Although veteran local entertainer Marcus Chin lives apart from his daughter Elise, he tries to the best of his abilities to provide for her.
The 70-year-old appears as a guest in the upcoming episode of Dishing with Chris Lee 2, which airs tonight (June 24), and was asked by host Christopher Lee what kind of father he thought himself to be.
“I’m a father who has it very easy. That’s because I’ve never raised her,” Marcus responded candidly.
As Christopher, 52, tried to tell him that it’s impossible and he would have done his part, Marcus added: “I held her for a period when she was a baby. Since then, we’ve been separated… because I don’t live with her at all.”
Marcus shares Elise, who was born in 2010, with his former personal assistant Eileen Cheah and the couple broke up in 2011.
Christopher asked if there was no other choice.
“It can’t be helped any more. We’re separated. She lives with her mother in Johor Bahru. We rarely see each other and communicate only through video calls,” Marcus added.
In an interview in 2022, Marcus shared that Elise didn’t usually initiate contact unless he contacted Eileen first. He described the girl’s personality as “introverted, timid and passive”.
He added then that because of the Covid-19 pandemic, they didn’t meet in two-and-a-half years and their relationship became estranged as a result.
As for whether Marcus has thought about how he would make it up to Elise in the future, he said: “I will never know which would come first, my tomorrow or my end, so I don’t want to think about the future.”
Veteran actor Chen Shucheng, who was also a guest together with Richard Low and Zhu Houren in the episode, said: “It’s fine as long as she’s healthy and happy.”
Marcus added that the most important thing for him now is to support her financially in her education.
“I’ve done my part if I can support her to complete her education. I’ll feel assured then,” he said.
Dishing with Chris Lee 2 is now available on demand for free on mewatch and will be shown every Monday at 8pm on Channel 8.
This article was first published in AsiaOne and republished on theAsianparent with permission.