During their two and a half year relationship, Joel Chan (陳山聰) and Florinda Ho (何超雲) have broken up and reconciled several times, but it appears that a makeup will definitely not happen this time around. In early May, Joel and Florinda confirmed that they have officially split, in which Florinda hinted that it was a breakup over money. After returning to Hong Kong from London on May 4, Joel stayed out of sight and only left his home at night. Sudden Weekly reported that Joel, who lived a luxurious lifestyle while dating the casino tycoon heiress, has now resorted to living in a tiny 400 feet flat in Richland Gardens. Gone were the days when Joel would leave his 10-room mansion with a sweet racecar ride and return home in a limo. In a matter of weeks, Joel has gone from royalty to peasantry. After two days and two nights of poaching around the Richland Gardens grounds, paparazzi finally caught Joel exiting his building on Saturday night, May 11. Good friend Derek Kok (郭政鴻) waited for him at the entrance and drove him to Hung Hom, where they ate their late-night dinner. Joel drank and ate for two hours, and in the end, it was Derek who had to fork the bill and drive him home. While dating Florinda, Joel rode Mercedes-Benz, BMWs, and had the liberty to come in and out of Stanley Ho’s (何鴻燊) manors. Now that the couple have cut ties, Joel has to return to his small 400 feet flat on the 18th floor of the Richland Gardens complex, living with his mother who, as claimed by Sudden Weekly, was now the breadwinner of the family. Embarrassed with his situation, Joel was afraid that people would recognize him in broad daylight and refused to leave home until after nightfall. A source disclosed, “Joel Chan’s flat faces the entrance of the building, so he will know if there are reporters around. He will only leave the house when he is sure that the reporters are not around.” It was also known that Joel planned to open a restaurant with Derek, but plans fell through. Joel is still reportedly recovering from his breakup, but a WhatsApp profile update that he made a few days ago seemed to have hinted that Joel has really moved on. His status read, “To live in the now, learn how to let go.” Reporters also approached Joel via WhatsApp to ask him about his current life situation, but Joel only replied with a cheerful, “Thank you!” On the other hand, ex-girlfriend Florinda did not seem at all upset at the breakup, and returned to Hong Kong from her London vacation in high spirits. When she met the press, she smiled brightly, but refused to respond to questions regarding Joel. However, recent rumors say that Joel and Florinda still have a chance to get back together, and that key matchmaker is Derek Kok. A source close to the pair revealed, “It will be hard for Joel to reconcile with Florinda. Before, we used to get Florinda’s friends to help out, but Florinda is not willing to budge anymore. No one dares to mention [the breakup] in front of her, except for Derek Kok. He is, after all, the father of Florinda’s goddaughter. A few days ago, Derek contacted Florinda and mentioned Joel to her, telling her that it is hard to let go a relationship that lasted for two years, and that Joel has changed. Florinda didn’t have much of a reaction.” Reporters phoned Derek about the rumor, but Derek kept his lips tight on the matter. He simply replied, “I haven’t seen Joel in a while, so that was why I ate dinner with him that night. I really don’t know anything else. It is their problems, so they should handle it.” Creds: Sudden Weekly
