THE LOOK OF Love

Proving that they are not quite your average celebrity couple, Joanne Peh and Qi Yuwu talk marriage, milestones and misunderstandings in their first cover story together since saying “I do” in 2014

- Natalya Molok

Can we play a little Rod Stewart?” asks Joanne Peh as she settles into another pose; her arm gently draped over her husband’s knee, gazing up at him expectantly. Qi Yuwu, on his part, gives his wife a knowing smile as if a secret meted out between them. Without warning, they erupt into a pile of laughs.

And not just any short giggle either. This chuckle is a laugh that’s hearty, deep and warm. A lived-in laugh, if you will, between a pair of lovers who are as comfortable in their skin as they are with each other. There’s also a closeness and a sense of security between them that’s electrifying in person, and can’t quite be put into words.

From afar, Joanne, 36, and Yuwu, 43, are your quintessential celebrity couple: Both statuesque, impossibly gorgeous, and with a movie-star aura about them that’s almost untouchable. There’s such a heightened sense of awe that follows them that you can’t help but wonder whether their interactions with each other are real, or the product of careful orchestration.

Real Love

All preconceived notions go out the window after watching the couple and their private moment together over the music playing on-set. This couple isn’t aloof and ice-cold. They are not putting on an act. They come across as a couple who don’t have to prove anything to anyone else but themselves.

“Even when I’m acting, I’m not acting. This is real, we are real and this is our married life,” reveals Yuwu. “In the beginning, we were a bit more careful not to reveal too much because I felt that this marriage belongs to us. It is our private life, and we need to protect it, not treat it like a consumable.”