chan "discovered" the nineteen-year-old bonnie hicks shortly after hicks completed her a levels at the hwa chong junior college. hicks and chan enjoyed a close, multi-leveled, complicated relationship that was both professional and personal. hicks referred to chan as "mum", and some surmised that there was perhaps more to the relationship. stemming from ambiguous statements hicks later made in her first book, (e.g., "i was in love with pat chan"), singaporeans widely speculated whether the two were involved in a lesbian relationship. while the statements in hicks' book could be interpreted as indicating only an intimate mentoring relationship with chan, whom hicks clearly idealized and greatly admired, she continued to be ambiguous on the subject whenever questioned. this created a sense of mystery about herself, and contributed to ongoing buzz and publicity.