Aliff Aziz says he cheated on wife Bella Astillah because his soul felt empty: 'I couldn't control myself'

Aliff Aziz and Bella Astillah have been married since Sept 9, 2016. Photos: mStar

The scandalous story surrounding the private life of Singaporean actor Aliff Aziz remains a hot topic in the local entertainment scene, and the buzz doesn’t seem to be dying down anytime soon.

In a recent interview with entertainment programme Melodi, Aliff revealed that he cheated on his wife, Malaysian artiste Bella Astillah, as his “soul felt empty”.

The actor admitted that he made a mistake and said he failed to appreciate what he already had at the time.

“I couldn’t control myself. That was a mistake. (This) mistake isn’t something to be proud of. It made me very stressed and embarrassed,” the 33-year-old said.

Addressing the suspected khalwat issue with local actress Ruhainies, Aliff said he chose to remain silent when the scandal first broke as he didn’t want netizens to twist his statement.

The Singaporean added that the case is still under investigation.

“I never ran away (from the issue) but admitted it was a mistake,” he said.

Aliff and Ruhainies, 31, made headlines on March 9 when they were detained by religious authorities under suspicion of committing khalwat at a condominium in Kuala Lumpur.

Bella, 30, filed for a divorce from Aliff a few days later, but the latter refused to divorce her during the hearing on April 4.

Explaining why he refused to divorce his wife, Aliff said: “She is the mother of my children. There needs to be more discussion. What happens after is something I have to bear.”

Aliff also shared that his marriage with Bella had been rocky even before he started filming with Ruhainies for the upcoming drama Terjerat.

He claimed that Bella had asked for a divorce in December but changed her mind.

“I started shooting in January. She retracted (the divorce) before I started shooting with Ruhainies. Even for small things, she would ask for a divorce,” he said.

Aliff also said during the interview that he will give full cooperation at the next divorce hearing set to take place on June 4. He also said he's ready to grant Bella custody of their two children.

"I just hope to have rights like visiting, spending nights together with my children because I don't want the bond between us to be severed or obstructed," he added.

Aliff and Bella tied the knot on Sept 9, 2016.

The estranged couple first divorced in 2019 after Aliff was hit with cheating allegations but reconciled in 2020.