Separation Rumors a Well-Timed Stunt?

(Above) Chen Xiao and Michelle at the respective recent launch of dramas “The Tycoon” and “Sniper Butterfly”.

Amid talk that Chinese actor Chen Xiao‘s (陳曉) eight-year marriage to Taiwanese star Michelle Chen (陳妍希) is in trouble, paparazzi revealed that the two parties can only communicate via work associates as Chen Xiao has gone to extremes such as changing his phone number to cut off contact from her.

Filming new iQiyi period drama The Tycoon <大生意人> with Chen Xiao, co-star Rosina Lam (林夏薇), who’s also his good friend, shared that he did not appear unusual and “didn’t seem unhappy”.

Celeb Friends Probed for News 

On 5 July, also Chen Xiao’s 37^th birthday, Michelle’s continued silence for the second consecutive year again ignited netizen’s heated discussions.

According to HK media, actress Rosina Lam graduated from the Central Academy of Drama in 2009 – the same year as Chen Xiao, and the two are also friends. Uniting onscreen for the first time, the two even met up for lunch to prepare for their role since it has been some time since they last met. When asked about Chen Xiao’s alleged marriage troubles, Rosina said, “All our talk is about (the drama), as a good friend, I don’t ask specially about his other matters,” Asked if she is wary of annoying Chen Xiao, she replied, “No, he isn’t unhappy,” and added that the actor did not appear disheartened nor angry.

As Michelle’s good friend, actress and director Ruby Lin (林心如) was at a sponsor’s event when she revealed that she had met up with Michelle and her son. When reporters asked if Chen Xiao had turned up too, she appeared embarrassed and said, “No, please don’t ask me about this,”

According to reports, Michelle has a drama and variety show scheduled to air, as well as a new drama which is due to start filming, which evoked wild speculation that her divorce rumors might be a well-timed publicity stunt. 

The 41-year-old actress is set to play a divorced woman in her upcoming drama Sniper Butterfly <狙擊蝴蝶>, in which she romances Dilraba Dilmurat‘s (迪丽热巴) junior, “little fresh meat” actor Zhou Keyu (周柯宇). With filming already commenced, Michelle, who disappeared from the public eye for many days, has also resurfaced online, updating her Weibo with new set photos.

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