Jimmy Lin's wife attacked for being 'ugly'

Jimmy Lin, his mother and his wife, former model-actress Kelly Chen, all appear in Chinese variety series My Dearest Ladies.
Jimmy Lin, his mother and his wife, former model-actress Kelly Chen, all appear in Chinese variety series My Dearest Ladies. PHOTO: KELLYMERMAIDCHEN/INSTAGRAM

Taiwanese singer and actor Jimmy Lin's wife - former model-actress Kelly Chen - recently revealed the negative reception shehas received from his fans over their 10-year marriage.

Chen, 36, along with Lin, 45, and his mother are part of the cast of Chinese variety series My Dearest Ladies, a reality show which focuses on the relationships between women and their mothers-in-law.

Chen, who married Lin in 2010 after giving birth to their first son Kimi in 2009, broke down in tears on the show when discussing the pressures of being married to him.

Lin, with his boyish good looks, was one of Taiwan's most popular teenage idol singers in the 1990s.

She said: "Over the past 10 years, I was attacked with a lot of comments from the public. They said, 'You're ugly, why do you get to marry him? What talent do you even have? You have buck teeth.'"

Though the backlash has died down, Chen, who has not been active in the entertainment industry for more than a decade, admits she had reservations about appearing on the programme, for fear of triggering a new round of attacks.

The couple have three children. Aside from Kimi, they also have twin sons Jenson and Kyson, born in 2015.

Lin enjoyed a resurgence of fame when he and his son Kimi appeared on the popular Chinese television reality show Where Are We Going, Dad? in 2013.

Taiwanese news outlet ETToday reported that Lin had acknowledged his wife's struggles in past interviews.

He said: "At first, my fans were like, 'Who is she?', 'Why does she get to marry me?', so she was under a lot of stress.

"But many of my fans have been with me from the time I was aged 17 to 35 (the age Lin got married). They slowly realised it's normal for me to marry and have a family. And she has taught Kimi so well, so fans are more accepting of her now."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 25, 2020, with the headline Jimmy Lin's wife attacked for being 'ugly'. Subscribe