Last week (June 6) YES 933 DJ Hazelle Teo, 31, announced that she got engaged to local pianist and content creator James Wong, 25.

The couple first broke the news on radio, with Hazelle revealing that it was her co-host Zhong Kunhua’s idea to have James call in as a listener to share about his successful proposal story. They then surprised listeners by revealing that he is actually Hazelle’s fiancé.

James and Hazelle, whom 8days.sg met up with yesterday (Jun 10), are one of those couples who are super in-sync with each other. So much so that one wouldn’t have guessed that they’ve only been dating for just over a year. It appears that fate, or the Instagram algorithm, had a part to play in them meeting.

Hazelle tells 8days.sg that she was scrolling through Instagram one night when James’ video popped up on her explore page. “I clicked in and was like ‘Eh this guy is quite cute. He plays the piano’. I saw his handle @jameswong.kl and thought he might be from KL. I stalked him and found out he is from Singapore, and that’s when I reached out to ask if he wanted to collab with me.” Sliding into your future husband's DMs? That's a fairytale for the digital age if we ever saw one. 

They first spoke in late 2023. Taylor Swift was coming to Singapore, and Hazelle had the idea to work on something Taylor Swift-related — she would sing and James would play the piano.

James was on board with the idea, and as they began to talk more, Hazelle asked to take their conversation to Telegram. “I wouldn’t say it was like love at first sight, but he did leave an impression at first sight,” reveals Hazelle, who decided he was her "cup of tea" based on his IG posts alone.

James, however, admits he had no idea who Hazelle was.

“He never replied me on Telegram!” chuckles Hazelle.

James explains: “I knew she was probably a content creator, but because I don’t listen to Chinese radio, I didn’t know she was a DJ. I knew that her Chinese New Year song was coming out, so when she approached me, I thought she wanted to do a collab on her song.”

Turns out, James was busy during that period, and was still keeping it very professional when it came to their online conversations.

James later found out that Hazelle wanted to collab on a Taylor Swift song, which was more his thing. The more they discussed the project, the more Hazelle wanted to know him better. "He was very well-mannered and polite in his texts," she gushes.

It wasn’t until they met at a cafe in Bishan that James began to develop an interest in Hazelle as well.

Hazelle recalls wrapping up her radio shift that night before heading over to meet James. After dinner, they took a walk and ended up chatting until 1am. Their conversation started off about work but progressed into more personal topics.

“I felt like I still wanted to talk [to her] but was also afraid that it might be too late. I did not want her to feel like our first meeting was dragging on” says James.

Hazelle chimes in: “That’s why I say he’s very well-mannered, he thinks about [these things].”

After that day, Hazelle and James began to chat on Telegram more frequently.

“I realised she’s very interesting, and a very mature person. She’s very career-minded, and I love to work as well. All along I thought my love for work was a red flag for many girls, but with her, my red flag seemed to be a green flag,” reveals James.

Hazelle tells us she was not aware of James’ age when they first spoke. She had to do some good ol’ social media stalking, and came across one post from 2023 in which he talked about being 23.

However, the six-year age gap did not bother her. “I don’t feel our age gap at all. In fact, sometimes it feels like he’s older than me,” she says.

James, on the other hand, never considered dating an older girl before meeting Hazelle. His previous relationship was five years ago, and although they were the same age, he felt she was “a little bit too young” for him. He had never considered dating someone older as he always thought the guy had to be older in a relationship.

“When I met Hazelle, I realised ‘Oh, [was I single] because I didn’t explore dating someone older?’ Things [felt right] when I met her,” he reveals.

James was initially worried about what Hazelle’s parents would think of her dating a younger guy. He thought they might have concerns about whether he would be able to take care of her.

“When I first met her parents, I tried to be as outgoing as I could be, as I wanted their first impression of me to be someone strong and capable, and mature enough to be a good fit for their daughter,” he says.

Hazelle and James started dating last April, on Hazelle’s 30th birthday (April 20). Three months later, they met each other’s parents. 

“He’s doing such a good job [winning my parents over]. To the extent that my mum keeps telling me ‘Don’t bully Le Le! (James’ nickname). Le Le is a very nice person, you must take care of him, you must cherish each other’,” laughs Hazelle.

Even her dad, whom Hazelle describes as “very awkward and introverted” has fully accepted James, even giving him a hug whenever he visits. “That, to me, is a very big step because I’ve never seen my dad do that. James’ efforts have paid off, and it makes our whole family a more loving place,” she gushes.

The couple have been talking about marriage since last year. Hazelle says they’ve already contacted JW Marriott — her ideal wedding location — to look at their packages.

She initially thought James would propose in September when they are in Switzerland for a holiday. He, however, wanted to surprise her, and so meticulously planned a surprise proposal during Hazelle’s work trip to Qingdao in May.

The couple, who are now living together, are looking forward to building a space and starting their own family. “When we do have kids, I want four!” says Hazelle excitedly.

Photos provided by Hazelle Teo & James Wong.