PUBLISHED ONOctober 07, 2026 10:26 AMBYEsther LamChen Yixin has opened up about her past romance, saying she and her ex-boyfriend "brought out the worst in each other" and that it took her a long time to accept they were not meant for each other.
The 26-year-old local actress-model was speaking on a YouTube podcast with local internet personality Saffron Sharpe, 29, titled We Broke Up, uploaded on Oct 6.
The pair discussed Saffron's recent break-up with her ex-boyfriend, while Yixin also opened up about her own past romance and split. They also touched on the challenges of navigating public relationships and the lessons they took away from their experiences.
While Yixin did not name her former boyfriend, she had publicly confirmed she was dating local actor Gavin Teo in 2021 and they broke up in 2024.
Yixin, who recently moved to Paris, told Saffron she had to announce the break-up as their romance was well-known and they had numerous work activities together.
"It took a long time for me to actually acknowledge and respect the idea that we're not the one for each other," she admitted.
"It was more about accepting that you're just not meant for each other and that's okay. I had to remind myself that these feelings come in waves and you don't have to beat yourself up when you're feeling strong emotions."
She also said one of the reasons they lasted for so long was because she didn't how to break up.
Yixin, who is the daughter of local actors Xiang Yun and Edmund Chen, described her family as "very emotional" and said they tend to talk a lot. But after having bad experiences with constantly wanting to communicate with her ex, she has a more avoidant attachment style in her current romance.
On whether she would remain friends with her ex, Yixin said no, explaining she doesn't hate him but thinks they don't have any common topics to talk about anymore.
Stressing that she had no intention of slandering him, Yixin said: "I just want to believe that we brought out the worst in each other. And I was only going to talk sh*t about myself."
Saffron comforted her by saying that people make mistakes and that Yixin was young at the time.
Reflecting on the break-up, Yixin said her only takeaway from the experience was that moving on meant eventually feeling indifferent towards the person, with no strong feelings remaining.
She said it also changed how she approached her subsequent romances, revealing she came up with a list of non-negotiables.
When she first started talking to her current boyfriend, she immediately sent him the list.
She described the initial stage of their relationship as them being "pen pals for about two months", during which they focused on getting to know each other without any conversations about meeting up.
Among her top non-negotiables, Yixin said she wants a partner who is "intellectually invigorating", not overly present on social media, financially responsible and has empathy and curiosity about life.
[embed]https://youtu.be/emvUvrJOqXg?si=s5tAOeDD3NyqsZNS[/embed]
[[nid:746716]]
No part of this article can be reproduced without permission from AsiaOne.
