Scha Alyahya and Awal Ashaari seem to have it all—a loving marriage, a beautiful family, thriving careers, and an exciting business. Through it all, they keep their feet firmly on the ground while keeping their eye on the prize. The following is an excerpt from our cover story this month.
At the risk of sounding cliché, Scha Alyahya and Awal Ashaari are meant to be together. They met when they co-hosted a reality show together, but Awal was already into Scha before that, when he first saw her at the Dewi Remaja beauty pageant finals—he was the host and she was one of the contestants (she was crowned the winner). He was so smitten that after learning that other male celebrities were interested in Scha, his competitive spirit was ignited. He even had to pull some strings so he can end up in the same shoot as her. Such was his determination to pursue the woman of his dreams.
After dating for three years, he popped the question on live TV, stunning a surprised Scha that she was moved to shed happy tears, which her husband said was very “un-Scha-like”. The grand romantic gesture, however, was very much in line with Awal’s character, who is the more expressive of the two.
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The pair married on May 4, 2012, and they are blessed with two beautiful girls, Lara Alana, 7, and Lila Amina, who’s about to turn nine months old. According to them, their marriage is based on open communication, give and take, respecting and accepting each other’s differences, with jokes thrown in for good measure.
Like the sun and the moon, they’re complete opposites, says Awal, but their differences are what makes them work as a couple. Where Scha is an introvert, disciplined, a productive planner, and strong in character, Awal is extroverted, calm, adaptable, laidback, a man with a vision. He says, “I must say we complete each other in a very dynamic way. Scha can turn my weakness into her strength, and vice versa. Acceptance is key and communication is everything.”
Scha agrees, saying that if there is one indispensable ingredient for making a marriage work, it’s communication. “We’re all imperfect. Perpetual pouting and grudge-holding don’t build up a marriage. We’d take a break to calm ourselves down and gather our thoughts for effective communication. Success in marriage doesn’t come merely through finding the right one, but through being the right one.”
