Taiwanese TV host and comedian Mickey Huang has joined a growing list of celebrities who have been forced to cancel their weddings due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Huang had in early March registered his marriage with actress Summer Meng, six years after their relationship first became public knowledge in 2014.
Huang, 47, and Meng, 28, had planned to hold their wedding banquet on April 19, which is expected to have about 700 guests.
On Thursday (March 19), Huang posted a picture of their wedding invitation card on his social-media accounts, as he wrote, "I am sorry, everyone. After two long weeks of deliberation, I have decided to cancel our wedding on April 19.
"We have guests and bridesmaids from overseas who have expressed their concerns in not being able to attend the wedding.
"My last count showed that close to 1,000 people will be present that day, including the media, the various teams involved in organising the event and hotel staff. I feel that we should not subject everyone to worries.
"As everyone knows, no one could have predicted an epidemic. What can be controlled is taking care of yourself, value every job, cherish the people you love and protect the people who should be taken care of."
He went on to thank everyone involved in their wedding preparations, as he said he and Meng would discuss at a later date whether to livestream the wedding or hold it on another day.
He said what matters now is to stay healthy and efforts in containing the outbreak.
Huang's post was shared shortly by Meng, as she wrote, "As my husband said, health is more important. We are really sorry."
Other personalities who have put off their nuptials recently because of coronavirus concerns include Singaporean actress Ase Wang, American actress Emma Stone and Hong Kong singer Lesley Chiang.
Huang is well-known for co-hosting various Taiwanese variety shows such as Super Sunday (1994 to 2003), Happy Sunday (2003 to 2008) and Red White Red White Victory (2012). He has won Best Variety Show Host five times at Taiwan's Golden Bell Awards, with the latest in 2019 for co-hosting Super Reunion (2019 to present) with Pu Hsueh-liang.
Meng is starring in the new horror movie, The Bridge Curse, which is scheduled to be released in Singapore on April 9.
