Divorce feud ends in total surrender

A bitter feud over extramarital affairs took a drastic turn when Taiwanese-American singer-songwriter Wang Leehom declared he will take a back seat to show business and apologized to his ex-wife Lee Jinglei.

The 45-year-old Wang has been locked in a cross fire with ex-wife Lee over prostitution and affairs in recent days.

Wang issued an apology on Chinese social media platform Weibo at noon yesterday to his parents, Lee and his three children, saying he would "temporarily withdraw from work" to spend time with his family and "make up for the destruction."

"A man should still take all the responsibilities," he wrote.

"It was my fault that I didn't manage my marriage well ... I hereby give my solemn apologies to my father, mother, Jinglei and my children," Wang said. "From now on ... I will assume the responsibilities of a father, a son and a public figure."

Wang addressed his ex-wife toward the end of the post, saying: "Jinglei, we should still raise our three children together."

He promised to give the house where Lee and the children live to Lee and to pay for the children's education.

During the weekend, Lee had demanded Wang and his family apologize by 3pm on Sunday, otherwise she would take legal action. But after Wang's apology yesterday, Lee told Taiwanese media she will no longer sue him. Wang was in the mainland for an upcoming performance but flew back to Taiwan over the weekend in an attempt to solve the crisis.

But state media outlet Global Times found Wang's "temporary departure" from the entertainment industry insufficient.

"Artists who have committed misconduct should be kicked out," it wrote, adding similar reveals have frequently emerged in celebrities and such a "distorted atmosphere" must be rectified.

Earlier this year, rapper Kris Wu Yifan was accused by a fan of rape and world-renowned pianist Li Yundi was arrested by Beijing police for soliciting prostitutes.

Wang's divorce first came to the spotlight last Wednesday, when he confirmed he had filed for separation. But the scandal escalated when Lee on Friday posted a 5,000-word letter on Instagram to slam Wang for hiring prostitutes, having sex partners - with at least one married woman - and accusing Wang's family of mistreating her.

Wang's father put out a statement the next day to defend his son and hit back at Lee as having plotted the accusation letter for two years.

Wang also responded on Sunday night, denying infidelity.

He alleged that during his marriage with Lee, from November 2013 to August 2019, he had lived under fear and blackmail.

He said Lee threatened that he would never get to see his children again if he did not agree to marry her after she got pregnant.

"When discussing the divorce, Lee said to the mediator that if I failed to meet her requests, she would talk to the media and ruin my career," Wang said.

He also accused Lee of asking for up to hundreds of millions in alimony and said Lee had banned him from meeting their children. Lee hit back past midnight yesterday and cited a counselor who diagnosed Wang as a narcissist and a sex addict.

"Treating your wife as if she has a mental illness - and describing her in this way - has been part of the problem," said a screencap of the counselor's e-mail to Wang.

Lee also refuted Wang's claims regarding her asking for money and forbidding him from seeing the children, adding that he was the one who refused to talk.

Advertisers have cut ties with Wang, including luxury carmaker Infiniti, which confirmed cooperation with Wang two days before the spat broke out.