Yumi Bai Says She “Officially Dated” Wang Leehom Before He Married Lee Jinglei; Insists She Did Not Have An Affair With Him

Here's the rest of her post, which we've translated into English.

“1. I have never interfered with Wang Leehom and Lee Jinglei’s marriage

Ms Lee mentioned in her response to Wang Leehom’s father that their marriage started falling apart during the Taipei Arena concert in 2019. I didn’t have Wang Leehom’s WeChat contact at the time because we had deleted each other by then.

2. There’s no improper relationship between Wang Leehom and I. We officially dated before he got married.

I dated Wang Leehom in 2012. Although [our relationship] didn’t last long, it was an unforgettable one. I was 20 then; I valued relationships but I was also stubborn. Due to our careers, we were often separated during our relationship. We shared intimate photos, and the 20-year-old me was willing to do anything for love. I treasure the time that we spent together. There was happiness, there were fights. We exchanged sweet nothings and went through heartbreak just like any ordinary couple. From what I know, he started dating Ms Lee in October 2013.

At this point of time, Ms Lee shouldn’t be using what happened when Mr Wang and I were dating to delude the public into thinking that we maintained an intimate relationship after they got married; [Neither should she be] using it as a way to get the public’s support. She mentioned in her previous post ‘a woman’s reputation is precious and I still have many years ahead of me’ — what about me?"

"Back then, I felt that our breakup was because of the problems that we had, and that we shouldn’t blame anyone else. Therefore, when he told me that he met someone new in October 2013, I was shocked and hurt, but stubbornly told him that I wish him the best. I gave him the Christmas present that I had prepared for him two months in advance.

On Nov 27, 2013, I found out about his wedding through the media. I cried but I told myself repeatedly that it was perfectly logical for him to get married this quickly at his age, even though his partner wasn’t me."

"After struggling for two days, I sent him my blessings on Nov 29. I truly wished that he would be happy. He said that my blessing was especially important and thanked me. I thought: ‘It’s great that the person I love has found happiness. I can also be his best ex’. I naïvely believed that our amicable breakup meant that we could go back to being friends and could keep in touch from time to time.

3. I’m not trying to gain popularity through this scandal; neither have I wanted to rely on men.

If popularity is what I wanted, I would have announced our relationship on Nov 27, 2013 when he made his marriage announcement. If I wanted to rely on men, I would have gotten married and had children when my career was at its peak or at its worst.

I believe that marriage cannot save a woman. Not every woman is lucky enough to be well educated — one example is me, who started providing for my family at a young age, but this does not prevent us from shining brightly. In my relationships, I’ve never posed as a weak woman for pity and attention."

"4. The photo of us on Instagram

The entire world is saying that the picture is ironclad proof that I interfered in their relationship in 2015, but the photo was taken in May 2013 and the friends who were also present can attest to that. In 2015, we had already deleted each other on WeChat.

I suddenly posted this old photo in 2015 because I was arguing with my then-boyfriend, and I wanted to piss him off in a moment of childishness and hot-headedness. After that, I realised that it was inappropriate and made the post private. On hindsight, posting this old photo was very childish and I apologise if it caused any misunderstanding.

5. My principles and bottom line

I’m very unfortunate. Nine years [after our breakup], I was dragged into a battle because someone I loved [and his ex-wife] are fighting for assets [during their divorce]. I turned from a ‘best ex’ to a ‘sex partner who’s knowingly destroying a family’. This is when I’m able to say that I was once his girlfriend and lover. I’m also very lucky because I treasure this past relationship, which is why I kept screenshots of our chat history for nine years. I spent the past few days looking for these, which is why I was only able to respond now.

To me, this entire scandal began when I was exposed by someone pretending to be my good friend.

I’m very shocked; both he and I are public figures and we only told very few people about our relationship to protect each other, including me, him, and her (Mr Wang once said that he admitted to her that we had once dated).

If it was a good friend who exposed me, he or she should know me well enough to know that I would never interfere with another person’s marriage. My dad passed away when I was 15 and I’ve never forgotten what he told me. He wanted my sister and I to remember that hard work pays off. More importantly, he wanted us to have a clear conscience because he didn’t want others to say that our father wasn’t around to educate us properly. I’ve always lived up to this and have painstakingly tried to prove myself with my dancing. Even if the entire world feels that I have low standards when it comes to men, I’ll never feel the need to explain myself. I can say with a clear conscience that I’ve never done anything to disrespect myself as a woman."

6. With regards to the police report I made on Dec 18

When a relationship ends, I’ll look for answers from the two parties involved. Relationships are between two people, and if there’s a problem, it should stem from one or both of us. Therefore, I’ve tried to avoid being dragged into Lee Jinglei and Wang Leehom’s battle for assets even when I was maliciously slandered.

On Dec 18, everything that I did, including personally going to the station to sign [the report], adding my thumbprint to the report and providing evidence was in response to netizens who made up malicious rumours about me and my Hollywood friend (the netizen has since made clarifications). There were false rumours that I had a baby with someone else, that my sister and I are on bad terms, and that I’m a mistress spread by ying xiao hao. [Ed: These are Weibo accounts that gain popularity from posting unverified information, and are often paid to upload shocking posts that would either distract netizens from another scandal or to manipulate public opinions].

Netizens said I should make a police report if my conscience was clear, so that’s what I did. It’s not because I was getting defensive after assuming that they were talking about me, but because my conscience is clear. Things escalated when Ms Lee reposted my work studio’s post while I was filming a variety show.

7. With regards to my response

I reiterate that I have never interfered with Wang Leehom and Lee Jinglei’s marriage. I have done nothing against my conscience while he was married.

A lot of my friends around me have told me not to respond any longer. They’re right — I won’t make a mistake if I lay low and do nothing. They say I’m stupid and am often made use of. When I was younger, I didn’t have a good grasp of Chinese and would make a joke of myself when using inappropriate methods to defend myself. That’s why the public doesn’t have a good impression of me. On the other hand, Ms Lee is well-educated and is a good representative of the new generation of independent women. With her as my opponent, nobody will believe me nor help me.

They say that the photos that I took without any fear when I was 20 and in love might be in Ms Lee’s hands. They also said she being the clever woman that she is might have laid traps and is just waiting for me [to fall into them].

I still decided to stand out because I’ve never been against Ms Lee. I know what it’s like to be wronged. I’m in no place to judge nor discuss what Ms Lee has gone through because I don’t know if it’s true and neither do I fully understand.

I’ve never spoken up in the face of negative press because I was under a contract with my company and didn’t have the right to speak up for myself. Right now, I’m standing up for myself because of all the people who are standing behind me, including my sister, my friends, and the fans who have supported me throughout the years. They have all told me that they will stand by me even if the worst happens. When I think of this, I’m really lucky.

Someone once said that idols mean ‘thank you’ when they say ‘I love you’ to their fans. I think they’re right. I love everyone. Lastly, I still believe that relationships are between the two people involved, and should never involve innocent parties. It’s a pity that public opinion has caused something that should only affect two people to spread this far. At the end of the day, I hope Mr Wang and Ms Lee can quickly resolve their family matters and that they will not involve even more people. I’ve finally let go of what happened nine years ago that I had hidden deep in my heart. Thank you to those who read this till the end.”

Shortly after Yumi's post went live, Jinglei responded on Weibo, writing: “Yumi says ‘In 2015, we had already deleted each other on WeChat.’ That because… They started communicating on WhatsApp instead. She even changed her profile picture to a nude photo. I haven’t slept for a few days, so I’ll go to bed for today. We’ll talk about the rest tomorrow.”

Jinglei also shared a screenshot of what is allegedly Yumi's WhatsApp profile pic, and a very, very risqué one at that, as well as a message that is supposedly directed at Leehom from 2015.

Two hours later, Jinglei, who clearly didn't go to bed, shared another response to Yumi's post. "Yumi: 'Mr Wang once said that he admitted to her that we had once dated' — he did not... In 2012, Mr Wang told me that the both of you were 'friends' [and that] flirty messages were normal among "friends".

After looking at your "breakup" messages, ‘I met someone lately and started dating. Thought I should let u know’ and 'Congrats' don't look like an exchange that people who had "officially dated" would have when breaking up. [Leehom and I] spent most of 2013 together. At the time, we had already decided to get married and had been living together for months. At that time, he had been taking me to meet his family, colleagues and even working partners. This is what I consider "officially dating".

Photos: PBE Media, Yumi Bai/Weibo, Lee Jinglei/Weibo