Posted 30 January 2009 - 11:31 PM

Photos (starting from top left): 1. Gigi Lai, 2. Gigi's fiance Ma Ting Koeng, 3. Gigi with Ma, 4. Gigi's brother Lai Ying, 5. private plane that Ma chartered

Source: Sina
Translated by travelbug @ http://asianfanatics.net

Last October, 38-year old Gigi Lai suddenly announced retirement from the entertainment industry. Besides her wish to take care of brother Lai Ying (黎嬰) who was injured in a car accident, her decision had to do with her upcoming marriage to wealthy, disabled 52-year old Ma Ting Koeng (馬廷強). Their marriage ceremony will take place next month on the 22nd at Ma's mansion located in Sydney, Australia. Ma dotes on Gigi and spent NT$4.33 million to charter a private plane, hired nurses and physiotherapists, so that Lai Ying can attend to witness his sister's wedding.

In order for Lai Ying who was seriously injured in a car accident to fly to Sydney to attend her wedding, earlier this month Gigi and Ma flew to Sydney. Besides preparing for their wedding, they also delivered Lai Ying's medical records to a hospital there, in case it will be needed. Since it takes 8 hours to fly from Hong Kong to Sydney, worried that injured Lai Ying may feel uncomfortable, Ma generously chartered a private plane and arranged nurses and physiotherapists to accompany him during this flight.

Sydney was chosen as the wedding locale not only because Ma prefers to keep a low profile and likes to avoid the media, the Ma family also has a lot of real estate in Australia. The wedding will take place in a manor-style mansion, fewer than 50 relatives, close friends and friends outside the entertainment industry have been invited to attend.

Gigi's father is worried about exposure of the wedding to the media, earlier when asked about the plane charter and wedding details, he constantly dodged: "Don't ask! I won't say anything."

According to reports, Gigi will wear jewelry worth nearly NT$100 million dollars, she asked Bonita who designed Michelle Reis' wedding dress to create a palace-style, crystal wedding gown and also five evening dresses, with a total value of approximately NT$21 million. After her wedding, Gigi will live in a luxurious duplex apartment in Hong Kong worth over NT$400 million.

This post has been edited by travelbug: 03 February 2009 - 09:08 AM

Posted 30 January 2009 - 11:51 PM

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Posted 31 January 2009 - 12:17 AM

i highly doubt gigi is really in for the money, its just she's been through soo much and with the recent accident of her brother i'm pretty sure she just really wants to get rid of the stress and settle down for good so she can take care of her brother and start a family with the man she loves. Congrats to her

Posted 31 January 2009 - 12:18 AM

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Posted 31 January 2009 - 12:50 AM

LOL! I agree athlon.
Typical gold digger woman.

If you guys don't think she married this guy for money, then you must be really naive.
I mean.. seriously?

This post has been edited by missLILY: 31 January 2009 - 12:51 AM

Posted 31 January 2009 - 12:54 AM

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Posted 31 January 2009 - 01:09 AM

well.. they have been dating for 6 years! so not like couple days!! and she has what it takes! so met with a wealthy man isn't very surprising!!.. soooo.. WISH GIGI A LOT OF luck!!
and happy marriages! yes.. Gigi likes mature older male!
and damn.. her brother looks sick!

Posted 31 January 2009 - 01:11 AM

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Posted 31 January 2009 - 02:23 AM

this news is disappointing to me la, but i guess it's normal..
well, i'm glad that she found somebody that treats her right.
wish her luck in the future.

Posted 31 January 2009 - 02:34 AM

I don't believe that Gigi is just a golddigger marrying for money .. i mean she was a really famous actress who was known very well (and will always be) in both HK and the Mainland, it's not like she's not rich .. I really do like Gigi and I honestly I hope she's marrying him because he loves him.. because I mean.. he's .. old .. and disabled

This post has been edited by th1s_sweet: 31 January 2009 - 02:35 AM

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rainysunday, on Jan 31 2009 3 11 AM, said:

Lol it is SO OBVIOUS she's marrying for money. Not only is this guy much older than her, is rich, but also he's disabled? I mean come on! It's too obvious!

i agree with everyone who's shocked. however older, rich, and disabled guys also deserve love it's easy to judge the guy and gigi harshly because of appearances, when a younger, less rich, and "healthy" guy may have bad qualities behind closed doors. maybe out of all the wealthy men courting gigi, this ma guy was the most sincere and hit it off with her. he's not exactly craddle robbing...

but yeah, it's hard to believe we'll never see her act again. i wish her all the happiness and strength in the future. (her decision to retire & "take care of family" DOES fit with the fact of her husband being rich!! many people want their families to live comfortably, to make up for hardship in early life.)

as for her brother...OMG he appears to be severely paralyzed. so tragic. he had a promising career before, and was still young. so it's obvious she will have her hands full just taking care of him. her new husband is disabled too, so he can sympathize with her family tragedy. maybe a younger guy's family will not accept gigi's obligations to her brother as easily (again: PREJUDICE against incapacitated people who depend on others to take care of them.) so this may work out great for everyone involved. don't judge so quickly!

This post has been edited by alfiesgal: 31 January 2009 - 03:11 AM

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englishmuffin, on Jan 30 2009 8 08 PM, said:

o.o the first pic doesn't look like gigi lai at all. maybe a lil bit but the face doesn't really look like her. btw is this true???

Fyi, the first picture is just a reference, it's not the actual wedding. That photo is probably a promotion or something from long ago when Gigi was young. I guess reporters chose it because it's relevant to this article.

People have their opinions, and when I heard this I was shocked too. Of course money has to be involved, but I don't think people should look at this too negatively. Gigi has been known to like older men anyway, maybe because she lacked a father figure in her younger years. I think the Vivian Chow and Joe Nieh situation is more 'disappointing'. I'm sure this man can give Gigi a lot, whether it be money, love, comfort, etc.

And looking at the picture of Gigi's brother, I felt so sad because this is the first picture I saw of him after the incident. I know it's been a very though time for Gigi too. Her brother had a very bright future and Gigi helped him get there, paying for his tuition and all that. I just want to say I wish them the best and this is their lives, not ours. We're allowed to throw in a few comments here and there but in the end it won't change the outcome.

Lol, and I am definitely commenting on this too. Although I've never been a fan of Gigi, it was a real pity when I heard she was retiring.

Posted 31 January 2009 - 04:54 AM

I don't know that she marries this guy because money or love....but this is her choice, just say congrats her and hope that she will find a real happiness!!!

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