NADYA Hutagalung's beautiful face betrays signs of puffiness, and she admits to constantly feeling 'slow and tired'.

She is heavily pregnant, about to pop next month. The model, host and jewellery designer and her husband, former national swimmer Desmond Koh, are expecting a girl.

Nadya has two sons, Tyrone, 14, and Fynn, 5, from previous relationships.

The 33-year-old Australian-Indonesian told The New Paper at The Leap Years' media session at the Singapore Art Museum on Tuesday: 'I'm a bit nervous because I'm not sure what to do with a girl - I'm so used to having boys.'

So what does Desmond - whom she started dating in 2004 and married in December 2006 - feel about impending fatherhood?

Nadya mused with a smile: 'She's going to be so spoilt. Des is really looking forward to her arrival.

'Because I have two boys, he became an instant dad.

'He's also very doting, loving, and cautious about all the things that I do.

'I get into trouble with him for never resting, or not having lunch, like today. My husband's like, 'Can you stop? Why do you want to do so many things?'

Nadya, who has suffered well-publicised break-ups and abusive ex-lovers, had apparently never enjoyed such a stable state of marital and domestic bliss before.

Her romantic trajectory parallels that of Suneetha, the supporting character she plays in the movie.

The Leap Years, which opens in cinemas on 29 Feb, centres on Li-Ann (Wong Li Lin) and Jeremy (Ananda Everingham), who promise to meet on the same date every leap year, thus beginning a twist-filled love story spanning 12 years.

Suneetha is one of Li-Ann's close friends, a sassy party girl who keeps hooking up with the wrong men until she realises that the right one was right under her nose.

Nadya said: 'I definitely went through stages in my life when I was more outgoing and adventurous and didn't really think about the consequences of things.

'And as a result, like Suneetha, we don't often end up in the best circumstances.'

Fate seemingly placed Desmond, who was previously married, into the picture - literally - 12 years ago.

Nadya said: 'We were actually in New York and went to the same wedding. He knew I was there but I didn't know he was there.

'We both had the same set of photos, he was in my photos and I was in his. So funny right?

'I guess we both just had to go through whatever we had to in our lives... We found each other at a time when we were both ready.'

WON HER OVER

Although Nadya admits now that her spouse is quite a catch, she didn't give him the time of day in the beginning.

She recalled: 'I thought I would give up on men and be a nun.

'He kept asking me to go on a date, and I kept saying 'Sorry no, sorry no'.'

She was eventually won over by his 'persistence, kindness and integrity'.

She insists marriage has been 'wonderful' as they have 'come into our own rhythm'.

'We're very calm together, very encouraging of each other's spiritual and personal growth. In all our years together, we've argued maybe three or four times.'

She added frankly: 'I can't say this (type of relationship) is what I've always wanted all along, because I've obviously made many mistakes, and that is also a result of my choosing.

'But I really had to be ready also to say 'I don't want this (to make bad choices) any more', and to be open to receiving this wonderful gift I have in a partner.

'Yes, it took me a long time, but some people don't even find it.'

He fell out of the sky, literally

AWARD-WINNING actress-deejay Vernetta Lopez plans to get hitched on National Day at a cheesy chapel in Las Vegas.

The groom is British software engineer Wayne Gladwin, her boyfriend of six years.

Vernetta, 34, said half-jokingly of her 'pre-wedding honeymoon': 'We want it to be as white trash as possible! The idea of getting married in Vegas is just so ticklish!'

The official ceremony - probably a 'champagne brunch garden wedding' - is scheduled for early 2009 in Singapore.

Wayne, a permanent resident here, proposed to Vernetta, who owns wedding planning company Eternally Yours, on 21 Jul last year, the eve of her birthday.

The couple were playing Pictionary at home with a small group of friends. When it was his turn to draw, he wrote on the board: 'Will you marry me?'

Then he got down on both knees and fished out a 1.07-carat engagement ring, after which Vernetta 'couldn't stop screaming and crying for five minutes'.

So does Vernetta, earlier married to Mark Richmond, have any concerns about walking down the aisle again?

She said: 'When I first got married, there were certain doubts and I knew we were skimming over certain details.

'But with Wayne, we talk about important things like babies, religion and money, so I feel that we are ready.'

Vernetta, who plays Li-Ann's lesbian confidante Jennie in The Leap Years, said that when she was 12, her father took her to Tetley's Brewery in Leeds to see the Shire horses. Wayne, then 14 and living in Leeds, used to hang out at the brewery.

She said: 'We may have walked past each other without knowing!'

The couple met in 2001 at a friend's wedding. Eight months later, she was in Segamat when they met again.

'You know what they say... 'love can drop out of the sky'? Well, he dropped out of the sky because he was parachuting, and we had a good chat.' Friends then tried to matchmake them, but Vernetta was ready for a serious relationship only a year later.

He's unromantic, but it's all right

CHINESE-AMERICAN actor-host Allan Wu was, is and will always be the most un-romantic person Wong Li Lin has ever known. But he's still the man she chose to spend the rest of her life with.

The 35-year-old actress blurted out: 'He's just Allan! He's such a dude, very alpha male.'

They got married in 2003 and have two children, Sage, 4, and Jonas, 2.

'I think it's very important for all women to be strong and solid themselves and have (the same kind of) foundation with their partner.

'Everything else can be developed, whether it's a sense of romanticism or a taste for the finer things in life,' she said.

As the romantic and idealistic Li-Ann, who waits 12 years for her true love in The Leap Years, the level-headed yummy mummy is certainly playing against type.

Incidentally, Allan has a cameo in the film as her gal pal's rich husband.

Though she admits some similarities to her on-screen character and she believes in 'instant connections' between kindred spirits, she also feels the idea of soulmates has been glamorised and romanticised in the movies.

Li Lin, who had only two boyfriends before Allan, said: 'I'm not jaded or anything, but you do realise it takes two to make romance as heady as it is or as practical as it is.

'When I was young I was really heady, my outlook on life was more romantic.'

But fate's hand and gushy lovey-dovey feelings weren't 'necessarily apparent' at the beginning of her relationship with Allan.

The couple started out as friends because Li Lin had just stepped out of a relationship and wasn't looking for a boyfriend.

She said: 'We speak different languages, the way we do things is so different.

'But there's a very strong chord, so I think that in itself is destiny.'