TAIPEI - Singer-actress Ella Chen of pop group S.H.E has announced that she is three months pregnant.

The 35-year-old shared her news in dribs and drabs, starting with photos she posted on Facebook and Weibo on Saturday (Oct 22) that showed herself and her husband, Malaysian businessman Alvin Lai, brandishing positive pregnancy test sticks.

She wrote: "With my personality that can't hide anything, I really had a hard time holding this back!!!"

She said she had to wait till things were "stable" to make her announcement, which went: "I want to tell you loudly, I'm pregnant!"

Her bandmate Selina Jen said on Facebook: "I'm going to cry! I'm an aunt!"

On Sunday (Oct 23), when the group made an appearance at a gym, Chen confirmed that she was in her second trimester, and added that she would reveal the baby's gender at the launch of her single on Friday (Oct 28), said Apple Daily.

She said she discovered her pregnancy on Aug 21, after using two tests. Then she got two more for her bandmates Jen and Hebe Tien to share her joy with them the next day, when they were filming an advertisement.

Tien said she was at a loss after she was given the pregnancy test stick at a restaurant. She held back her tears, for fear the waiters would find out.

Chen married Lai in 2012. Speaking of his impending fatherhood at age 40, she said: "He has a feeling of 'Finally, it's my turn'."