Charlie Young, Who Lives In Singapore, Says Her 4-Year-Old Twin Boys “Suck All The Energy Out Of [Her]”

Hongkong actress Charlie Young’s new fantasy movie Hello! Tapir premieres in Taiwan on February 1 and during a recent interview to promote the film, Charlie, 47, shared that when she was shooting the movie in Yilan in 2019, she really missed her four-year-old twin boys, Aloysius and Ignatius, who were then only one.

With her Singaporean husband Khoo Shao Tze, and their kids in Singapore, Charlie, who plays the mother of a boy who goes in search of a mythical nightmare-eating creature, could only rely on video chats to see them.

"We would only video chat after I left the studio as I was afraid it would affect the shoot. I would call them when I got back to the hotel or when I was in the car. I missed them very much. Even now, sometimes when I am away from them for too long, I will miss them,” she said.

“Because of the pandemic, I didn’t take on any jobs in the past two years, so I spent a lot of time with my kids, and they became more clingy to me.”

The super cute and active Aloysius and Ignatius

There's a downside to it, though.

"My husband and I used to enjoy sports. We would go hiking and diving, but after giving birth to them, I felt that I no longer needed to work out 'cos the two kids have sucked all the energy out of me,” she said.

“But the good thing is, the two of them are very happy because they are twins. They always have each other's company, chatting and teasing one another. My husband and I see simple pleasures in them. I now understand when people say that children make you feel younger and more energetic. Actually, kids teach us many things, not the other way round. They remind us that we can be simple and happy," she added.

Mums, do you feel the same?

She recalled that when the pandemic first struck, she felt helpless taking care of the boys on her own at home. She would often feel vexed but when she saw their smiles, her troubles would go away.

"I was a new mother and there were times when I felt very helpless. I told my husband that I couldn’t do it. But he would tell me to take my time and my friends would comfort me, saying [she was feeling this way] ‘cos of the pandemic and I was a new mum. Now, I feel very blessed and have found a balance," she shared.

Though the pandemic is a difficult time for everyone, Charlie looks at it from a positive perspective. She cherishes the quality time spent with her family and it has enabled her to “find [her] new role as a mother, wife, and daughter-in-law”.

“I am now in a comfortable and balanced state," she said, adding that it would not have been possible without her husband and his family’s support.

Charlie in a still from Hello! Tapir

Before the pandemic, Charlie would take the kids to Taiwan to visit her mum and grandma, and would even spend Chinese New Year there.

She looks forward to being able to travel again so she can visit her family, whom she hasn’t seen in two years, as well as Yilan so she can show her kids the fishing village where she shot the movie.

Photos Charlie Young/Facebook