Strange but true: Taiwanese boyband F4 heartthrob Jerry Yan confesses to us that he finds it hard to meet girls. You may not be able to tell from the way he flirts with his fans when he attended the recent Star Awards, where he blew a kiss into 8days.sg’s camera and grazed palms with people who would probably never wash their blessed hands again.

But that’s Jerry Yan, professional thirst trap living a very private life in the public eye. The 42-year-old actor-singer first shot to fame playing the oafish but devoted Dao Ming Si in the 2001 Taiwanese idol drama Meteor Garden. The hit drama, which spawned a sequel in 2002, also made superstars out of Jerry's fellow F4 co-stars Vic Zhou, Vanness Wu and Ken Chu.

When we meet Jerry in his dressing room for an interview on Star Awards night, we find out just how shy and reticent he really is. In fact, he looks overwhelmed by how everyone wants a piece of him. When we enter the room, he is finishing up yet another interview — after a long, long day of press meets. The smell of chicken rice lingers in the air; an abandoned, half-eaten box of Hainanese roast chicken rice sits near Jerry. “He hasn’t had time to finish his dinner,” a member of his entourage tells us later.

Once he wraps up the session, Jerry immediately springs up from the sofa he’s sitting on and attempts to leave the room. “There’s one more interview here,” his manager reminds him gently, gesturing to us. Jerry sits back down reluctantly and makes nervous eye contact with us.

In person, he is very soft-spoken. But within the few precious minutes that we get with him, he gradually warms up, chatting affectionately about Vic Zhou’s three-year-old daughter. We ask the currently-single Jerry if he wants to have kids of his own. “How do I get that opportunity? It’s quite hard for me to meet girls…” he muses. That coming from one of Asia’s most eligible bachelors? We’re not buying it.

That’s what we thought before we watched the uneasy banter that Jerry exchanges on stage with Yanxi Palace star Wu Jinyan. When the duo presented the Best Actor and Actress awards. Jinyan teased Jerry about his taste in women. “Which one of these leading ladies is your favourite?” she asked him. “All of them,” Jerry replied after a pause. “Their husbands are all so handsome, I can’t answer this [question].” Awkward....

The great love of Jerry’s life, according to many. many, many rumours, would be Taiwanese supermodel Lin Chiling. They dated for six years before breaking up in 2006, reportedly ’cos Jerry was too restrained with his feelings (it was said that he hurt Chiling’s feelings terribly when he chided her for being careless after she fell off a horse and got injured). Rumours of a reconciliation in 2017 — they were photographed at a Kuala Lumpur gym together — subsequently fizzled out. Suffice to say, we don’t expect Jerry to be sliding into Wu Jinyan’s DMs anytime soon.

In fact, he doesn’t even use his phone much (we’ll tell you more about that later). In an era where even 50-something stars like viral fashion photographer Chuando Tan are slaying the social media game, Jerry has steadfastly avoided building an online presence. There are many fan accounts feverishly posting his every photo on the internet, though. Which explains why Jerry still went viral earlier this year, when promotional shots of him (above) looking smokin’ hot at 42 surfaced. So we asked him where to find that fountain of youth he’s drinking from.

8 DAYS: You don’t look like you’ve aged at all since your Meteor Garden days. How do you stay so youthful?
JERRY YAN: I wear a lot of make-up (chuckles). How do I stay youthful? Hmm... I try my best to stay happy. Don’t think too much. I don’t use my mobile phone much either, so I’m not affected by what people are saying about me [online]. I lead a simple life, and I try to pick up new skills to enrich myself.

Every other celeb is getting on social media. Ever feel like you’re missing out?
No! (Grins) I actually scold the people around me for being glued to their phones. I’d tell them, “Don’t look at your phone all the time, it’s bad for your eyes.” If I go out with my friends, I’d say, “We hardly get together, so what’s the point of meeting up if you’re just going to be on your phone the whole time? We can just stay at home and talk on the phone.” So I tell them, since we have the chance to meet up, let’s just focus on interacting face-to-face.

You’re one of the rare people who thinks like that these days.
Yes, yes. My friends are used to my ways. If they can’t contact me on the phone, they know I’d get back to them eventually ’cos it’s likely that I’m just busy attending classes or running some errands.

Sounds like it’s really hard to reach Jerry Yan.
(Laughs) It’s not that hard. I don’t always have my phone with me. I’m not the kind to be on my phone all the time. If my management contacts me, I’ll definitely reply them within one or two days. I usually check my phone to see which messages urgently require my attention and reply promptly.

You mentioned that you’re attending classes. What sort of classes are you taking?
It’s a secret (grins). I can’t say! No lah, I sometimes get scripts which requires me to be able to play a musical instrument or… Well, what I want to say is that it’s always good to improve yourself, so you’re not caught unprepared when you get a good role and have to start learning from scratch. I’m interested in things like playing music and picking up languages.

Do you still meet up with your fellow F4 members?
We do, once in a long while. We don’t meet up that often ’cos we’re all very busy, but the four of us went to Vanness [Wu]’s place a few months ago to eat and chat. We’d catch up with one another on what’s going on in our lives. Zai Zai [Vic Zhou] has a daughter now, so we’re especially concerned about him and his family. He’d tell us all about fatherhood and how he takes care of his kid.

Would F4 ever reunite?
You’ll have to ask the rest of them (laughs). I can’t answer this question. Personally, I’m looking forward to a reunion. When we were at Vanness’ house, I told Zai Zai, “Now that you have a kid, it would make a very cute scene if you sing on stage while carrying her.” We like to tease each other like that. But Zai Zai with his kid on stage would definitely be a very heartwarming sight (smiles).

Does that make you want to have kids of your own too?
Yes, I’ve always wanted that. But… (makes a thoughtful ‘tsk’ sound). How do I get that opportunity? It’s quite hard for me to meet girls... But hopefully I can nurture a relationship and give everyone some good news!

Photos: Alvin Teo, Mark Lee, Willie Yeo, Chee Yan, Wilson Pang, Lee Lay Na