Taiwanese pop star Selina Jen’s estranged husband has threatened to sue over rumours that the couple’s split was caused by the presence of a third party.
The Chinese entertainment industry was shocked when Jen, 34, and Richard Chang, 43, announced they were getting a divorce via social media on Friday morning.
Many media outlets have long depicted the pair as a picture perfect couple, and news of their split set tongues wagging as tabloids openly speculated the cause in the media.
Taiwan media was quick to dig up old reports of Chang going to a KTV with 22-year-old model Jessie Zhuo in March last year. At the time, the lawyer said he was not a saint and had flaws like most people do. Both Chang and Zhuo denied knowing each other well, and clarified that they had been out with a large group of people.
Various sources
According to Apple Daily, another possible reason for the split could be the couple’s childlessness. In previous interviews, Jen and Chang had revealed that due to injuries she suffered in a 2010 fire incident, they did not sleep in the same room when they first got married.
On Saturday, Jen’s record company issued a statement denying the rumours, saying that the couple’s split had nothing to do with any third party or their childlessness.
But this did not put a stop to the rumours. Instead, more speculation arose, with some media outlets alleging that Chang did not get along with his father-in-law and the other two members of S.H.E.
My Paper reported that Jen had said in a 2010 interview that a near-death experience had caused a rift between her father and her husband. She had initially blamed her father for allowing her to go for a shoot where an accidental explosion caused burns on 54 per cent of her body. She also felt hurt that her father did not blame or seek justice from those responsible for the incident.
She later admitted that she was wrong to harbour ill feelings against her father, and patched things up with him. But the rift between the older Jen and Chang could not be so easily repaired, she said.
ljessica@sph.com.sg
