When asked what does the word ‘Celebrities’ means? To common everyday people they would say: Fame, Famous and Fortune. But if you have the chance to ask a ‘celebrity’ what does it means? Don’t be surprise when they openly claimed it to be: Loss of privacy, Lack of personal time and Lots of rumours. A celebrity’s rumour can be a small fib that people will laugh it off, but sometimes it can be just as powerful, the key to sustain or to destroy one celebrity’s personal life or an intimate relationship. And today, THH Express will take you on a little investigation comparing between the two powerful ‘R’ words in the celebrity’s world, Relationship vs Rumours.
But then again “Celebrity Relationship Rumour” is the widest subject one can stumble on with so many sides and so many different scenarios. For this investigation, we will stick to one basic ground, looking at how real celebrities battle with rumours to keep and hide their relationships. Providing the evidences for us will be two well-known couples in the Asian World of Television dramas. Newly wedded Couple from the Lion Roar country Singapore, Christopher Lee & Fann Wong and the exclusive exposure couple of THH Express, the top rated Idol Couple in Taiwan, Ming Dao and Chen Qiao En.
The beginning – Rumours
Everything has to start somewhere, and normally with Celebrity relationship, it generally started with the rumours.
In 2001, after spending 3 months in Taiwan together, filming Madam White Snake, Fann and Christopher received the first rumours about their relationship, spilling that the couple was caught by some Asian tourist who spotted them holidaying in Bali and holding hands while going through the shops together. That started a long 3 years of denying and refusing from both ‘guilty’ parties. Fast forwarded to many years later, in January 2008, the first intimate rumours ever surfaced for the top Idol couple after 3 years making their names on the Sunday screens started to come out, exposing that Ming Dao was caught ‘French kissing’ his 2 times co-stars/ company colleague Chen Qiao En in a private celebrities bar. And no different, after that a train of declining statements trailing in from Qiao En but only refusing to the ‘French kissing’ part and a very unusual silence treatment from her other half, Mr Ming Dao.
The middle - confession coming out of the blue
If you haven’t notice, but celebrities like to play a game around their relationships, it calls “Catch me if you can”.
If rumours are flying out from left and right, they will dug low or jump high to steer away from it. However, if the media started to leave them with a little bit of time to gather their focus then out of the sudden the celebrities themselves will pop up with a few indefinite confessions to set the challenge all over again. And generally believe it or not, it’s usually the tight lips female who lets out the hint, because if it was up to the guys, then they would have pour out everything from their very first ‘date’.
It was the end of 2004, before accepting her 3 three years secret relationship with co-star Christopher Lee. Fann Wong released her first self illustrated cartoon book. It was to showcase her wonderful drawing talent, telling the story of the Caldecott Hill Princess’s stardom life in simple, cute cartoon stretches. But accidentally she drew out the ‘hidden’ love of her life for the public to ponder. It was in the chapter where she named ‘Love’. In there she described how she was heart broken but then a certain someone came skipping outside her house and bought the love light back to her darken heart again. Christopher at the time was well known for enjoying skipping as a form of exercise, he even performed a memorable stun for a live TV charity show by skipping non stop for 1 hour.
Then in April 2008, the Queen of Taiwanese Idol Dramas published her first self written book titled “See or not?”. In which she promised to reveal her true self in a way fans had never discovered. And to prove her point, she publicly done a bare back photo shot to show the real Qiao En to the readers. Contrast to Fann’s comic book, it wasn’t the ‘love’ chapter which caused attention to Qiao En’s book, but it was the chapter where she praised and sugar coated her best on-screen co-star Ming Dao, calling him “My Prince Turns Frog” (PTF of course was the title for their first ground breaking Idol drama in Taiwan). In the much talk about chapter at the time, Qiao En cleverly started the pages by declining the infamous “French Kiss” rumour with her so called ‘best buddy’. But then she openly declared her admiration to him, and clearly disregard the fact that some of her fans was not very fond about Ming Dao. Skillfully set out their background relationship as purely good, compatible co-stars, Qiao En thought it was a save boundary when she honestly admitted that Ming Dao carried a missing part of her, that he influenced her not only in acting but changed the way she looks at life in general. She craftily described him as someone who she listened and respected, but staying away from the romantic verbs, she described those times where they were happily sharing their interests and memories together as ‘two strange weirdos being in their own world”.
The finale - admission to the hidden relationship.
When Christopher was asked on what made him so happily stood in front of the Press around May 2005 to announce with everyone that Fann was his? He laughed and said that was when their 3 years secret relationship was secured with the trust and believe for each other, therefore they let it out. But over 3 years after that, with up and down within their life and career, Fann accidentally let off their engagement news to stun everyone in April 2008. After such a tremendous record previously for their hidden relationship, it was shock that the lovebirds only managed to keep their lips tight for 2 months after the official proposal. Then another 8 months of preparation before Jan 2009 when all of Singapore witnessed the most lavish celebrities wedding ever.
On the other side, Ming Dao and Chen Qiao En only step out with their underground relationship after both of them finished their contract with the former management company J-Stars. The light was finally shone when the lovers confessed that due to the company infamous relationship forbidden rule, it gave them no choice but to hold their relationship under the tunnel. Follow the open confession, and to everyone expectation, the lovers became most wanted celebrities in Mainland where they were filming their first China collaboration. Opening to the Mainland just over 6 months ago, it fair to say that their career had took another step up, let hope their relationship will follows and wedding bell won’t be that distance away.
After a quick research, we all have seen how rumours could play a very important role in a Celebrity’s relationship. It is why most of high profile relationships were forced to be hidden for their own protection. In conclusion, be wise with what you read because there are many causes to a rumour, but for relationship, everyone all working toward one happy ending.