Nicole Seah: I'm now single and happier than before

Nicole Seah: I'm now single and happier than before

Under the intense scrutiny of the media, Ms Nicole Seah's boyfriend distanced himself as he was concerned about his reputation.

She broke up with him and is now single, Ms Seah revealed in an exclusive interview with Her World magazine this month.

The man, Mr Steven Goh, CEO of social networking site Mig33, was first identified last year when Ms Seah posted a Facebook entry on self-doubt and her struggles. She also uploaded a picture of herself and Mr Goh.

But a furore erupted when media outlets Lianhe Wanbao and AsiaOne described him as a married man when he is actually divorced.

The outlets later made an apology. Ms Seah noted via Facebook that she had threatened to sue.

Now 28, she tells the women's magazine: "Instead of supporting me through the ordeal, he left me to deal with the aftermath alone...

"Though I would have struggled silently in the past, this time I refused. I ended the eight-month relationship and I'm now single and happier than before."

The New Paper tried to contact Ms Seah for follow-up questions but she did not respond.

She had previously written about how her love life has been affected ever since she was put in the public eye.

In the same Facebook post where she described her struggles since the 2011 General Election, she wrote: "Got played out dating 2-3 men who were obviously more interested in my public profile than who I really was as a person."

It wasn't just her private life that was affected - right after the election, she received death and rape threats, and was stalked. Early last year, a piece of pink tinsel was found at her gate every day, along with illegible notes.

When she left her house in the mornings, she would see a woman in her early 30s lurking around, staring at her from behind a pillar.

"Netizens posted my office address and contact details, along with the time I usually get off work.

"I was paranoid when I left the office, knowing that someone could be watching me," she tells Her World.

Describing herself to be a "mediocre B-average student" throughout her school years, the National University Singapore (NUS) graduate says she used to be apathetic about local politics.

But this changed after she edited an online independent newspaper in NUS and was struck by issues such as private dormitory housing and xenophobia faced by foreign students.

After graduation, she was in the Reform Party for two years before leaving to join the National Solidarity Party (NSP).

Currently with an advertising firm and based in Thailand, Ms Seah was also coy about her plans to stand for election in 2016.

She first captured public attention when she campaigned in the Marine Parade constituency in 2011, at the age of 24.

"Your guess is as good as mine. I'll still be very involved in the NSP during the election and my goal will always be to serve Singaporeans - but whether I do that as a politician remains to be seen," she says.

This article was published on May 18 in The New Paper.

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