sweet second   She’s been dubbed “the single mum” for a good part of her acting career, but not anymore. Amy J. Cheng pours out her heart to JUSTINA TAN on love, life and second chances.     PEOPLE HAVE BEEN wondering why actress Amy J. Cheng is positively glowing these days. There are two parts to the answer. After years of being a single mum, she relinquished singlehood in 2005 when she tied the knot with R. Chandran, the 52-year-old founder/ director of Act 3 Theatrics; and she’s now pregnant with their child. Traditionalists who believe in the power of names may proffer a third. The 38-year-old Fly Entertainment artiste, budding children’s book author and illustrator, and mother-of-one has added a middle name. She’s kept her maiden name for career reasons, but added “Jothilakshmi” – Jothi means “light” while Lakshmi is the Hindu goddess of beauty and good fortune – an Indian name given by her husband. “Since I’m not using Chandran’s surname, I thought I should have something from him. I like the name and feel good about it, so I always include the first initial of my middle name when I introduce myself now,” she says with a smile. The second time around Amy and Chandran met in 2001 when she starred in an Act 3 children’s play. Little did she know that they would start a relationship two years later, in 2003, and that she would end up blissfully married to him. While Amy admits that she initially feared that her relationship with Chandran would go the way of her previous marriage, she says she’s enjoying her life now. “If I had to go through everything again to experience what I have now, I’d go through it all again. I think it’s worth it.” But the actress hasn’t had an easy ride. Her parents divorced when she was a child, and years later, Amy repeated what her parents went through – she married at 26, became a mum by 27, separated at 29, and divorced at 31, and was a single mum till 2005. And when she started out in acting, Amy was no starry-eyed newbie. She was 28 and a full-time homemaker with a baby to boot when she joined the now-defunct Fame Awards in 1998. She’s quick to add, self-effacingly: “Being in an industry that allows you to meet people all the time makes you realise that you’re not the only one who has been through a rough patch – so it makes you less self-centred and self-absorbed.” Singapore’s sweetheart Indeed, the Amy you meet is 100 per cent genuine and amiable. So accommodating is she that when we asked if she would be willing to cut two inches from her pin-straight locks, she agreed – albeit smiling nervously as the hairstylist lopped it off. She also doesn’t object when someone further suggests giving her bangs a blunt chop. All this despite being pregnant – and hormonal, we assume. And she forged through the five-hour photo shoot with nary a diva tantrum or demand. It seems unfair that a sweetheart like Amy would have to go through hard times, but that part of her life is, without a doubt, over. “I had a lot of guilt about the divorce obviously, that my son had to go through what he went through, but a friend told me that the gift I’ve given to my son is Chandran. “I was very touched by what he said and so far, thank God, it’s really the truth. I finally feel like I have a chance to give my son a real family,” she says earnestly.   PHOTOGRAPHY AIK CHEN ART DIRECTION MARIANNE LIM STYLING DEBRA WONG HAIR KENNETH ONG (9147-8321) MAKEUP MARJORIE TEO-ALDRIDGE (9734-8182), USING DIOR SUMMER 2008 DRESS LOEWE EARRINGS & BRACELET GOLDHEART