Wen Zhang in an affair?

Beijing - Chinese microbloggers were debating something other than the missing Malaysia Airlines jet last weekend, when Weibo gossip pages exploded with rumours of a scandalous romance between television stars Wen Zhang and Yao Di.

Wen, 29, one of the hottest actors in China, is said to have left his wife, actress Ma Yili, 37, for his Naked Wedding co-star Yao, 32, reported website NetEase.

Speaking to NetEase, a paparazzo said the secret love affair started in July last year, and Yao moved to a place near Wen's a month later, "outrageously near, across the road".

At the time, Ma was expecting her second child with Wen, said the report. She is said to have since given birth but there has been no announcement. The couple's first child is a girl.

Wen's agent responded to the rumours last Saturday. Although she did not deny the story of the love affair, she said Wen and Ma had been misunderstood by the media. "In life, they just want to be ordinary people but they're seen as artists. At work, they just want to be good actors but they're seen as stars."

Wen and Yao star as an affectionate post-1980s young couple in a shotgun marriage in the 2011 hit drama Naked Wedding. Wen married Ma after they acted in the 2007 show Struggle.

Wen also stars in last year's movie Journey To The West: Conquering The Demons.

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