Sammi Cheng and Andy Hui: The highs and lows of Cantopop's golden couple

SINGAPORE - Cantopop's golden couple Sammi Cheng, 46, and Andy Hui, 51, have had a roller-coaster relationship, full of twists and turns and highs and lows.

When they finally got together and tied the knot, it seemed like the perfect ending to a long-running saga. Hong Kong actor-comedian Dayo Wong called their story "the fairy tale of fairy tales".

The question now is what happens to the fairy tale after Hui was caught on camera canoodling with 30-year-old TVB actress and former Miss Hong Kong first runner-up Jacqueline Wong. Hong Kong's Apple Daily News uploaded the video clip on Tuesday (April 16).

Famously reticent about their relationship, the Hong Kong singers reportedly first got together around 1991, after recording a duet, Actually, Do You Have Me In Your Heart.

However, they kept things on the down low, only admitting to being good friends.

In a 1994 interview, Cheng even went so far as to say: "I do not find (Hui) mature and handsome enough."

A year later, Hui told reporters that Cheng was not his cup of tea and that her image - she was then known for dressing loudly and having fancy-coloured hair - was "too avant-garde" for him.

Nonetheless, the media continued to report that they were a couple. It was only in 1996 that Hui openly confessed to liking her for a long time. In an interview in Hong Kong, he said he was attracted to her forthright character and mature mind.

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It then emerged that Cheng had once hoped he could be her potential mate, but came to realise they would never be happy together, that he was far from being her ideal man.

That year, rumours emerged that Hui had proposed several times, but she had rejected him each time.

However, she still cared for him, insisting on appearing as a guest star at his concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum despite having been hospitalised for a sudden asthma attack earlier that day.

In turn, Hui attended all eight nights of her concert at the same venue that year. On the last performance, he presented her with a bouquet of flowers and gave her a peck on the cheek.

After performing a duet together, he said to her: "Nobody sings it better than me." She replied: "Then we should always be together... on stage."

In 1999, rumours of a split surfaced when Cheng was spotted visiting a karaoke lounge with Hong Kong heart-throb Louis Koo while Hui was plugging his album in Taiwan. When contacted, Hui said it was "no big deal", as Cheng always went for karaoke sessions with friends.

But in 2004, news broke that Cheng and Hui had split, with Hui wanting out of the relationship after a heated argument.

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Apple Daily even reported that there had been two previous break-ups, in which she had dumped him.

Around that period, Cheng noticeably lost weight and was also reported to have suffered from depression.

Post-breakup, Hui became romantically linked to an assistant, Poon Hang Cheung, as well as model Michelle Yu.

But in 2011, it was revealed that the Hui-Cheng relationship was back on again, after the couple were photographed by paparazzi having a cosy lunch at Tai Ping Koon restaurant in Hong Kong.

It was also reported that he gave her 999 roses for Valentine's Day that year.

On the night of Aug 19, 2013, Cheng's 41st birthday, Hui reportedly proposed to her, with roses and a ring.

On Nov 30, the pair quietly had an engagement, or wedding, in Bali, inviting only family to the event.

In 2016, Hui appeared on the singing programme Masked Singer China 2 and was asked how he would describe his on-and-off relationship with Cheng. His reply? "Let's just be happy."

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.