Celebrity couple Stephen Fung Tak-lun and Karen Mok Man-wai have denied they announced the end of their nine-year relationship as a promotional stunt.
The singer-actress broke the news at a promotional concert for her new album, Live Is ... Karen Mok, in Taipei last Saturday. Mok stunned the audience, saying she broke up with actor-director Fung (above) earlier this year but insisted they remained good friends.
Earlier this week, Fung confirmed the split to local media.
'Having it announced was fair to both of us since we may meet someone new in the future and at least it wouldn't be twisted or written incorrectly by the media,' the 33-year-old said.
But critics say the break-up announcement was used to promote Mok's album. The pair were spotted dining together earlier this month.
Fung said they would keep in touch and it was normal to have dinner with an ex-girlfriend. 'It is not fair to Karen, she has already been very brave to come out first and talk about it in public. We hadn't been putting our relationship in the spotlight when we were dating, why would we do it when we were separated? Besides, Taipei was the end of her promotion tour.'