Taiwanese pop star Show Lo's ugly break-up with his influencer girlfriend Grace Chow, the most talked-about scandal in the Chinese entertainment scene currently, has taken yet another turn.
The rumoured third party between the couple - Linda Chien Kai-le, 36, one of Lo's co-hosts on long-running variety programme 100% Entertainment - has come out to apologise to Chow.
Chien, also known as Butterfly Sister from her earlier stint as a children's programme presenter, posted the apology last Saturday night. She wrote: "I would like to sincerely apologise to Ms Grace Chow here and to say sorry to all those who love me."
Her post is widely seen as an indirect confirmation that she was one of Lo's sexual partners outside of his relationship with Chow.
This comes two days after Chow, 31, put up an explosive post on her social media accounts last Thursday, detailing how her nine-year relationship with Lo, 40, came to an end.
She accused him of constantly contacting other women on a separate phone, having sexual relations with different women whenever she was not around, hosting sex parties and having "improper relations" with his make-up artist and a female artist he manages.
Though Chow did not name Chien in her initial post, Chien is reportedly the only female artist under Lo's management agency Creation Entertainment. She was signed to the firm in 2014.
Chow confirmed in a comment thread that she went to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases after her break-up with Lo.
She also tagged Chien's official Instagram account in subsequent comments, implying that Chien should similarly get tested, and indirectly identifying her as one of Lo's sexual partners.
Lo apologised to his former girlfriend in an online post last Friday.
The flirtatious behaviour between Chien and Lo has long been noticed by fans and the media, even before Lo publicly acknowledged his relationship with Chow.
Chien and Lo have been hosting variety programme 100% Entertainment together since 2011. They frequently flirted with each other on the show, with Chien expressing her feelings for Lo, though the two played it off as an on-screen routine.
She once mistakenly referred to Lo as her boyfriend instead of her boss, and has, on several occasions, flaunted the expensive luxury bags Lo gives her every year on her birthday.
Taiwanese media reported that Chien's late-night post garnered more than 30,000 comments in three hours - with many netizens mocking her and accusing her of granting sexual favours to Lo in return for a more lucrative career.
Some have even called for Lo and Chien to retire from the entertainment industry completely.
