Leon Lai: “Westerners Like Getting Divorces”
Heavenly King Leon Lai (黎明) dropped his curtain and spoke up about his past relationships on the Chinese talk show, The Jin Xing Show <金星秀>.
The extremely private singer, who went through two well-known relationships, did not attempt to go off topic when the famous host, Jin Xing (金星), asked him about his past relationships.
Asking Leon if their breakup was due to pressure from society, Leon asked, “Which one are you talking about?” (Shu Qi 舒淇.) “Why did you mention Shu Qi?”
Jin Xing said, “I really, really like this girl. You two were perfect together. How long were you guys together?”
Though Leon did not answer the question directly, he did say, “I come to Jin jie’s show to talk, and I know I will let Jin jie ask this question, because many others have the same question as well. It is an appropriate question to have, but because I am an involved person, I cannot not talk about it. Also, she is already married. I don’t think we should dwell on this question, regardless of how it is asked or answered.”
Was Leon “heartbroken” by the breakup? “We were all hurt. If we couldn’t hurt, then we wouldn’t have been together.” He then added that, despite their bad breakup, Shu Qi is a person that he still admires very much.
When the topic landed on Gaile Lok (樂基兒), whom Leon was married to from 2008 to 2012, Leon said he still believes in love and fate despite the divorce. “If I don’t believe it anymore, then I might as well go become a monk. You definitely have to sacrifice when it comes to love. That is what love is. If you don’t sacrifice for it, the other person won’t either. I still believe in fate, and I will cherish it when it comes.”
Asking if the 50-year-old has a type he is looking for, he said, “It really doesn’t matter. One day, we will all get fat. We can’t just focus on looks.” (Chinese?) “No more westerners,” he said, perhaps taking a jab at his ex-wife Gaile. “They like getting divorces too much.”
Jin Xing then suggested that he should consider actress Sheren Tang (鄧萃雯), who is the same age as him. Leon rolled his eyes and asked, “Isn’t she married?” (She’s not!) “Age isn’t and shouldn’t be an issue. I’ll leave everything to fate.”
First Love at 18 Years Old
Leon then talked candidly about his first puppy love, saying that he experienced his first romance at 18 years old; he was dating a classmate, and their relationship lasted about 6 to 9 months.
It was an experience hard to forget. His then-girlfriend’s mother did not like him very much—when he took his girlfriend back home, her mother saw him and scolded, “You guys will not last long. Do not hurt my daughter.”
“She was very direct,” said Leon. “I was young and didn’t know anything, but as I grew older I’ve come to understand that her mother was using her life experience to make decisions.”
Once Gave Up a House for a Movie
Though Leon was in two rather high-profile relationships in his life, he is an extremely private person. He avoids visiting crowded places in the city, explaining, “When you show up, there will be people who like you, and there will be people who don’t. You’re in the way of those who don’t care about celebrities and just want to peacefully eat their meal without any distractions.”
Leon is the owner of several entertainment companies, including the record label A Music and the production company Player One. Leon described himself as a boss who accumulates more deficits than gains, recalling that he once gave up a $50 million home to invest in a movie. But after some careful planning, and perhaps more luck, Leon managed to increase his assets to over $1 billion.
Source: Mingpao
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
At the end of the article, translation is inaccurate.
“Recalling that he once gave up a $50 million home to invest in a movie. But after some careful planning, and perhaps more luck, Leon managed to increase his assets to over $1 billion.”
It should be “He recalled that he once gave up purchasing a $50 million home to invest in a movie. Now the property (that he gave up buying) has increased to $1 billion.”
SQ is married now… host shouldn’t be asking such question.
I guess the show wants a hot talking point. Shu Qi was subtly mentioned in the other show that Jin Xing hosts when they played charades but Leon avoided it by getting someone else to act out the clue lol.
Is it shameless of me if I also want to know why Shu Qi & Leon broke up? I suppose this will be one of many mysteries in the gossiping world.
Also to Leon’s assertion that Westerners like to divorce too much…it’s also rising at incredible speeds in the East, buddy!
@coralie Always thought it was due to her category 3 background that caused their breakup as his family doesn’t approve their relationship.
@happybi Ahh happybi to the rescue! Such a good resource :)!
Didn’t pin Leon as a family-man (some guys don’t pay attention to what their families think), so I find it a little difficult to imagine it’s due to his family’s objection. But maybe he is wary of SQ’s background and endless gossip-mongering regarding her past, which makes more sense to me. Thanks for the clarification!
@coralie Not sure if it’s true.. those are the “gossips” during that time!
@coralie lol 1998 you knw how popular is leon lai anot. for sure will got backfire from fans and parents la. He needed to married a soft porn actress anot? Got sleep and play before then enough la. married no need lo. hahaha..4 heavenly king rocked the entire asia on the 90s!
@happybi yup…his father objected to their relationship because of her soft porn past. shu qi herself wanted to buy all her videos of her past. she is now happily married to stephen fung. the host should have some EQ to leave her out.
@janet72 These host doesn’t seem to care for EQ lor.
@happybi china people don’t have EQ. anyway, leon lai is known to be a MCP and playboy.
@janet72 How did you come to that conclusion? Either you are confusing him with someone else or you take gossip way too seriously and see them as a valid source of information. Seeing as you firmly believe that his father objected to their relationship because of SQ’s soft porn past, I’ll assume the latter. Are you not aware that trashy tabloids are fully capable of and will write anything to fill their pages and shift their magazines? With SQ, it’s just too easy to bring up her past (wasn’t that used as a reason for Lee Hom never admitting their supposed relationship?). They even reported that Leon committed suicide over her which forced him to make a public appearance to show he was OK and stated that he and SQ were only friends thus negating all previous rumours about them seeing each other. After so many huge lies, it amazes me that so many people take what these so-called reporters write as the gospel truth.
@janet72 how to buy? i still can view her body on the net ,u can easily search it. Happily married? Now of course is happy Wait after 5 years or 10 years then see how lo.
@coralie I think this is a case of, repeat something enough times and people will eventually believe it. This story of a heart-throb Prince Charming to so many girls falling for a category 3 actress has helped to sell a lot of magazines.
But look at the facts; in 1999, the gossip mags reported that Leon committed suicide over her. As someone who usually doesn’t usually respond to rumours, even he thought this had gotten too far and had to hold a press conference to show that the reports were bogus and also confirmed he and SQ were just friends. Then in 2005, he met Gaile so this “7-year relationship” that reports like to quote does not add up. And most importantly, not one single photo of them both together within that whole time?
Anyway, with SQ now married and what Leon said in the interview, this topic can finally end.
P.S. I think there’s some slight sneaky editing when asked about being heartbroken which seems to have lead to different interpretations (I think he’s referring to Gaile not SQ). Also, he did not directly say afterwards, “despite their bad breakup, Shu Qi is a person that he still admires very much”, as the report suggests. There was a little game that they later played which involved matching statements to 8 of his past female co-stars. For “person he most admires” he picked SQ as I’m sure a lot of people would.
Here’s the whole interview if anyone wants to judge for themselves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipPYvEjxbP4
@chocobuttons Mmm from my perspective, if it wasn’t real, I’m sure Leon would’ve outright denied the rumors that they’ve dated (esp now that they’ve broken up) rather than before. Instead he went in a roundabout fashion to say she’s married now and it’s best not to discuss their past. So who knows. The mystery remains.
@coralie Whether he denied or confirmed their relationship, it was bound to make news which he didn’t want. So he thought it’d be appropriate to not talk about the subject at all then there’d be nothing worth reporting and avoid any fuss. Unfortunately, the show edited what was said to make it look like he was referring to SQ when talking about being heartbroken then the media have misinterpreted and twisted the whole interview.
I only know that he denied their relationship in 1999 then the next year at a press conference for his concert in Malaysia. Someone recently discovered this report from 2003 https://www.instagram.com/p/BPacKZHhiY3/ where he says, “You (reporters) think we are a couple, that’s your business. Although I won’t mind, I still don’t understand why people insist on putting our names together”. But not a lot of people would know since they are not magnified by the media nor are they stories that can last for more than a day.
@coralie lol, u think people cannot see one mer.sure either they got dating before or close before lo. But last time no internet or smartphone. I remember she and shu qi got made a music video together. Very sure they got intimate before la,if not wun hurt.hehehe
I don’t like the remark that: “Westerners Like Getting Divorces”. I think that no groups, countries or regions like to get divorce – it’s just often they don’t have the patience to fix their marriages like some other people in general.
Yes. We Asians are getting divorce more & more now.
@dramas4me Maybe he’s been reading too much Hollywood gossip.
@dramas4me westerners get divorced, so are asians now. westerners have shot gun marriages, do do asians.
@dramas4me
i agree so sterotyping. if someone says something similiar in the states, that person would be so outcast by society and bashed like there’s no tomorrow.
@dramas4me
Even though statistically it might be correct that westerners currently still have a higher divorce rate than asians, it seems that stereotypical and even racist comments are mindlessly used as jokes. Could tell that Leon belongs in the older generation!
I am happy and glad that SQ is with Stephen Fung.
@hannah his ex wife is happier without leon lai.