PETALING JAYA – Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh has opened up about her divorce from Hong Kong magnate Dickson Poon.
In a recent episode of The Goop Podcast with American actress Gwyneth Paltrow, Yeoh, 61, admitted to feeling upset about her inability to conceive. The Ipoh-born celebrity added that it was one of the main reasons for the couple’s split.
“We did whatever was necessary (to have children). Unfortunately, I was physically unable to,” she said.
Yeoh married Mr Poon, now 67, in 1988 and they divorced in 1991.
The actress once said in an interview with a magazine that she was “desperate” to have children and even tried in vitro fertilisation, but to no avail.
She said in the podcast: “I knew my ex really wanted a big family... not just one son, but two sons or three even better. He was working hard for a big empire and he needed sons to carry on his lineage.”
Aside from her inability to conceive children, Yeoh said her inability to multitask back then also contributed to her stepping away from married life.
“I don’t know how women in our line of work juggle being pregnant, having a baby, going back to work... I’m not a multitasker,” she said.
“With our work, we’re always travelling. If you’re filming outside the country, maybe we’ll not see each other for a couple of months. When both parties (are working), it’s hard to find that balance.”
Yeoh made history in March 2023 by becoming the first Asian woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the science-fiction comedy Everything Everywhere All At Once.
Although the divorce was “tough”, Yeoh believes she made the right decision.
“I think it was a smart thing for me to do... to be able to step away and not pretend that it will work out. We did love each other but it doesn’t get better because there are expectations,” she said.
The actress said that she and Mr Poon are still good friends.
“His eldest daughter is my first godchild. His first ex-wife and I will call each other and go on holidays together,” she said.
Mr Poon was previously married to Ms Marjorie Yang, chairman of Hong Kong’s Esquel Group, and they have a daughter Dee Poon, 41.
Yeoh said she feels blessed as many of her friends have chosen her to be the godmother of their children. The actress has six godchildren.
Yeoh recently became a grandmother after her stepson Nicolas – her French husband Jean Todt’s child from a previous relationship – welcomed baby Maxime on New Year’s Day.
She got engaged to Mr Todt, 77, in 2004. The couple tied the knot on July 27, 2023, in Geneva, Switzerland. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
