News about a possible reconciliation between Cecilia Cheung (張柏芝) and Nicholas Tse (謝霆鋒) dominated the grapevine this week, following years of recrimination and name-calling on both sides.
The couple’s public fallout began in 2008 when a cache of explicit photos snapped by actor and man-about-town Edison Chen (陳冠希) were leaked onto the Internet. Cheung featured prominently in the series — photos that can only be described as a zhainan’s (宅男, nerds who sequester themselves in front of computer screens and adore starlets) wet dream.
The ruckus reached a denouement last year with the “airplane incident” (機上事件), which refers to another reunion of sorts: Chen and Cheung on a plane giddily snapping photos of themselves. It was inevitably only a matter of time before the divorce papers were signed, which occurred last month.
Photo: Taipei Times
But Hong Kong’s Three Weekly (3周刊) reported over the weekend that Tse and Cheung are back together. If that wasn’t enough to leave mouths agape, the news came from Tse’s mother Deborah Lee (狄波拉).
“Nicholas and Cecilia are back together,” she told the weekly, adding that despite their divorce, “their relationship is much better [now] than it was before.”
This, of course, is the same Deborah Lee who was originally against the marriage when she first learned about it in 2006, and who had complained to anyone who would listen that Cheung was a bad mother.
The couple’s eldest son Lucas reportedly played a role in bringing Tse and Cheung back together, after he told his parents that he felt happy when they dined together as a family a few weeks back. Tse stayed the night following the dinner.
As if that wasn’t enough, the United Daily News reported that Cheung and her sons recently celebrated Lee’s birthday. Asked for further comment on the reconciliation, Lee said it was their decision whether or not to get back together.
“Fate is unpredictable,” she said.
Meanwhile, Tse’s father Patrick Tse (謝賢), who was a cheerleader for Cheung during most of the sex scandal fiasco, said it was unlikely the couple will reunite.
“There’s not a chance [the rumors] are true,” he said.
While Cheung and Tse seem to be making the peace, it looks as though Carina Lau’s (劉嘉玲) eyes are wandering. NOWnews reported that the actress and wife of Hong Kong superstar Tony Leung (梁朝偉) was spotted last weekend heading out to sea with Hong Kong billionaire Jing Baifu (景百孚).
When asked by reporters if he was unhappy about the alleged bon voyage, Leung, in a rhetorical style that other actors should study and emulate, threw it right back in their faces.
“Why should I be unhappy?” he replied.
Was he upset that his wife didn’t attend the Shanghai Film Festival where Leung was plugging his new flick?
“Why should she come to Shanghai?” he said.
Realizing that Leung wasn’t going to fall into any pap trap, they relented.
In other romance gossip, singer Elva Hsiao (蕭亞軒) returned from China this week to celebrate Kai Ko’s (柯震東) birthday, adding to rumors that the pair are a couple.
The Apple Daily reported that Ko celebrated his 21st birthday on Monday night at Taipei’s Dazzling Champagne Dining Bar with his parents and older brother after supping at a Japanese restaurant.
Though Hsiao wasn’t seen with the family entourage, her vehicle was spotted close-by, suggesting that she was ingratiating herself with Ko’s family. On Tuesday, the gossip rag caught up with her as she exited a party for Ko, which was attended by 40 friends. Dressed as a cheerleader — the party had a sports theme — Hsiao avoided reporter’s questions on the way out of the party by quickly ducking into a waiting vehicle and driving away.
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