Well, this definitely wasn’t an announcement that we were expecting from Rui En.

The actress has always shared updates about her life through her fanclub RBKD's social media, because, well, she doesn’t have any social media accounts of her own.

But that's all set to change now.

At noon today (Aug 5), Rui En, 40, officially became an Instagram user and within two hours, she already has 8,000 followers, a number that's fast increasing.

Her username, @wilderseas29, is a reference to this excerpt Rui En shared in the caption of her inaugural post.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wilder seas
Where storms will show Your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars

The excerpt is taken from a poem by English explorer Sir Francis Drake, who sailed the seas in the 1500s.

And the 29 at the end of her username?

Well, we guess it represents Rui En’s birthday, which falls on January 29.

Artiste Networks and I have amicably agreed to part ways. Am immensely grateful for the role Hype and Artiste Networks has played in my career. Hype discovered me, signed me and gave me opportunities. I will forever have gratitude for all that I've learnt and experienced during my time with them,” she wrote.

As for why she decided to start her own Instagram account, Rui En said that all the grief, loss and the “chaos of COVID-19 got her to see things in a different light.

A long time ago, I was vehemently against the idea of having social media. I swore I would never start it for the sake of privacy,” she wrote, before adding: I realised that if I looked back at the end of my life, a major regret would be having a platform but not using it to help others.”

Rui En also shared a series of pictures on Instagram Stories, showing that she’s quite the savvy Instagrammer, even as she declares in one story: “I obviously have no idea what I’m doing.”

As of press time, celebs that have left comments welcoming Rui En to Instagram include Dennis Chew, Chantalle Ng, and Bonnie Loo.

Chantalle also posted a hilarious IG Story that featured Shaun Chen to announce Rui En's arrival on the platform. In the clip, Chantalle and Shaun are seen ooh-ing and ahh-ing over what we assume to be Rui En's IG.

Shaun, 42, then quips, “Wah, this Rui En, you’re finally on social media, Instagram? Oh my god! This is too awesome! How old already?!”.

Rui En has since shared Chantalle’s Story and added a comeback of her own: “Why this Shaun Chen so rude? He older than me leh (sic)”.

Photos: Rui En/Instagram