Viann Zhang (張馨予) and mainland Chinese actor Li Chen’s (李晨) one-year relationship has ended. An insider revealed that the relationship already ended in August after Viann fell for Wallace Huo (霍建华). Possessing a voluptuous figure, Viann’s recognition level rose after dating Ron Ng (吳卓羲) and Li Chen. She made a successful crossover from modeling to acting, appearing in television dramas The Patriot Yue Fei <精忠岳飛> and Yu Zheng’s (于正) upcoming The Condor Heroes <神鵰俠侶>. Rumor Queen In August 2012, on Chinese Valentine’s Day, Li Chen publicly acknowledged Viann as his girlfriend, vowing to protect her and cherish their love. The couple had met and fell in love with each other at Du Chun’s (杜淳) birthday party last year. Many netizens expressed that the relationship was fated to be doomed, as Viann was known to have a fiery temper and was a clingy girlfriend. In August 2012, Li Chen expressed his unhappiness in the public backlash towards his relationship, and gifted Viann with a heart-shaped stone while stating his everlasting love. Meanwhile, negative rumors continued to surround Viann. Before she became an actress, rumors surfaced that Viann was a “sofa lady”, referring to her job as a hostess. Claims later followed that Viann had actually married a rich man in Changzhou in her early career. Viann clarified the rumors with Li Chen’s support. A Relationship Separated by Work An insider revealed that many obstacles eventually caused a strain in Viann and Li Chen’s relationship. However, they appeared together lovingly in the public several times, while promoting Distance to Love <到爱的距离>. In the midst, they also revealed they had plans to wed this year. Although they could not spend this year’s Qixi festival together because of work, Li Chen admitted to talking to Viann on the phone as well as sending her a bouquet of flowers on that day. He even made plans to gift Viann ice cream moon cakes for this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival although they would be apart for work again. Viann’s Breakup Announcement After a year-long high-profile dating relationship, Viann announced on September 9 that she and Li Chen have broken up. Viann wrote amongst a private circle of friends, “I thank you for your companionship and trust when I was defamed. Ever since I came to Beijing, every show and job that I took was from my hard work and I am continuing to work hard. Love is between two people. No matter what the problem is, it’s only one side of the story. You all step on, you all scold. Right, you’re a good man. I’m a bad woman. You should rejoice that I am not holding you back anymore. People who are not involved in this, you should take care of your own problem first!” She then followed up with a photo of her in tears, with an encouraging message to herself. Reporters noted that as early as August, there were already hints of a breakup. While Viann and Li Chen used to travel to work in the same assistant car, they have since commuted separately. In late August, Li Chen was also spotted drinking until the wee hours with a group of his friends, while appearing sullen and in a bad mood. He also shared posts that “he wanted to go home, but didn’t know where to return to.” Wallace Huo Enters Picture Although both parties have yet to reveal the reasons behind the breakup, an insider spilled that it was because Viann fell in love with Wallace Huo and even checked into a hotel room with him in Hengzhou. When Li Chen confronted Viann, she allegedly admitted to the tryst and asked for a breakup. The insider further added that Li Chen actually gave his blessings to Viann and Wallace in a private Weibo message. However, upon Viann’s request later, he removed the private post and replaced it with a depressing public message instead. Li Chen is currently in the United States. Although Wallace and Viann have allegedly dated for more than two months, Wallace has not made any public response yet. Wallace’s manager denied the rumors and said, “Of course not.” Creds: QQ
