Veteran actor Patrick Tse Yin, father of singer and actor Nicholas Tse Ting-fung, has died at the age of 89, leaving behind a career spanning more than five decades and a colorful personal life that often made headlines.
From his celebrated film career to his high-profile relationships, Tse remained a prominent figure in Hong Kong’s entertainment industry, with all five romances reportedly ending on friendly terms.
Read more: Patrick Tse dies at 89, Nicholas Tse returns to HK as family announces veteran actor’s passing
Tse's first known relationship was with Patsy Ka Ling, a leading actress of 1950s Cantonese cinema who worked at the same film company as him and was regarded as his golden-couple partner both on and off screen. They reportedly dated for seven years before splitting, as he was not ready to settle down while she wanted marriage.
He was next linked to Josephine Siao Fong-fong, one of the actresses known as the "Seven Princesses," in the late 1960s. The relationship lasted just over a year, reportedly ending because Tse chose to step aside so as not to hold back the hardworking Siao's career.
In 1974, he defied objections from both the public and her family to secretly marry Taiwanese star Chang Chia-Chen in Hong Kong. The marriage lasted under three years, reportedly ending after director Liu Chia-chang became involved with Chang, though the two were later seen reuniting on friendly terms.
The following year, Tse pursued Deborah Lee. The two married in 1979 and had two children, Nicholas Tse and Jennifer Tse Ting-ting. They became one of Hong Kong's most high-profile celebrity families before divorcing in 1995. Lee later remarried Singaporean pilot Kong Yiu-sing, and Tse remained close with the couple, a relationship often cited as a model of amicable divorce in the industry.
Later in life, Tse made headlines for a relationship with Coco, a woman from Shanghai 49 years his junior, whom he began dating in 2005. The pair dated openly for more than a decade before Tse reportedly ended things over their age gap, giving her a parting gift worth HK$20 million.
Tse was known for his own carefree philosophy, once summing it up on a talk show: a man can be flirtatious, but never vulgar. He credited decades of calisthenics and a controlled diet for keeping his figure trim well into old age.
