It all began when filming recently commenced for the second season of reality talent competition Sisters Who Make Waves, which Xiaoming hosts. Interestingly, the new batch of contestants includes Xiaoming’s ex-girlfriend, Chinese actress Li Fei’er, whom he dated from 2007 to 2010.

Their ‘reunion’ reignited decade-old speculations that Angelababy had deliberately come between Xiaoming and Fei’er, leading to their split.

In 2011, Fei’er told a Hongkong tabloid that she left Xiaoming after seeing a text message from Angelababy on his phone, which read: “When are you going to give me an answer? I want a boyfriend, not a sex partner!”

Needless to say, Angelababy was far from pleased with her reputation being dragged through the mud like that. She claimed that the news was fabricated and threatened to take legal action, but little did she know that she would find history repeating itself 10 years later with the resurrection of the rumour.

In her statement on Weibo published on Wednesday (Jan 6), the 31-year-old clarified that when she first met Xiaoming, he told her that he was single. After Fei’er’s damning interview was published, Angelababy confronted him about it, and he reassured her that they had already broken up.

“It’s all that simple. For many years, I didn’t want to give an explanation ‘cos I didn’t think it was necessary. This life is mine to live,” she continued. “Secondly, I believe this is a matter between Mr. Huang and Li Fei’er. Mr. Huang should be the one to clarify this.”

“10 years have passed, and today, I choose to stand up for myself and explain everything clearly. It’s not ‘cos of any reason other than the burden on my shoulders is too great and I no longer want to take the blame for anyone else.”

About 15 minutes after Angelababy’s post went up, Xiaoming shared his own response. The 43-year-old started off by saying that if everyone only chooses to focus on those dramatic rumours, it will hurt not only his family, but the women involved in Sisters Who Make Waves, especially Fei’er, whom he simply referred to as “the person involved”.

He also cleared the air once and for all regarding the speculations surrounding his wife, emphasising that she was never the third party in any of his relationships. “The rumours have been pure fiction all along. Don’t be fooled by netizens with [malicious] intentions and end up hurting my family.”

Like Angelababy, Xiaoming said he felt that there was no need to address the matter for so long ‘cos he didn’t want people — most likely the press — to take advantage of his situation to gain more eyeballs. “But I can’t stay silent today ‘cos we have really had enough. My family will always be my limit! From this moment on, I hope everyone will stop hurting my family!!!”

Even after going through all that trouble to step out of their comfort zone and defend themselves, some netizens still managed to find ways to be convinced that they are no longer together.

Firstly, there’s the rather strange fact that Angelababy kept referring to Xiaoming as “Mr. Huang” in her post, which sounds way too formal and distant for someone she’s married to (and has a kid with). It’s also been pointed out that Xiaoming only mentioned his “family” instead of his “wife” in his statement. Um, okay.

In any case, if they keep up their current pattern of staying quiet until they absolutely cannot take it anymore, we might probably only hear from Xiaoming and Angelababy about their incessant divorce rumours in 10 years.

Photos: PBE Media, Li Fei’er/Weibo, Angelababy/Weibo, Huang Xiaoming/Weibo