One Korean reality TV star admits marriage a sham, another denies it - ‘We married for love’, says Ham So-won of her husband, Chen Hua
- Model Ji Yeon-soo confessed she and Eli Kim, formerly of K-pop group U-Kiss, pretended to be married because they were ‘making a living as reality TV stars’
- Actress Ham So-won, who wed Chen Hua, 18 years her junior, in 2018 faced down rumours their marriage was in trouble and they were lying about their wealth
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Celebrity couples who were portrayed as having the happiest marriages, showing off their endless love with their spouses on TV shows, have started to discuss their marriage problems candidly and reveal the fact that their relationships are actually rocky.
In the latest episode of SBS Plus show Kang Ho-dong’s Rice Heart, model Ji Yeon-soo talked about her looming divorce from her singer husband, former U-Kiss member Eli Kim.
Confessing that the couple were only faking their happy marriage for the cameras, Ji said that she even had experienced suicidal thoughts after Kim asked for a divorce. Ji, 41, and the former K-pop idol, 30, married in 2014, but they are now in the process of separating.
“It actually feels nice that I no longer have to put on a facade after announcing my divorce. We acted like we’re in love for the cameras and pretended everything was fine because we were making a living as reality TV stars. I ultimately agreed to divorce because I wanted to be happy,” she said.
According to Ji, the couple and their son had moved to the US, and she briefly returned to Korea to get documents to apply for a green card. That is when her Korean American husband called her and brought up getting a divorce.
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The model spoke about the difficulties of being a single mom while working part-time to pay off debt. She also revealed that she had been the “main breadwinner” of the household.
Recently, actress Ham So-won, 45, and her husband Chen Hua, 27, have also been accused of faking their happy marriage. The couple, who made headlines for marrying in 2018 despite their 18-year age gap, recently quit TV Chosun’s reality show Taste of Wife, due to mounting rumours surrounding her supposed marriage problems and lying about their wealth.
Rumours have been swirling that the luxurious house that was introduced in the show as Chen’s parents’ family mansion actually belongs to someone else. Internet users alleged that Han intentionally lied about her in-laws to build an image of marrying into a wealthy Chinese family.
Any relationship has bad times as well as good times. I intend to maintain our family. Please trust me and wait for a while
In February, the actress and her husband were rumoured to have agreed on separating as their relationship had deteriorated. Sceptics were suspicious about the fact that Chen has not appeared on Ham’s Instagram Live in recent months.
As the actress declined to comment on the matter, many raised doubts about their relationship, with some saying: “It’s like her image matters more than actually fixing the problems in their marriage.”
Han later admitted that the couple are having a bad time. “Any relationship has bad times as well as good times. I intend to maintain our family. Please trust me and wait for a while,” she wrote on her Instagram account.
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She added: “We married for love. In our love, there are no obstacles of age or national borders. I have to be strong about not letting other people’s interpretations about my life affect my actual life.”
