Wang Leehom scandal explained as singer issues apology to ex-wife Lee Jinglei over Weibo controversy

Taiwanese-American singer Wang Leehom apologized to his ex-wife Lee Jinglei following the controversy surrounding their divorce. The pair had a heated exchange on Weibo after Leehom announced his official separation from Jinglei.

In response, Jinglei accused Leehom of infidelity and called out his alleged wrongdoings during their marriage. Although the musician initially refuted the claims, he recently apologized to his former wife, their children and his parents for his actions:

“Here, I solemnly apologize to my parents, Jinglei, and the children. Having divorced, arguing about the past is meaningless. From now on, I will pay attention to my words and deeds. I will take on the responsibilities of a father, son, and public figure. I will financially support Jinglei and the children as much as possible.”

Wang Leehom also pledged to support Lee Jinglei in raising their children together and mentioned he will give her ownership of the house she lives in. He also agreed to financially support his children and took responsibility for the divorce.

“Jinglei, we still have to take care of and raise three children together. I will transfer the house you're living in to your name. I will also participate in the whole process of rearing the children and bear the expenses. I will take all the responsibility for mishandling the incident (divorce). I again apologize to everyone."

The singer shared that he decided to take responsibility for the situation “as a man” and will provide no further “explanations and defenses” about the divorce.

Wang Leehom has also decided to take a temporary hiatus from work to support parents and children to “make up for the damage” caused by the scandal.

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A look into the Wang Leehom x Lee Jinglei divorce controversy

Wang Leehom and Lee Jinglei filed have officially filed for divorce (Image via Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

On December 15, 2021, Wang Leehom announced on Weibo that he had filed for divorce from his wife Lee Jinglei after eight years of marriage. On December 17, the latter posted a lengthy document on the platform to highlight the troubles of her marriage and accused Leehom of several misdeeds.

She claimed that the musician was unfaithful in the marriage and had cheated on her multiple times with several women:

"You admitted you had a problem, that you can't control yourself. I asked for a break-up and you called me on the phone for several weeks, promising you'll never do it again. You said that from now on, I'm your 'one and only'."

Lee Jinglei also mentioned that she was just 16 years old when she first met Wang Leehom, who was 26 at the time.

"Because you're an idol with such a positive image, I had no doubts about you. We were together and we slept together. But the next morning you told me you don't want to be in a relationship."

The 35-year-old also said that she was forced to sign a pre-nuptial agreement before her wedding with Wang Leehom and claimed that he became an “absent” father for their three children:

"I understand if you want to protect the assets you have before marriage. But the assets you have after marriage are the fruits of both our labour. It is a result of us both doing the work we are supposed to do. Yet, the house is under your name. The car is under your mother's name. All the assets have been cleanly cut off from me, as if you're so deeply afraid that I might 'take advantage' of you."

Jinglei further mentioned that she gave up her own dreams and aspirations to raise their children. She also said that she decided to stay in the marriage despite the differences but was forced to divorce the musician:

"You asked for a divorce. You said if you meet a woman you love, you don't want her to be deemed a mistress. When I refused, you used all means and ways to verbally bully me, humiliate me and spread rumors about me to our friends and relatives."

Following the accusations, several brands decided to suspend their association with Wang Leehom. Companies like Infiniti and Chow Tai Seng announced that they will no longer work with the musician, and the hashtag “Multiple Brands Terminate Wang Leehom Contract” started trending on Weibo.

Lee Jinglei and Wang Leehom (Image via VCG/Getty Images)

In response to the allegations, the “King of Chinese Pop” denied all the wrongdoings in another lengthy Weibo post and mentioned that Jinglei’s claims were “untrue”:

“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.”

The singer-actor said that he met Jinglei during a 2003 concert but only started dating 10 years later when she turned 26:

“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.”

Wang Leehom mentioned that he was forced to marry Lee Jinglei after she got pregnant and alleged that he lived in “fear of threat and extortion” during their five years of marriage:

“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.”

He further admitted that the marriage was 'full of problems' and shared that the couple started taking counseling in March 2014. He said the pair visited five marriage counselors but failed to have a happy married life.

The New York-native said he started discussing the divorce with Jinglei in December 2020. Wang Leehom claimed that his ex-wife placed several demands during the process and threatened to destroy his career:

“During the process, she told a mediator that if Leehom didn’t agree to her demands, she would destroy his career. 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).”

The Little Big Soldier star also talked about Lee Jinglei’s additional demands:

“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 like it wass too little.”

Wang Leehom also mentioned that he regrets not meeting Lee Jinglei’s “standards of a qualified husband” and requested her to let him see their three children. Meanwhile, the former’s father also intervened in the situation and wrote a handwritten letter defending his son.

In the letter, Wang Leehom’s father denied allegations of his son’s affairs and claimed that his former daughter-in-law threatened Leehom into marriage after getting pregnant with their first child, when Wang was 37 and Lee was 27. He also expressed regret for approving the marriage.

Following the claims, Lee Jinglei called out Wang Leehom once again and mentioned that he was lying to safeguard his public image:

“I remember you told me that you think the best way to public relations is to try and destroy another person’s reputation and mislead the public to shift focus. Nice try.”

She mentioned that the singer has stayed in contact with her ever since their first meeting and the duo went on several dates, parties and events together. She also mentioned that Wang Leehom only insisted on visiting psychologists who took his side.

Jinglei also pointed out that one of the five counselors admitted that she was victim in the marriage and not vice versa:

“(The psychologist) also believes you (Wang Leehom) have a s*xual addiction and a narcissistic personality… Of the five (counselors) you mentioned only two were actually consulted. The others were only tried.”

Leehom’s ex-wife also claimed that he attempted to change the narrative of the situation by portraying himself as the victim. Meanwhile, several fans and critics also sided with Jinglei and started questioning the singer.

This led to Wang Leehom issuing a public apology to his former wife and children. It now remains to be seen if Jinglei will respond to the apology in the days to come.