CLOSER with Rachel Lim is about the conversations beneath the surface.
Rachel sits down with people who fascinate her to explore not just what they’ve done, but what has shaped who they are: the experiences, relationships, contradictions, failures, beliefs and questions that have made them who they are today.
Alongside long-form conversations are personal reflections from Rachel on what she is learning, unlearning and seeing differently in her own life. There may not always be a clear answer.. but perhaps the point is to come away seeing someone differently, seeing ourselves differently, and feeling a little closer.
To ourselves.
To each other.
To what matters.
#62: Chloe Tong: Marriage First, Life Beyond Labels & Growing With Grab
Chloe Tong opens up about the life behind the roles she is most known for: daughter, wife, mother of five, partner to Grab co-founder and CEO Anthony Tan, and now the work she is building through ACE Team Foundation.
In this conversation, she shares how losing her mother young shaped the way she thinks about love and family, what boarding school taught her about independence, and how growing up gave her the freedom to be both ambitious and maternal.
We go into the early days of her relationship with Anthony, why it began with deep respect before love, why she quit just two weeks after meeting him to build alongside him, the fights that shaped their marriage, and why they made the unconventional decision to put their marriage before their children.
We also talk about motherhood, privilege, service, identity, the pressure of building a family in public, and what it means to create a home that feels steady even when life outside is not. At the heart of the conversation is a question Chloe is still living into: how do you build a life deeply intertwined with others while still becoming more fully yourself?
Chapters
00:00:00 Getting to Know Chloe Tong
00:01:24 Growing Up with the Courage to Speak Up
00:03:42 Learning to Hold Love and Regret Together
00:05:18 Carrying Forward Unconditional Love
00:06:33 Finding Her Voice Away from Home
00:07:52 Knowing When Not to Rescue Your Child
00:09:51 Learning to See Her Mother More Fully
00:11:33 Why Children Don’t Always Need Equal
00:14:03 Wanting Both: Ambition and Motherhood
00:17:50 Meeting Anthony: A Relationship Built on Honesty
00:24:18 Building a Marriage Around Shared Values
00:26:27 Learning to Disagree Without Losing Respect
00:28:17 Choosing to Stay Through the Hard Things
00:31:33 Beyond Titles: Making Space for Every Version of Herself
00:34:12 What It Takes to Hold Family and Work Together
00:36:17 Building a Home That Feels Like Peace
00:38:43 Why Their Marriage Comes Before Their Children
00:44:03 Finding Purpose Through ACE Team Foundation
00:55:05 Building a Family Culture That Works for You
00:56:01 Finding Perspective Through Faith and Family
00:57:15 Who Is Chloe Beyond Everything She Does?
00:58:04 Learning to Put Ego Aside
01:01:52 When Purpose Calls You Beyond Yourself
01:03:25 What Her Mother Would Say Today
Follow Rachel here: https://www.instagram.com/ms_rach/
Follow Chloe Tong here: https://www.instagram.com/chloetong/
Follow CLOSER here: https://www.instagram.com/closerwithrach/
6 Oct 2026
Raising Conscious Humans: Raising Children With an Inner Compass
Host Rachel Lim interviews Hwee Keng Maeder about nurturing children's self-trust and inner compass through real responsibility and allowing consequences.
29 Sept 2026
#61: Dr. Ramani: The Signs of a Narcissistic Relationship & How Not to Lose Yourself
Host Rachel Lim interviews clinical psychologist Dr. Ramani Durvasula about identifying narcissistic relationship signs and protecting your sense of self.
Who has been a guest on Who We Are with Rachel Lim
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Hwee Keng Maeder
Dr Ramani Durvasula
Hwee Keng
Shanti Pereira
Ingck
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
664,620
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.0 / 5
4 ratings
Spotify
4.9 / 5
323 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 73 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
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