Entertainment Sep. 01, 2011 - 01:29PM JST ( 18 )

TOKYO —

TV personality Aya Sugimoto, 43, revealed Wednesday that she remarried in April. Sugimoto’s new husband is the 41-year-old executive vice president of her company. At a news conference, Sugimoto said of her new husband, “He’s the kind of guy who’d give everything for me, lay down his life for me and protect me.”

Gossip magazine Josei Seven reported Thursday that this was her husband’s third marriage. The couple are believed to have met 15 years ago, at which time Sugimoto was married to guitarist Toshinori Numata. The pair began dating in 2003 after Sugimoto and Numata divorced, and were together for eight years before finally tying the knot this year. “Despite our ups and downs, we haven’t been apart,” Sugimoto said.

She also told the press that the proposal was a roundabout one, when her now-husband told her he would like to be interred at Honno-ji Temple in Sugimoto’s family grave. “I’d like to be the kind of couple that has passion and love, but can still laugh together,” Sugimoto said.

Japan Today