Gillian Chung and Michael Lai Announce Divorce
Married for only 14 months, Gillian Chung (鍾欣潼) and Michael Lai (賴弘國) announced their divorce today. Often separated long distance because of their careers, their marriage was rife with many problems, pushing Gillian to finally ask for a divorce in March. The biggest problem, however, is that Michael feels Gillian doesn’t love him enough.
The 39-year-old star confirmed her divorce and stated, “Both of us do not have any grievances.” Her management agency, Emperor Entertainment Group, alluded that there were lifestyle differences behind their separation.
Gillian Regretted Getting Married
After meeting Michael in 2017, Gillian fell for the Taiwanese gynecologist quickly although he was divorced from a previous marriage. The following year, the couple held lavish weddings in Los Angeles and Hong Kong, and later appeared in Chinese reality show Parenting Class <爸媽學前班>. On the show, Gillian admitted that while she liked Michael’s attentive and loving nature, it was really loneliness that brought them together.
Being married to a big celebrity comes with pressure, but Michael’s biggest complaint is that Gillian does not truly love him. He revealed that immediately after their wedding in 2018, Gillian already regretted getting married. But the couple decided to work out their problems until their relationship again cooled off after the filming of Parenting Class.
In February while Gillian was filming a web drama in Malaysia, Michael visited her on set and apparently left on a good note. The couple knew that because of the coronavirus pandemic, they would be separated long distance for a lengthy time. When he received Gillian’s request for divorce, Michael was shocked that their marriage has come to an end, but he nevertheless agreed and signed separation papers on March 1.
Recalling his bittersweet journey, Michael said Gillian had doubted their marriage from the beginning. He wrote in a lengthy social media post, “When I think back to 2018 after our wedding in Los Angeles, you suddenly turned cold. I asked you why, and you told me that you regretted [our marriage]. You didn’t love me very much, and felt you were not suitable for marriage. We discussed for a long time and decided to give our relationship another chance.
“In March of this year, you called me and said: ‘I’m sorry, I thought I would fall in love with you slowly after marriage, but you really couldn’t do it. When I received your signed separation agreement, my feelings went from sadness to anger to loss, and finally to acceptance of reality. I think life is like this. Although I still can’t believe it, but thank you for telling me your true feelings so that we can walk towards our separate future.”
Source: Oriental Daily
This article is written by Jayne for JayneStars.com.
[Celebrity Weddings] Gillian Chung and Michael Lai Tie the Knot!
Yeh felt Gillian was always trying to prove something to the world and showing off rather than focusing on enjoying married life. She has a chip on her shoulder. Happily married couples do not have to vocally express about their relationships…
@jimmyszeto I think Gillian got married for the wrong reasons. Maybe at the time, she wanted companionship, but with her busy career and filming scheduling, she didn’t have time to work through their marital problems. Plus she is emotional and sounds insecure about herself (with self doubts).
Filming together for a reality show early on in their marriage also wasn’t a good idea.
@jayne
Marrying and hoping to fall in love with husband after marriage is never a good idea. Always shows she did not love him enough in the first place…
@jimmyszeto this just show how immature she is,she is a 30+ not a teenage girl. no brain.
@jimmyszeto Yes, may be she wants to prove to the world that someone is willing to marry her despite her sex photo scandal with Edison Chen. I am not sure how Chinese/Hong Kong men are willing to overlook these photos. One bad mistake, could have a long lasting effect on your whole life.
@janeb
The guy seems the type guy you would like to show off with. A young professional surrounded by women that Gillian can marry and show off that she managed to grab for herself. Too bad we will never know if he would have even looked in her direction if it wasn’t for her famous status…
@janeb what does Edison sex photo scandal have to do w this? The right lover who loves you enough would let go of a “scandal” which happened ages ago.
@luye
That scandal is definitely a dark shadow that will haunt her for life. Something like that just cannot disappear as prior to that people viewed her as an innocent and pure girl which that scandal has shown that she clearly is not. Plus, with traditional families, they definitely would not accept it.
@hetieshou Yes, what happened happened. But should Gillian let the scandal haunt her for life? Truth is everyone has sex; there’s no such thing as pure/innocent. Plus it wasn’t her fault as those photos were obtained illegally.
@jimmyszeto
They definitely married for the wrong reasons so of course it would not last long. I felt they had many red flags that they just ignored which led to this. It is better to solve all problems prior to tying the knot, not tie the knot and expect things to get better.
Wow! Seems just like yesterday she was so in love w her dr hubby? Feels like the same amount of time as the Song Song couple huh? Damn! It’s quick or what. Actually, this twin girl always seem the type that couldn’t wait for her Prince Charming to come quick enough after the scandal? I guess you can never tell.
It’s kind of sad that both Michael’s marriages were short lived. I think it was a bad idea to jump into filming reality show so fast after marriage. Idk, Gillian and her entire company were always out there trying to prove her worthiness. I even remember her boss gifting her lots of gift during her wedding saying that it was so hard for her to get married.
@vlol
Good point! I think Gillian should return her gifts especially the mansion from her boss. This is daylight robbery…
@jimmyszeto lol @ the daylight robbery! But yes, she got so much gifts from her boss. Her boss gifted millions in money and properties as well as pay for her wedding in Hong Kong.
I think Gillian has provided her boss with enough special services over the years to have earned those gifts….
Totally saw this coming! They were never a good match; Gillian too naive and insecure while he is a player that couldn’t give her security.
Gillian never seemed truly happy on the day they wed and now we know it’s cause she got cold feet. She was likely pushed to get married for the sake of it more than anything. Her wedding more of a show than anything.
@hazel the crazy thing is that Gillian was the one who propose marriage to Michael. She mention in a talk show that she suggested they get rings and get married when they were on vacation in Hawaii. Idk, maybe she wanted to get married for the sake of just getting married but when reality hit her she didn’t want to be part of it anymore.
@hazel
Gillian is anything but naive… why is everyone blaming Micheal? I am sure they both had problems which contributed to the breakdown of their marriage. They married for all the wrong reasons.
@hetieshou She’s called “天真Gill” for a reason.
@hazel
She is called that but does not mean she truly is.
I get the feeling she can’t fall in love with him because of their lifestyle differences. I remember her saying he gets upset at her for buying things without looking at price tags and she’s probably not used to someone judging her purchases. Let me tell you, having someone tell you what you can and cannot buy is a crazy turn off lol. It takes a rational woman to not get upset over that, especially when it’s her own money.
He’s probably a combo of not being interesting enough, fun enough and rich enough to keep her around. That on top of lack of time for her is a killer.
I think it’s funny how Edison is basically settled into the family life with a kid while Gillian looks like she’s someone wont get into the married lifestyle.
i thought she was talking about trying to get pregnant. was it her who said she wanted to marry before 30 so that she could have kids?
Not surprised at all. I always felt like he enjoyed the limelight and Gillian gave him that. She strikes me as very insecure, naive and fake. I think the marriage gave her some sort of validation that a man (with a decent career) would marry her. I think the Edison scandal still haunts her to this day. I saw bits and pieces of their reality show and she came across as cold, emotional and as interesting as watching paint dry.
It’s messy AND sad. She needed validation from him as much he needed it from her. He usually hangs with non-sophisticated party girls and talented men usually don’t go for Gillian.
Lesson of the day: love yourself so you don’t marry out of desperation, confusion, or loneliness.
Good thing they don’t have any children yet otherwise it’s sad for their children.
Naive, insecure, immature and never really grew up from her teen years.
That’s what marrying for the sake of marrying results in.
Suggest she leave the entertainment circle,get another life and maybe a name change as the shot for success had long ago left with that scandal. Also that may possibly made a man marry her so wouldn’t have his friends /family sniggered behind his and also her back.
@sooreneccs I don’t think she will
LEave the entertainment industry. She makes $
Quite the contrary, I ADMIRE AND APPLAUD Gillian for divorcing him so early on knowing she’ll be judged as finicky, insecure, attention seeking, validation chaser. This can turn into an ugly scandal that will affect her career, but she still went through with it. She could’ve been like other couples who are married on paper, but have side chicks, and want the world to believe that all is peachy when the wife forgives and their family is still together.
Honestly, we can’t blame Gillian and say she married him for all the wrong reasons. What are the wrong reasons? It felt like she liked him so much, she was naively and willing to marry him no matter what. Yes, perhaps she was touched that a guy like him liked her enough to marry her. Why? Is that wrong? The girlfriend is almost 40 years old and all this time, she has never found anyone she was heading towards marriage with except this guy so perhaps she just really really liked him and thought she can accept his flaws. However, marriage life will either make those flaws smaller or bigger and in this case, she realized she couldn’t love him anymore. I’ve never seen Gillian publicize anything as much as him before. She was really smitten by him to risk so much. If she was doing everything for fame, she could’ve done many things out of desperation a long time ago, so I think she sincerely liked him enough to publicly marry him and thought it may last forever. I mean, why would she kill her own career and reputation if she doubted him and the marriage? She even took time off and medicine to start a family that made her gain weight, which is a direct career killer because she sells her looks for a living. She was pretty serious with this guy. How much more does she need to do to show that she did? She put him on the map. He’s lucky anyone even pays attention to what he has to say. Secondly, he’s the divorcee here. His previous marriage wasn’t a long one either. It was him who kept having rumors of fling after fling. I mean, if you divorce once, perhaps it’s half your fault but if you divorce again, maybe you’re the problem.
Based on his post and disclosure of private conversations, he is immature. If she didn’t cheat on you, actually, you’re the cheater here, then don’t victimize yourself. Be a man and grow up. He blames her for the failed marriage that she doesn’t love him enough to make it appear like she’s finicky but won’t divulge why she doesn’t love him anymore because it’s going turn ugly for him. Like perhaps she doesn’t want to sleep with someone who sleeps around behind her back? Dude, go Gillian. Divorce his sorry butt if that makes you happier and freer. Who cares what other have to say. We all make stupid mistakes including marriages, but the best remedy is get out as soon as you realize time is not to be wasted on people like him. But I’m glad this isn’t her worse situation, so she’ll get through it like the others.
@lynn90
I think we have to remain neutral regarding who was a fault. Likely both when it comes to a relationship rather than heap criticism blindly on one side.
@jimmyszeto
I totally agree that we need to remain neutral as we do not know the whole story. I find it sad that everyone is blaming the guy and make it seem like Gillian is an angel while her ex husband is some terrible person.
@hetieshou
Gillian just has powerful people around her. They all suddenly volunteer to come out and blast Michael. What a coincidence…
@jimmyszeto
Very true! No wonder all of a sudden, there are so many people coming forward to blast Micheal out of the blue. Now I know why.. what a bad and shameful thing to do.
@lynn90 not sure if divorce will affect Gillian’s career. They rushed to marriage. But better to clean up mess earlier than later
@lynn90
Why blame it all on Micheal? I am sure Gillian has plenty of faults too. It takes 2 to tango…
There’s a lot of speculations over why these two are divorcing. Most likely, it’s a combination of all those reasons which is why they decided to separate.
When she says she doesn’t love him enough, I think she’s missing some pieces of her statement – she doesn’t love him enough – to withstand, tolerate and accept his flaws. Obviously, if she didn’t at the very least like him, she wouldn’t have accepted his proposal. It’s the same reason why people use the phrase, “I like you, but…” which is another way of saying, “I like you, just not enough.”
@coralie
At least Gillian has that marriage box ticked which is probably all she wanted…
@coralie
There are definitely many reasons why they are divorcing. I feel we should not blame it all on Micheal as Gillian is not an angel herself. They married for the wrong reasons.
@hetieshou They both hold a traditional mindset. The man’s the breadwinner, the woman supports him. In this case, you say she’s the higher earner and therefore should contribute her half. That’s true, but she did invest in his business and brought him more recognition. Is she not supporting him already? They both don’t lack money. It’s just that in comparison, Gillian is much wealthier and wants him to prove he can take care of her – again, traditional mindset. If he didn’t want to do that, he shouldn’t have married her. He signed up for this as much as she did. That’s why I am not blaming Michael. I am saying she can not overcome their differences, i.e., his flaws in her eyes. In anyone else’s eyes, those are not flaws. But in hers, they are.
It was indeed fast marriage & divorce. Was happy she found happiness and a partner after the Edison sandal,
Both held such a high wedding and now high profile divorce too.
Definitely Michael will be blamed as Gillian has backing from her company. Don’t forget EEG is one of the most powerful company in HK.
@bennyjr
Her marriage reminds me of the Song Song couple and Gu Hye Sun’s( 2 Korean celebrity couples)marriages which lasted around a year and a half too. Their divorces were very messy just like Gillian’s too. Their companies got involved and it affected their careers too. The only difference was that they were all celebrities while Michael is not. I guess they were all not meant to be. Many people marry several times in their lives so who knows?
Immature lady n marriage is consideration for each other which both don’t seem to have.
It’s more to each his own personality n trying to match up
Nglk
1) They are BOTH immature
2) She struck me as wanting to get married, for the sake of getting married – don’t know what she was trying to prove.
3) After dating her Korean media-mogul ABC Tyler Chew (who played in different circles – Tyler dated SNSD’s Jessica next) for like less than a year and after Edison. She was learning Korean and thinking about marriage.
Hullo girl? maybe you were a play thing, esp AFTER Edison. Edison).
(4) She was also probably all starry eyed flattered that a Korean was dating her, and she got to see their show biz crowd.
(Feather in her cap, since both HK, China and Taiwan like to emulate the Kcrowd and scene so much)
(5) This dude, a mere doctor must seem very boring in comparison
(6) She sounds materialistic (not just because of spending habits – hullo Jacqueline Wong? 😛 ) but also because she was interested in ‘boosting’ his career to higher bigger commercial levels. Couldn’t she just let the dude be, at whatever his level was?
@nomad822
I believe that Gillian is just someone who likes the limelight of being with someone cool. She’s an aged woman who still acts like a teenager. The men she has dated are all talented and/Or foreign who are well out of her league if she wasn’t a promoted idol. Others are looking at her finances, her celebrity status and that she is female. Evidently if looking at education and talent, she is hitting far above her league.
@jimmyszeto
Yes even that Tyler Kwon – part of her connection was he got to pave his way into HK-China mkt.
And she was starry eyed with the Korean showbiz connection. Also he was probably playing in bigger league than her boring doctor husband.
As for this doctor one – she wanted him to be ‘bigger name’. NOT just a doctor hence her ‘investment’. I don’t see it as nurturing him (esp if there was no buy-in from him) = it was all just her wanting a bigger name, not just a ordinary doctor clinic.
Sounds really like a Jacqueline Wong. Except she’s a little wiser maybe. Esp after the Edison episode. But still sounds silly, esp when pushing on in age.
If she doesn’t bank and cash in on her youth and looks + the Edison bevy lineup reputation = Next, she can only qualify to be some chaebol-tycoon’s mistress (even then they have plenty of willing 20-somethings to choose from)
@nomad822
Although the doctor turned out to be not enough for Gillian, you can see that he had all the characteristics and early potential for her to flaunt. Young,Handsome, plenty of woman around him non-local, has own clinic. He doesn’t have all the characteristics as Edison who has good family background, handsome, ABC,can rap, Has own brand and style. No wonder she feels at a loss without Edison. The doctor is similar to Korean guy and Juno in terms of characteristics to meet her show off requirements. They have certain positives but the novelty wears off very quickly and not many are envious of her Afterwards. Obviously Juno now is a lot more accomplished Now than previously. Either way Edison meets the criteria for that type of average HK girl with a point to prove like Gillian…