Nicholas Tse and Cecilia Cheung rumored close to divorce

Rumors are rampant that Cecilia Cheung Pak-chi and Nicholas Tse Ting-fung, who are among Hong Kong's hottest celebrity couples, are close to divorce.

Local newspapers and websites have been carrying such headlines as "Nicholas Tse asks Cecilia to move out;" "Tse-Cheung fairytale is over;" and even "Cecilia Cheung and Nicholas Tse divorced."

Neither Cheung nor Tse have said whether they have broken up, but Tse did issue a statement on Monday, via his agent, saying he has never asked for a separation, and accusing a Hong Kong newspaper of libel.

The words Tse used in his statement are ambiguous. They seem to emphasize that he is not to blame for Cheung moving out. Hong Kong media earlier claimed Cheung had left Tse's property to live in a rented house.

What's really going on between the couple? What has led to the divorce rumors? Let's take a look at two of the most likely guesses.

Guess One: Property

Hong Kong radio show host Eileen Cha Siu-yan, who claims to be a close friend of the Tse family, is the most cited source on the couple's problems.

Cha has said that the seemingly happy couple have long been involved in a dispute over property. She dismissed rumors that they have divorced, but said Cheung has asked Tse, 30, to transfer ownership of all his properties, including a villa Tse bought for his father, under her name.

"It seems as though Cecilia wants to drain Nicholas of all his assets and property - when I heard this news about Cecilia, I actually di
dn't really believe it myself," Cha said on her show.

Guess Two: Edison Chen Koon-hei

The man who challenged the Cheung and Tse marriage years ago is involved again.

In early 2008, a sex-photo scandal that involved singer-actor Chen and several female stars, Cheung included, shocked entertainment circles. It turned out that Chen, 30, who had intimate relationships with the stars, saved the photos in his computer, and they were retrieved and leaked online when he took the machine in for maintenance.

When the scandal was made public, Cheung had been married to Tse for two years, and had a son, Lucas.

The media showed great sympathy for Tse as they imagined what he had to go through. An emotional Cheung also appeared on TV, describing an apology by Chen as a fake gesture.

As Chen faded from the spotlight, Cheung and Tse seemed to get over the scandal. In May 2010, their second son, Quintus, was born.

After giving birth to Quintus, Cheung launched a high-profile comeback in her acting career, signing on to star in several films. The contracts reportedly made her the top-earning Hong Kong actress.

Last month, Cheung is reported to have run into Chen on an aircraft traveling from Taipei to Hong Kong.

Reports say Cheung voluntarily asked to switch her seat to the one next to Chen. The two enjoyed the reunion by chit-chatting and posing for photos. Cheung strongly denied the reunion, saying the media invented the story, but Chen's agent confirmed the encounter had taken place.

This alleged airborne episode seemed to have an impact on Tse, who was apart from Cheung when she turned 31 on May 24. She spent the day with her son and friends in Taipei.

What is the couple doing amidst the rumors?

Cecilia Cheung is working on a romantic film, "Repeat, I Love You", in Shenzhen in southern China. In the film, she acts alongside South Korean heartthrob Kwon Sang-woo.

However, Cheung was absent from the movie's press conference on May 27, causing wide speculations that her absence was due to her marriage crisis.

Nicholas Tse, on the other hand, is filming the action film "Against War" in Malaysia.

Patrick Tse admits Nicholas Tse and Cecilia Cheung are fighting (Source: Channel News Asia)

HONG KONG: Hong Kong screen veteran Patrick Tse on Tuesday let slip that his son Nicholas Tse has indeed been fighting with wife his Cecilia Cheung, reported Hong Kong media.

"It is a small matter; don't know why it kept getting escalated [by the media].

"Which couple doesn't fight?" said Patrick Tse, when asked if the statements made by popular Hong Kong radio personality Eileen Cha are true.

Cha had earlier claimed that Nicholas Tse and Cheung are now a couple in name only and are on the brink of separation after fighting for some time.

She further alleged that Cheung had demanded her husband turn over virtually all his assets to her, adding that cracks in their marriage had appeared long before Cheung's widely reported meeting with Hong Kong actor Edison Chen last month.

Patrick Tse expressed that he was furious with Cha for interfering with his family's affairs and said her comments were as irresponsible as they were inaccurate.

"What right does she have to talk about things?

"I will scold her if I see her. After all, these are somebody else's family matters. How can she know when even I don't?" said Tse.

Despite raising the ire of many netizens and Patrick Tse for her comments on Cheung's marriage, Cha maintained that she had done nothing wrong.

"I don't want to comment on this further.

"I only did what I should do from a journalist's standpoint, just reporting the truth," said Cha.

Source: CRINENGLISH, Mingpao (image)
Translator: aZnangel@AEU