal, and the lovebirds tied the knot in January 2015.