Daphne is Dahlia with a new darling

By NOORSILA ABD MAJID 

newsdesk@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: Celebrity Daphne Iking has made the headlines again, this time for a much happier reason – she has married for a second time. The lucky guy is her one-time business partner Azmi Abdul Rahman.

Daphne, 31, who adopted the Muslim name of Dahlia when she converted in January, said she and her husband, who is also known to their friends as Joe, dated for more than a year before deciding to tie the knot.

They got married on Jan 8 in a simple akad nikah ceremony at her hometown in Penampang, Sabah, witnessed by family members and friends.

A second chance at love: Daphne and Azmi dated for more than a year before tying the knot. Daphne says Azmi has been her ‘rock’.

The couple started off as business partners, working on projects like 2REDchairs (www.2redchairs.tumblr.com), a street discussion on so-called taboo subjects, like religion, transgender and homosexuality.

They broke up before – for a while – as she was not sure if their relationship would work.

“I told him ‘let’s just stick to being business partners’. But he is really my jodoh (perfect match).

“He’s been my rock after the failure of my first marriage became a public issue,” she told the Daily Chilli, the news portal of The Star.

Speaking on her conversion to Islam, the TV personality who was recently seen as one of the show hosts of the Seri Angkasa Awards, said: “Islam is a beautiful religion. I’ve been studying it, especially after all the trials and turbulence in my life.”

Daphne was embroiled in a controversy over a suit brought by her first husband, Ryan Chong, against businessman Darren Choy for seducing her, with the intention of having sexual intercourse between July 2007 and September 2008.

Daphne and Ryan married on Jan 27, 2007 in Bali and she has a daughter, Isobel Daniella Iking-Chong. They divorced in 2009.

Joe, in his 30s, told the portal he is not concerned about his wife’s past.

“In Islam, it’s my duty, as a husband, to guide, protect and take good care of my wife.

“We married to avoid fitnah (slander),” he said.

source:http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/2/26/nation/8142396&sec=nation