Taipei — On June 5, Barbie Hsu, 44, announced that she has filed for divorce from her husband of 10 years, Chinese businessman Wang Xiaofei, 39. The Taiwanese actress revealed the shocking news to Apple Daily. However, those closest to the couple, including their mothers, her manager and Wang himself, have denied the rumours.
Wang was “unaware” of the divorce when contacted by Chinese media. In a phone interview with Apple Daily, Hsu’s mum said: “Barbie talked about [the divorce] in a fit of anger. What divorce? I’ll persuade her. Both she and Xiaofei would be worried sick about their children. I’ll ask Xiaofei and Barbie to bear with each other.”
Hsu’s manager told Apple Daily: “The couple just had a fight. Which couple doesn’t? It’s no big deal.”
Even Wang’s mother is unaware of the divorce suit, according to 8days.sg.
When she was bombarded with questions by netizens during a live stream, she said: “It’s been very difficult for [my son]. He has to fly to Taiwan to look after his wife and kids. He has to go through quarantine when he gets back to the mainland too. He really spoils his wife (…) Neither Barbie nor Xiaofei have notified me of such a thing, so please be prudent when you hear of rumours like these. They’re not getting a divorce.”
However, other sources close to Hsu say this is not just an impulsive decision. It seems that Hsu has been contemplating divorce since last year. According to these sources, Hsu has three reasons for wanting a split: 1) she feels her values and principles are too different from Wang’s, 2) they’ve drifted apart as they don’t live together most of the time, and 3) Wang often posts disparaging comments about Taiwan on Weibo, and that has caused rifts in their relationship.
It was reported that Wang’s Weibo post, which he posted at 1.26 am on June 5, criticised the Taiwanese government’s handling of the pandemic. The post could have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.
In his post, he wrote his business in China is “booming, but everything looks bleak in Taiwan”. He also told the staff of his Taiwan hotel that there are “dozens of hotels in the mainland waiting for you to manage”, adding that their salary will be “doubled”.
After reports of his divorce from Hsu went viral, Wang updated his Weibo with this message: “I said some nasty things because’m very worried about my family. It’s easy to get emotional during the pandemic. I hope my family can be healthy and safe.”
At press time, he has yet to remove his earlier post.
Hsu, who resides in Taiwan, has spent months away from Wang after he returned to China for work. Wang has not been coping well with the long-distance relationship and he’s made multiple late-night emo posts on Weibo. Recently, he’s been making news for his bad behaviour, such as going on live broadcast with a female streamer while drunk.
The couple dated for 49 days before tying the knot in March 2011. They have a daughter and a son aged seven and five respectively./TISG