Kathy Yuen On Breaking Up With Boyfriend of 11 Years
Kathy and ex-boyfriend, Ken Hung, had given each other a one-year cooling period before ending their 11-year relationship.
Al Cappuccino <反黑路人甲> saw Kathy Yuen’s (湯怡) popularity rise and renewed the public’s interest in her past. In the industry for 14 years, Kathy’s longest relationship was with singer Ken Hung (洪卓立). When the pair broke up in 2018, many felt it was regretful that their 11-year relationship did not come to fruition. Reflecting on her split with Ken, Kathy admitted that there were serious issues at stake for them to decide going separate ways.
Personality Limited Her Career Chances
In 2006, Kathy took part in the variety show Beautiful Cooking <美女廚房>, which earned her the nickname of Gigi Lai (黎姿) lookalike. Emperor Entertainment Group had plans to groom her into a singer and she even tried test-singing Stephy Tang’s (鄧麗欣) “100 Watt” <電燈膽>, but the company decided against releasing the song as she did not meet their expectations.
While making quite a few film appearances in her early 20s, Kathy’s introverted personality limited her own development and led her to consider changing careers many times. “I didn’t know how to fight for my own chances, and had limited income for the first seven years. I once had zero income for half a year, and set a timeline for myself to switch tracks when I reach 25.” However, each time Kathy wanted to give up, she would be approached with a new acting role, which made her eventually “fall in love with acting.”
Separating Was the Best Outcome for Both
Aside from her film appearances, Kathy received the most media attention when her 11-year relationship ended with Ken Hung, who was her first love. Her puppy crush in high school did not even lead to any hand-holding, and it was through Ken that Kathy experienced all her firsts in a relationship. “Ken gave the impression that he was someone who was even more shy than me, but he was also very thoughtful. I recall how he approached me to shoot a publicity film for his album, and went to buy medicine when I was running a high fever.”
Contrary to public opinion, EEG did not interfere in the couple’s relationship. Rather, they gave themselves a year to decide if they should continue with their relationship, “Being together for so many years, there was surely something wrong in our communications. Because I reached the age of 30 which is not young anymore for most women, I started thinking about the future and our careers. Separating to pursue our respective careers might be better for both our growth.” Deciding a breakup was inevitable, Kathy said, “No one knows what the future would hold. At least separating would be better for ourselves and our families–we did not want to continue wasting time.”
Remaining friends after their breakup, Kathy is grateful to Ken for protecting her several times. She feels sorry towards her friends, Carlos Chan (陳家樂) and Gavin So, whom she was linked with in tabloids. “I would laugh when I see the reports–they don’t hurt me, but I would say sorry to them as I don’t want to involve any other parties in our relationship.”
Single for two years, Kathy admits that she has pursuers, but she is clear about her priority at the moment. Family comes before her career, while romance is the least of her concerns.
Source: HK01
This article is written by JoyceK for JayneStars.com.
glad that al capuccino promoted a breakthrough star. it’s been a long time since a role has broken out and became popular on its own since laughing gor. though popularity is shy of its predecessor but still something to applaud for.
Wow. Dated for 11 years still break up some dated for a short term then the next thing you know it’s wedding bell and baby news on the way. I can name some. Raymond Lam, Linda Chung, Myolie Wu, Barbie Hsu?
@cutie777
Exactly and I was about to say the same thing…. It is truly fate and the one that you end up with is usually separated by a thin line. Especially with Barbie Hsu as I still cannot believe that she got engaged after only 20 days. Wow, is that is even possible for most people? It is just like my aunt told me, once the lighting of love strikes it strikes and nothing can stop it…
I think most people romanticize a first and/or long love and therefore are shocked when people marry quickly after leaving their first love or a long love. If you spent 5 years dragging out something with someone you didn’t have a future with or you 2 changed too much and went different directions, of course you are gonna know what you want and don’t wain in the next relationships much more clearly! What most people forget too is that A LOT of people don’t take breaks between relationships (I am not saying all are rebounds) and are stifled by the thought that they must get married by a certain age. Love is not logical. And just because they end up married to the next person (of a few months), it doesn’t mean they are perfectly happy or it’s a healthy relationship. The quicker you get married, the quicker you will get divorced especially if you are in the younger physical and mental bracket is a general rule but there are exceptions.
@jesspepperwang PS Asian people simply don’t get divorced as often as Americans but I would say are equally unhappy–if not, more.
@jesspepperwang
Very true but many Asians try to stay together for the kids and other reasons even if they are not happy. I had a former friend who had parents that lasted but they are not happy at all. The reason she told me was a bit sad as she said her mom refused to divorce because she is Catholic and they are not allowed to divorce. I was like, you must be kidding me.
@hetieshou So true. My uncle and aunt got divorced in their late 60s. My aunt actually said that she had been unhappy for the longest time and she stayed in the marriage only until all their kids got married and had families of their own. She didn’t remarried and she’s just happy being on her own. But then, she got a lot of flaks from the family for ‘daring’ to ask for a divorce. It’s just crazy. The Asian way wants her to stay in the unhappy marriage than to live a happy life while she can still actually enjoy it.
@pompidur
Sorry to hear about your uncle and aunt but their case is so common in many Asian families. I really commend your aunt for going against all odds to find her own happiness. Many women and men as well just do not have the courage to pursue their own happiness. If you are unhappy then it is better to divorce as life is short. Why spend your days in misery?
I had a friend who visited her cousin when she came to the US. She told me that she thought her cousin had the perfect life as he had a good job, a house, a wife and 2 kids. However, the first day she visited, she immediately sensed that her cousin and his wife had problems right away. It must have been bad for her to notice right away. I guess things are more than what meets the eye. I guess you never know when your marriage or relationship can end. I remember once this one poster at a forum told me that when you are in a relationship/ marriage, just try to enjoy it while it lasts instead of worrying about when it will it will end. So true and I will always remember that as fate comes but it also goes. You can fall in love but you can fall out of love too.
@jesspepperwang
It honestly depends on the couple, the stage they are in life and many other factors. I had some cousins who dated for many years and had a sweet relationship. But after they got married, things changed for the worse. Dating and marriage are 2 different worlds. It really depends as we all saw with Barbie Hsu who got engaged after 20 days and married only a few months after. They are still together and have 2 kids now. However, there have been rumors of their marriage being on the rocks but they have not divorced yet. However, lasting and being blissful are 2 different things. I once met this one lady who was happily married for 40 years and the first thing she did was tell me” it’s hard”. The dating and wedding are the easy part. The marriage itself is the hard part. Sadly some romanticize it too much that they get disappointed that it is nothing that they imagined it to be. There is good and bad just like with everything. I feel communication, compromise, tolerance, the ability to resolve conflicts, etc.. and many other things are what keeps a marriage loving and lasting. Of course it takes much more than just love but love is one of the most important factors. I remember Carina Lau saying that she and Tony last because they can tolerate and compromise with each other besides just love as love alone is not enough.