What’s trending?

Chinese actress and model Yang Ying, who more famously goes by the name Angelababy, has decided to set the record straight with regards to a decade-long rumor as to whether her relationship with her actor husband Huang Xiaoming started as an affair. Related hashtags have been viewed hundreds of millions of times on Weibo.

What’s the story?

Yang said on Weibo, “When I first met Huang Xiaoming, he told me that he was single. Until Li Feier (Huang’s former girlfriend) groundlessly named me in an interview with a magazine”. Li referred to Yang as “another woman from a previous relationship”.

The rumors over how Yang and Huang’s relationship first started in 2010, the year in which the two actors officially started dating and Huang broke up with Li. In 2011, Li suggested in an interview that in her previous relationship there was a “third person”, which was interpreted by some people as a veiled reference to Yang.

While the rumor has faded in recent years it resurfaced recently when both Li and Huang featured in the reality show Sisters Who Make Waves Season 2. Yang posted her statement about the affair in the afternoon of Jan. 6, with Huang also posting on Weibo, “Baby was not a mistress.” So far, Li has not made comment.

Yang and Huang are two of the most discussed celebrities in China. Their wedding in 2015 was described by some Chinese media as “the wedding of the century”, reportedly costing 200 million yuan (US$ 31 million).

What are people saying online?

Some people online have shown their support for Yang. “Everything will come to light. I believe time will give you an answer, Baby,” read one comment.

But some others also expressed their sympathy towards Li. One Weibo user said, “Li Feier, what a poor woman! She hasn’t been on any shows for so long, and finally her time has come and she gets bashed by the Yang couple.”