Michelle Chen with her husband Chen Xiao and their son in a photo on social media in July 2020. Photo: Michelle Chen/Facebook
Taiwanese actress Michelle Chen and her husband, Chinese actor Chen Xiao, have divorced after almost nine years of marriage, confirming long-time whispers of their split.
The former couple published the same post on Feb 18 on their respective Weibo accounts, tagging each other.
The post read: “I am grateful for the encounter, as I wish you well in the future. We are still the parents of our child and will accompanying him in growing up.”
Rumours of their split intensified from June 2024. A Chinese paparazzo had said they were in the midst of divorce proceedings, but they neither denied nor confirmed the rumours.
Michelle Chen, 41, is best known for the Taiwanese coming-of-age romance film You Are The Apple Of My Eye (2011). Chen Xiao, 37, shot to prominence with the Chinese period drama Legend Of Lu Zhen (2013).
They met while filming the Chinese drama series The Romance Of The Condor Heroes (2014 to 2015), playing the lead couple of Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu.
They began dating in March 2015 and confirmed their relationship in August that year after they were spotted spending the night together at a hotel in Beijing by the Chinese paparazzi. They tied the knot in July 2016 and their son was born in December that year.
Talk of marital woes began to surface in 2017. But Michelle Chen would wish her husband happy birthday each July from 2019 to 2021. She posted photos of their family in 2019 and 2020, and a photo of him sleeping with their son in 2021.
Netizens noticed that the couple had not appeared together since her birthday celebration in May 2023. They also did not wish each other happy birthday on social media in 2024.
After the death of Michelle Chen’s father in December 2024, Chen Xiao did not go to the funeral in Taiwan and instead attended a promotional activity in Chengdu, China.
The former couple sparked further speculation in late January after they were believed to have spent Chinese New Year apart. Netizens noticed from the IP locations of their Weibo accounts that Chen Xiao was in his home town in Anhui province, while Michelle Chen was in Beijing. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
