Friends of Mrs Chan said her husband Archie Chan Tai-wing had told them six weeks ago she was so unhappy she could no longer continue in her job.
'He [Archie] urged me to talk to Mr Tung and called on him to improve his ways of handling things,' one friend said.
Although Mrs Chan repeatedly denied yesterday that she was at odds with the Chief Executive - and she appeared outwardly cheerful - there were hints of an underlying sourness.
Mr Tung gave Mrs Chan a rather awkward hug after a short statement in which he praised her abilities, answered a few questions and then left the room, accompanied by Mrs Chan. Later, she returned on her own to take questions.
There were hints of disagreement. Mrs Chan went out of her way to say her successor should come from the civil service - though later denied she had been putting pressure on Mr Tung, who is seen as favouring fresh blood from the private sector. And she said she had not discussed her successor with Mr Tung, although he had already said he had someone in mind. 'We haven't talked about it. How can there be any agreement?' she said.
She added repeatedly that she had resigned for personal reasons. 'My husband has always thought I haven't spent enough time on him. Mr Tung is of course very persuasive, but this time I believe my husband is even more persuasive. He believes that as his wife, I should spend more time with him.'