The Chinese internet was abuzz on Sept 13 after popular Chinese stars Wu Jinyan and Hong Yao dropped their surprise announcement: They are married.
The pair shared the news at the same time on their respective Weibo accounts on Sept 13 with the same two photos: a picture of their marriage certificates and a shot of them in white shirts against a red background, typical of the photograph that couples provide for their marriage certificates. Both wrote similar captions: “Got married today.”
Wu, 34, and Hong, 32, starred in the hugely popular period drama series Story Of Yanxi Palace (2018).
In the Qing dynasty-set series, Wu played lead character Wei Yingluo, a palace maid who eventually becomes the emperor’s most beloved and powerful concubine. Hong played Prince He or Hongzhou, the emperor’s younger brother.
While the two did not share romantic scenes together, they fell in love off-screen. In 2019, the pair were said to be dating after netizens reportedly spotted them together on vacation in Bali, Indonesia. Wu denied the rumours at the time.
The executive producer of Story Of Yanxi Palace, Yu Zheng, is also the co-founder of the entertainment company that manages Wu. He wrote on Weibo on the same day: “I hope that our artistes can be unafraid, and just go ahead and love whom they want to love and marry whom they want to marry.”
In response to a netizen who asked why Wu had lied to her fans in 2019, Yu replied: “It’s a private matter. Why did she have to announce that she was dating to everyone?”
