The lesbian heiress reveals some of the wackiest marriage proposals she has received

Illustration by Bernard Chau


Since 2012, more than 20,000 men have proposed to Gigi Chao in the hope of winning her father's bounty and her hand in marriage. She let Hong Kong Tatler in on some of the wackiest – no names named, of course. 

One Chinese-born Australian attempted to woo Gigi with an 18-page handwritten letter in which he claimed to have created the Earth and said he could predict the future. In case Gigi was sceptical, he attached scanned copies of his life insurance documents, birth certificate, education details and even his very own marriage certificate.

Clearly a fan of the short and sweet approach, an Indian photographer sent our cover star a one-page CV listing his weight, height, religion and contact details alongside the words "To Mr. Cecil Chao Ji Sung, I want to marry your daughter”.

A former party boy penned a four-stanza poem declaring his love (in questionable grammar), emphasising the fact that in 1979 (when Gigi was just a baby) he was a young aircraft engineer enjoying layovers in Hong Kong. Why should she choose him? Well, he used to party in Wan Chai so if he moved to Hong Kong to be her husband, he wouldn’t get lost. 

A tech geek from Florida emailed Gigi and her father a topless snapshot showing off his rippling six-pack. The buff bachelor also applauded Cecil for his paternal skills, saying "It’s very clear happiness to Dr Chao is not measured by money”.

With so much competition to win Gigi’s hand, one woman decided to take an alternative approach. Using the name Dee, she placed an advert in a Hong Kong newspaper asking Cecil to "marry the girl you once (33 years ago) dashed at like a leopard after a gazelle".

Forget red roses, one American suitor attempted to seduce Gigi with a series of abstract flower images and the message "I would be pleased to merry your daughter". A little less Photoshop and a bit more spellcheck perhaps? 


Read a preview of our exclusive interview with Gigi, out in the March issue of Hong Kong Tatler now