No third party in split: Choi

HONG KONG - Pop star Charlene Choi said there was no third party ever in her romance with William Chan as she broke her silence over their split.

The Twins singer was facing questions from reporters that have swirled since she and the singer-actor announced their split on Weibo on Sunday.

Though Chan was rumoured to have moved on Chinese actress Zhao Liying, who is his co-star on TV serial The Legend Of Zu, Choi denied that. She said: "No. I believe that from the start to the end, no third party was involved."

She was at a rehearsal on Monday in Hong Kong with bandmate Gillian Chung, reported Apple Daily.

Choi, 32, and Chan had stirred online talk anew when they announced their "amicable" split.

She was married to actor Ronald Cheng in 2010 when she worked on a film with Chan. Later that year, after her divorce from Cheng became public, she admitted to dating Chan.

But the romance drew flak, with criticism that Chan, 29, her junior by three years, was unworthy of her as he was then a relative unknown.

However, he went on to make a name for himself by acting in China TV serials and entered Forbes China's Celebrity 100 list this year at No. 70, while Choi lagged behind at No. 95. The list was based on income and media exposure.

His ascent spurred talk that he had discarded her after using her to achieve his goals.

To that, Choi said: "He's not that kind of a person. I have known him for years. We're still good friends. I don't doubt him, he's not a bad person."

While agreeing that their busy schedules had kept them apart, she said: "The pressure from the gossip was big and growing. We're both busy with work. It became so big that we had no time to deal with it.

"It became suffocating. We agreed it's more pleasant this way," she said of their decision to split.

Referring to online attacks by their two camps of fans, she said: "I don't mind being attacked. I'm pained most by my fans attacking the other person."

This article was first published on September 23, 2015.
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