Regardless of the reason, the dissolution of a marriage is always a painful process. It is even more so if the relationship is embroiled in various scandals and is placed in the limelight.
After multiple twists and turns to his scandalous divorce, Taiwanese-American singer Wang Leehom has apologised to his ex-wife, parents, and children.
The apology was posted on his Weibo account on Monday (20 Dec) at noon.
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He added that he’ll be taking a break from work to spend time with his parents and children.
According to the post in Chinese, Wang has decided that as a man, he should be the one to take responsibility for marital strifes. He will no longer be offering further explanations to defend himself.
He admitted that he failed to take care of his marriage and caused trouble to his family.
It was all my fault. I solemnly apologise to my parents, Jinglei (ex-wife), and my children.
Wang also conceded that arguments about the past are “meaningless” after a divorce. He would take extra care of his words and actions from now on.
As for his ex-wife Lee Jinglei and children, Wang said he would be taking on the responsibilities of a father, son and public figure.
“I will take care of Jinglei and my children as much as possible financially.
“I am going to quit work temporarily and take time to work on myself, my parents and children, to make up for the damage caused by this storm,” he said.
In his apology, Wang also addressed Lee directly, saying that they still have to take care of and raise their 3 children together. He will be transferring the ownership of the house Lee is living in now, to her.
I will also participate in the whole process of raising and funding the education of my children, bearing the full expenses.
He ended the post with another apology and confessed that the scandal escalated primarily due to his mishandling of the situation.
Before his apology, Wang broke his silence on the issue on Sunday night (19 Dec) and posted a lengthy statement on his Instagram stories.
He denied the infidelity allegations and said he felt forced into marriage with Lee when she got pregnant. He has been living in fear since.
We’ve translated the complete statement into English below. There’s also a summarised version of it after the jump:
Today is the saddest day of my life; it’s a very painful nightmare.
I am in a dilemma. If I retaliate against the untruths, it won’t be good for the mother of my 3 children. But if I do not respond, everyone will believe these events are true. So my responsibility to society is to respond to the allegations one by one while balancing the feelings of the mother of my children. This is very challenging. There will be some areas I do not do perfectly. I will apologise in advance for the imperfections, I really do not want to hurt her and more so, I do not want to hurt my children. They are my family—my greatest loves.
I need to stress the most important point clearly: I can say with absolute surety that I have never been disloyal in our marriage.
Me and Nishimura (her name when I met her) met during my concert in 2003 but following that, we didn’t keep in contact for over 10 years. Today, I even found emails of our first exchange, where she called me “stranger”, and I said, “I haven’t seen you in forever”. At that time, she was already 26.
Our marriage began on 27 Nov 2013 and lasted till we separated on 5 Aug 2019. Within the 5 years and 8 months, I had been living in fear, under extortion and threats. Not long after we were together, she got pregnant. I was both shocked and happy because I’ve wanted children, but at that time, we hadn’t reached the stage of discussing marriage.
But that day, she was incredibly emotional. She said, “If you don’t marry me today, I will disappear and change my name. You will never in your life see the child in me. Don’t think about finding me, you never will be able to” (This statement was recorded in 2016 during our 1st marriage counselling session). I was so scared then, but I saw that she was serious, saying we needed to get married on that day. I can’t imagine not being able to see my child. Seeing her so emotional, I nodded and agreed. That day itself, we registered our marriage in New York City. I thought that day was the most harrowing day of my life. But it was nothing compared to what’s happening today.
Throughout our marriage, I admit we faced many problems. From Mar 2014, we started going to a marriage counsellor/psychologist. We saw about 5 in total. Regrettably, we never could turn things around for the better. I hope we can continue to face this together bravely. I sincerely wish Nishimura the best and look forward to working together to maintain a harmonious post-marriage family life.
After the separation, we started seriously discussing divorce in Dec 2020. During the process, she told a mediator that if Leehom didn’t agree to her demands, she would destroy his career (the mediator says there’s a recording, but I have not heard it). But the main point is it’s not true what Lee Jinglei says that she doesn’t want a single penny. At the start, she wanted about S$42.8 million (200 million yuan). Eventually, she signed an agreement for S$32.1 million (150 million yuan), including half of their property in Los Angeles, half of their investment stocks, and monthly alimony of S$45,000 (210,000 yuan). Outside of that, the provision of a nanny, chauffeur, car, domestic helper, and free usage of their Taipei home for 18 years etc. These were given in hopes of Jinglei leading a comfortable life, but she still felt likeit wass too little.
But money is not the important point. Now, the important point is that we have 3 precious children.
Now that this is in public, I will use this only channel I have to speak to Jinglei. I plead with you:
Regarding everything, please come at me. I am willing to face your demands and anger. But the Internet is a place where things cannot be taken back. You’ve already done it. In future, our 3 children will grow up and face even more harm. Especially at this time, I beg you to let me see them.
Lee Jinglei, I regret I did not meet your standards of a qualified husband.
Besides that, as a public figure, I want to apologise to the public for not managing my marriage well.
For the innocent friends dragged into this, I apologise for my personal marriage affairs affecting you.
Here, I want to apologise to my father and mother. I am especially thankful for the handwritten letters last night. Because I didn’t manage my marriage, I’ve affected you. I’m sorry!
Lastly, this essay is not written as well as Lee Jinglei’s, but I will address the false allegations in her 5,000-word essay soon.
In the 5-page letter, Wang denied Lee’s allegations that he had been disloyal in their marriage.
Previously, Lee said they met when she was only 16, and he was 26. Even though she was underage at that time, he asked for her number, and they chatted often.
Refuting this, Wang said they met in 2003 but did not contact each other for more than 10 years.
He also shared a picture of their first email exchange when Lee was 26, where Wang said they hadn’t met in “forever”. Lee had replied, calling him a “stranger”.
Wang then said that he felt pressured into the marriage when Lee got pregnant with their 1st child and threatened that he would not be able to see the child otherwise.
He revealed that he’s lived in fear throughout their marriage, under extortion and threat.
He shared that their marriage was rife with problems, and they sought professional help from 5 different marriage counsellors and psychologists but could not turn things around.
Wang added that in the process of their divorce, Lee had threatened to take to the media to destroy his career should he not concede to her demands.
The pair later agreed that Lee would get the following:
Wang then pleaded with Lee not to harm their children further by sharing things on the Internet. He asked that she direct things to him instead.
Wang also begged Lee to let him see his children.
He apologised for not meeting her standards of a husband. He also took the chance to apologise to the public, his friends, and his parents for affecting them by not managing his marriage well.
When a married couple divorces, their children are in the most vulnerable state as the experience may affect their emotional growth.
Now that Wang has apologised, we hope that he and Lee can put aside their differences and work towards giving their kids the best care possible.
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Featured image adapted from YouTube and Weibo.
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