Forget fancy dinners or grand romantic gestures.

Local actor-presenter-DJ Mark Lee believes the greatest gift he can give his homemaker wife of more than two decades is financial security.

The 55-year-old and Ms Catherine Ng, 51, celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on May 27. The couple have three children – Calista, 15, Maksonn, 12, and Calynn, 10.

“It is an ability if a husband makes money for his wife to spend,” Lee, who has his own production house King Kong Media Production, said in an interview with Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao. “It gives the family a sense of security so that the wife can run the household with peace of mind.”

Lee and Ms Ng manage their own finances, but she controls the purse strings and he has no issue allowing her to buy whatever she wants.

“She can spend my money, but she didn’t even buy a brand-name bag after having children, as she has spent all the money on them,” he said.

The couple booked a karaoke venue on May 25 to celebrate the special occasion, with about 30 friends and relatives in attendance, including actress Xiang Yun, actor Nick Teo and host-actress Ke Le.

Lee, who starred in the comedy film Money No Enough 3 (2024), added: “To be honest, what a woman wants is a sense of security if she loves her husband. This sense of security is not just about not philandering, but also about finances, so that she doesn’t have to worry about things like daily necessities and growing old.”

Being in the entertainment industry, which has its fair share of temptations, Lee said he reassures Ms Ng by being frank with her.

“I may have a fun and playful personality, but I tease the girls only in front of my wife, and she also knows that I have no ulterior motive in treating them nicely,” he said. 

Lee added he is not interested in cheating.

“I’m tired enough and don’t want to have any trouble in this area,” he said. “One has to lie if he goes astray, but men have bad memories and are exposed easily.”

He said couples can sometimes understand each other and themselves through quarrels.

“Sometimes, we think we are right, but we will find that it’s not necessarily true after quarrelling,” he said.

“There will definitely be arguments, but I hope we can learn to understand each other’s feelings and thoughts, and then discuss them together. It’s a never-ending learning process as there will be new challenges in every phase of a marriage.”