Married couple Peter and Corinne Ngion share about balancing their relationship in the bedroom and the boardroom.
Peter and Corinne Ngion.
You can’t miss Peter and Corinne Ngion in a crowd, they’re usually the most vibrantly togged couple—it’s their special way of declaring their love for one another in public. However, the Ngions, who have two children—Ashley, 21 and Ashleen, 19—are not just life partners—they are business partners as well.
Their company, TravelGolf & Leisure Services Pte Ltd, customizes tour packages for golfing enthusiasts. This additional dynamic in the relationship poses an extra challenge but identifying each other’s weaknesses and strengths helps them encourage and depend on one another. “Peter is my right arm and I am his left arm. Without either one, the business is handicapped,” says Corinne, 48.
She adds, “We always remind each other that the business belongs to God and we are employed by Him. Neither one of us can resign without His permission. It is with this positive mindset that we have been in this business partnership till today.” Corinne encourages couples who are working together to appoint God as the boss of the business. “When you think of Him, you will have the strength to overcome any challenges and obstacles ahead.”
The couple met in the 1990s when Peter was a customer at the company Corinne was working in. One fine day, Peter was in the office to book some golf trips and when she walked in, he said, “Hello sweetie, do you still remember me?” She admitted, “He was a client and I did not want to offend him, so he became bold and came to my desk and started talking to me. He told me a joke that made me laugh so much, there were tears flowing down my face! When he asked me to have dinner with him, I immediately agreed.”
However, he forgot about the date. Playing cool, Corinne tried to ignore it. She went for dinner with her family instead, and went to bed. But the date that never came nagged at her, and at 1:30 a.m., she paged him and asked why he stood her up. Within 30 minutes, he appeared at her door step, and drove her out for supper. Bonding over their mutual passion for golf, their relationship grew stronger. The rest, of course, is history.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CORINNE NIGON. The Ngions on holiday in the United States.
Peter, 50, likens marriage to a bridge. “As we cross that bridge to and fro everyday, it becomes a normal thing to do. But what happens if the bridge breaks one day? We can think of other alternatives like finding a boat or swimming across. We will still get to our destination, but the fact that the bridge is still broken remains. It is like bitterness in our heart—it will remain there until we do something about it. So even though it’s hard at times, we do it, and when we look back and tell ourselves that we can repair the bridge, what is there that is more challenging for us to overcome together?”
The secret of their successful marriage is simple—praying together. Corinne’s advice: “Spend more time with each other. For us, we will have dinner together every weekend as a family. We pray together as a family every night before we go to bed. Never take your relationship for granted, even though you are married. As a couple, master tolerance and endurance. We are not perfect but we make an effort to improve day by day.”
