After two years of living Down Under, actors Edwin Goh and Rachel Wan have finally moved back home to Singapore.
Earlier this month, the couple, who went Instagram official in 2023 after playing love interests in Mediacorp drama Strike Gold, announced that they’re now engaged.
The 30-year-old Goh and 28-year-old Wan, who had been living in Sydney, Australia, on the Work and Holiday visa for the past two years, also shared they would be returning home soon.
When 8days.sg reached out to Goh, he confirmed that they were actually already back in Singapore and unable to get on a call as they were busy unpacking.
Goh, however, did share that he decided to propose to Wan before concluding their chapter in Sydney “because it felt right”.
They have yet to decide on a wedding date but are “aiming for some time next year”.
Admitting that it was a “risky move”, Goh also revealed that he didn’t ask for permission from Wan’s mum, who’s in Singapore, before the proposal, but is glad to have received her blessings after.
According to Goh, the decision to move home was made before the engagement, and they were already in the midst of packing and arranging prior to that.
“We decided to move back as we want to spend more time with our families. My dad’s passing at the start of 2024 has shifted my priorities,” he told 8days.
Wan’s father passed from oesophageal cancer in early 2022.
Now that they’re engaged, are Goh and Wan going to move in together in Singapore?
The actor shared that they are indeed living together now though they’re still looking for a more permanent place to settle down.
“There’s quite a lot of factors to consider before doing that such as our business, careers, family and dreams,” he shared.
While in Australia, Goh shared that he had found a new job in retail but declined to divulge more when we reached out.
He has since revealed that he was initially working for American fashion brand Tom Ford, before moving to work at a yarn/craft store. He later joined the store’s marketing team to work on their socials.
So, is he going to find another retail job or will he be going back to acting full-time now that he’s back?
Goh replied that he and Wan will continue to work on their business, Unravel& – the crochet line they founded in 2023 – as well as their content creation as that is “something more tangible”.
“As for acting, I’ll only take on gigs if the story or character resonates with me, and the wonderful team at Fly Entertainment has been supportive of that,” asserted the star, whose last drama was 2023’s Strike Gold.
Dropping everything to move to Sydney was definitely a bold move for an actor like Goh, who faded out of local TV almost entirely after that.
Does he think being away for two years crippled his career in any way, and does he have regrets?
“Honestly, these last two years have changed me in ways I never expected. Moving to Sydney gave me room to breathe, think, and just grow, not only as an actor but as a person,” he explained.
Goh has worked through things he didn’t realise he needed healing from and also gained some new perspectives.
Moving to Australia surprisingly also had an “amazing” impact on his career.
“My social media following has more than doubled, and I’m actually reaching a more diverse audience online globally. A seed cannot thrive in soil that doesn’t nourish it. Changing my environment was one of the best things I did for myself.”
In their Instagram reel, Goh and Wan also shared that it made more sense for them to be based in Singapore as they now wish to travel the world.
When asked if that was the reason why they needed to come home – to make more money to fund their trips, Goh laughed: “That’s because Australia is really far from everywhere else compared to Singapore”.
