Barbie Hsu's divorce talk may be just a lovers' spat

Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu made headlines over the weekend when she told Taiwanese tabloid Apple Daily last Saturday she is divorcing her husband, Chinese hotelier Wang Xiaofei.

This came after Mr Wang, 39, made several posts on Chinese social media platform Weibo that harshly criticised Taiwan, after it was reported that two confirmed Covid-19 cases from the island had boarded a plane that later landed in the Chinese city of Xiamen.

But it seems Hsu's announcement may just be a lovers' spat blown out of proportion. The 44-year-old actress' mother and manager have since come out to refute her claims of divorce.

Hsu's mother told Apple Daily when asked for her comments: "Barbie just said some words out of anger. What divorce is she talking about? I will calm her down. Barbie and Xiaofei both care deeply about their children and I will tell them to bear with it for the moment."

Though she did not say why the couple fought, she revealed that Mr Wang had wanted his wife and two children - a daughter aged seven and a son aged five - to receive the Covid-19 vaccine in China.

Hsu, however, felt that ferrying young kids across the border was too much trouble and made the decision to stay put in Taiwan instead.

Mr Wang posted on Weibo shortly after news of the divorce surfaced, writing: "I was really worried about my family so I said some things that were not very nice. It's easy to get agitated during this pandemic period and I hope my family will be safe and sound."

Hsu's manager also told Apple Daily: "They just had a fight. Which couple doesn't fight? It's not a big deal."

Hsu, who rose to fame in the drama Meteor Garden (2001), met Mr Wang in 2010 and they tied the knot that year after dating briefly.

Their marriage made headlines as Hsu has long been a popular actress while Mr Wang was then known as one of the Four Young Masters of Beijing - a term used to refer to the sons of four famous and wealthy Beijing entrepreneurs.

Mr Wang's mother is a restaurateur who founded the high-end South Beauty chain of restaurants.