(Originally written and published as an Editorial for Asianfanatics.net)
We're only halfway through the year and already, there have been a number of celebrity 'breakups' in the HK entertainment industry -- many of them high-profile. Could it possibly be that the Hollywood 'breakup' bug has finally hit Hong Kong? Or perhaps it’s all in the stars and was just meant to be?
Whatever the reason, it’s worth taking a look back at some of the more notable breakups that have made headlines in the past few months (and hope that the breakup trend does NOT continue!).
Note: The below list is definitely not all-inclusive, as I’m sure that there were more celebrity breakups that occurred this year that are not mentioned. I just chose to mention some of the more ‘high profile’ ones that dominated headlines for awhile.
Nicholas Tse and Cecilia Cheung -- To divorce or not to divorce, that is the question
Is it just me, or is anyone else sick and tired of the whole Nicholas / Cecilia divorce drama thing?
After almost a month of occupying the headlines of practically every newspaper and magazine in HK (and in other parts of Asia for that matter), this high-profile (soon-to-be ex) celebrity couple's divorce saga is finally showing some signs of dying down -- that is, until either Nic or Cecilia physically show their faces in public anywhere in HK (or elsewhere) -- then the mayhem starts all over again (well, at least that seems to be the pattern right now).
Indeed, the Nic / Cecilia situation has played out like a soap opera in the past few weeks, with speculations galore by the Media (and the general public) as well as varying degrees of mudslinging and PR ploys from both camps. Without judging who is right or wrong (because it is pretty much impossible to determine at this point), just look at what kind of impact the public airing of the couple’s marital woes has had on the family and friends (on both sides) thus far….
Take for example Nic’s dad Patrick Tse – I’m sure he is probably fed up by now with all those annoying reporters hounding him everywhere he goes, asking him the same questions over and over again (Are Nic and Cecilia really getting a divorce? How do you feel about it? Is Cecilia still 'The Pride of the Tse Family'? Are you going to yell at Eileen Cha when you see her? How long has it been since you've seen the grandkids?....and the questions go on and on). At the rate that things have been going, I wouldn’t be surprised if old man Tse gets so exasperated that he ends up punching one of those pesky reporters in the face (like we need more Tse family drama, eh?). Until that happens though, I continue to find Patrick’s responses to the Media (regarding his son’s situation of course) quite amusing -- definitely gives me my ‘laugh of the day’ listening to his responses.
Oh, and how about all those celebrities affected by the reporters camped out at the HK International Airport for days on end, waiting for either Nic or Cecilia to show up? Those reporters probably bumped into more celebrities at the airport than they would ever bump into attending any other event (boy would I like to be one of those reporters – reading about all the celebrities they encountered, I couldn’t help thinking how lucky’ they were)! And I’ve got to say that seeing the ‘shocked’ expressions on the faces of some celebrities who showed up at the airport to find swarms of reporters was actually quite funny.
At this point though, in my humble opinion at least, it doesn’t matter whether majority of the public are on Nic’s side or Cecilia’s side -- and frankly, I don’t care to know the timeline of when (or if) Nic has already filed divorce papers or not…I’m sure I’m speaking for a lot of people (including the members of the Tse and Cheung families) when I say -- can we just be done with this mess and move on? Please?
One last note -- just for the record, I’m not a fan of either artist (and never will be) so I really don’t care either way how this fiasco ends up turning out…but I do feel sorry for Nic and Cecilia’s two kids, Lucas and Quintus, and I sincerely hope that history doesn’t end up repeating itself 20 years down the road (though with the Tse family genes, it’s definitely hard to say)…
Gregory Lee and Shirley Yeung – From sweet bliss to controversial breakup?
After 9 years of dating, Shirley Yeung announced a couple days ago (at a public event no less) that she and her boyfriend Gregory Lee have broken up. I will admit that I was shocked when I first heard the news, as I had always thought that this was one of those celebrity couples that had a high chance of ‘making it’. I mean, let’s face it -- they look cute together and personality-wise, seem to be compatible in so many ways (or so I thought).
Before I proceed, just a brief mention for those people reading this who may not know who Shirley and Gregory are: Shirley is a 2001 Miss Hong Kong winner (and current record-holder for winning the most awards during a Miss HK pageant) and currently is an actress at TVB; Gregory is a former 1980s child actor (those following TVB series during that time will definitely remember him, as he was the child actor of choice back then) who comes from a veteran acting family and is currently working for TVB again (his career in adulthood is lackluster compared to when he was a kid).
As with any celebrity breakup where very few details are provided by the ‘main players’ themselves, Media speculation is bound to arise -- and so far, that is exactly how this situation is playing out. With Shirley refusing to comment further and Gregory too upset to think or speak clearly, it’s no surprise then that everyone else around them (family, friends, the general public) is speaking for them -- and of course, the HK Media is pouncing on ‘every juicy detail’ and reporting on it as though it were the truth.
What makes this particular breakup attention-worthy is the ‘controversy’ surrounding it -- the supposed ‘one-sided’ announcement of the split, the shocked reactions from family, the rumors of a third party, speculations of infidelity and deceit, and even a possible pregnancy, etc. Oh, and then there are the questions about the timeline not adding up – i.e.: did they break up a few months or a few days ago? Did the parents know or not know? Did Gregory only find out when the public announcement was made or did he truly know in advance? And so on… (Heck, the controversial nature of this split makes the whole Nicholas/Cecilia thing seem boring in comparisons!)
In the days to come, I’m sure the ‘true story’ related to this situation is going to emerge (eventually), so until that occurs, I’m going to reserve judgment on who is telling the truth and who isn’t. One thing is for sure though -- based on Shirley and Gregory’s public comments so far, both of them are definitely NOT on the same page!
Moses Chan and Bernice Liu -- From ‘rumored relationship’ to real breakup
Ever since their pairing in TVB series “Love Bond” back in 2003, Moses and Bernice have been rumored to be in a relationship in real life, despite the fact that neither party had officially confirmed it (until just recently that is). Though no one really knew whether these two were truly a couple in real life (“BerMo” fans probably didn’t care, as long as the on-screen chemistry was there), TVB definitely took full advantage of the rumor -- pairing them up in typical ‘couple team’ fashion for subsequent collaborations in series as well as commercials, promotional events, and even the Anniversary Awards ceremony. Talk about ‘milking’ the rumored relationship to the fullest -- hey, free promotion for TVB (not that they need any more promotion…)!
The relationship was no longer a “secret” when, at the end of last year (2010), Bernice was photographed hanging out with her “rich male friend” Alastair Lam -- almost immediately, accusations of Bernice “cheating on Moses” started flying and Bernice’s public image went down the toilet. Needless to say, “BerMo” was no more and the turn of events made the breakup ‘official’ (at least in the eyes of the public). Of course, the HK Media jumped on the chance to ‘fan the fire’ and so the focus shifted from ‘bad Bernice’ to ‘poor Moses’: aww, poor guy, he looks so forlorn -- hey, let’s dub him ‘the deal of the century’…that should surely make him feel better and show Bernice what she ‘lost’! (Yeah, whatever…it’s the HK Media – they’re not the smartest of people anyway…). Then after that, Aimee Chan comes into the picture (that was mighty convenient, eh?) and hence, Moses’ ‘fairytale courtship’ of Aimee begins…Meanwhile, the Media is clamoring for Bernice’s ‘reaction’ to Moses and Aimee becoming a rumored couple and next thing you know, the headlines read “Bernice Liu hints that Aimee Chan is Third Wheel in relationship with Moses Chan”…wait, but didn’t Bernice and Moses break up already back when that Alastair thing surfaced? So how is Aimee the 3rd wheel? So does this mean Moses was cheating on Bernice instead of Bernice cheating on Moses? I’M CONFUSED!!! Ah, let me guess -- the Media is twisting people’s words again, right??
In a dramatic ‘turn of events’, Bernice revealed recently in an interview that she and Moses actually broke up back in 2008 -- which means that even if she was truly dating Alastair Lam last year, she was not ‘cheating on Moses’ as the public claimed she did. (Of course, she also took the opportunity in the same interview to ‘criticize’ her former employer TVB --I definitely got a kick out of that…LOL!).
Anyway, regardless of how much of the whole thing is fact or fiction, the bottom line is that the relationship between Moses and Bernice is officially OVER. Period.
P.S.: In case you’re wondering why I included the Moses / Bernice breakup in this article when it technically occurred in 2010 -- well, basically because I felt like it for one, but also because the issue sort of overlapped into 2011 as well. (Plus, according to Bernice, the official breakup was in 2008, so technically, the 2010 date isn’t accurate either).
Richard Li and Isabella Leong -- No longer a “Cinderella” story
Honestly, who was actually taken by surprise when news came out that billionaire tycoon and chairman of HK telecom company PCCW (and Asia’s richest man Li Kar Shing’s son) Richard Li had broken up with actress Isabella Leong? I mean, just look at the facts -- Isabella was a ‘struggling’ actress at the time that she met Richard Li and he was a rich dude who wanted a male heir (or two). Less than a year after they met in 2008, she was already pregnant with his child and in 2009 bore him a son -- then last year, she became pregnant again and gave him twin boys. BUT the two of them are NOT MARRIED -- without the commitment of marriage, how realistic is it that a rich guy like Richard is going to remain with Isabella for the rest of his life? Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure THAT ONE out!
To be honest, I’m sort of indifferent to the whole Richard / Isabella situation because, well, frankly I don’t really care. I definitely know who Richard is as well as who his father is (which Hong Konger doesn’t know them? Plus there are enough references to them in TV series and such that a TV fanatic like me would have no reason not to know) -- but that doesn’t mean that I care. As for Isabella…well, let me just say that prior to her connection with Richard Li, I barely knew who she was -- all I knew was that she was an actress who was having contract issues with EEG and after she got together with Richard, her contract issue ‘disappeared’’(it’s actually more like Richard paid the money that was required in order for Isabella to break off her contract early) -- obviously, I had never watched any of her movies prior to that (and I have no interest whatsoever in watching them any time in the future either).
Isabella announced her split with Richard Li back in February and a few days later, Richard issued his own statement to the public confirming the matter. Not surprisingly, rumors immediately arose of a possible third party in the relationship (which Richard as well as Isabella’s spokesperson denied)…but the ‘unique’ aspect of this particular breakup was the rumor of a ‘separation fee’ in the amount of several hundred million dollars that Richard supposedly gave Isabella (which again, both parties have vehemently denied). Of course, only when the breakup involves a millionaire or billionaire will such a rumor exist!
Hmmm, now I’m starting to wonder…was it really a ‘good move’ for Isabella to have 3 children with Richard without being married to him? I would think not…but then again, that’s just my opinion -- others may actually feel she was ‘smart’ for having the children, especially since she did provide the ‘male heirs’ that the Li family wanted.
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As I said at the start of this write-up, I sincerely hope that this ‘breakup trend’ among the celebrities does not continue (though I know that’s probably unrealistic given the nature of the industry). I guess we will have to see at the end of the year whether there will be a ‘part 2’ to this particular post!
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