Veteran actor Wang Yuqing, 63, has been married three times — not that we’re counting — and he would be on his fourth marriage now if he and his 51-year-old girlfriend of seven years, Norah Zhang, had their way.
In a recent interview with Chinese media zaobao.sg, Norah, who is not in showbiz and was speaking to local media for the first time, shared that she and the The Flying Fish star actually met more than 20 years ago.
“Back then I was working at an advertising agency and I met Yuqing during his first commercial shoot for a supplement brand. But there were no sparks between us at that time,” said Norah, who now co-owns an F&B business, Golf Spot Cafe & Bistro, and a supplement brand with Yuqing.
However, whenever Norah was feeling vexed or stressed out by work, she would always think of confiding in Yuqing.
“He always made me feel safe and secure, it’s like taking an anti-anxiety pill,” she gushed.
Though she didn’t explicitly share when and how they got together, Norah said Yuqing was that “good friend” who always stayed by her side through her ups and downs.
Meanwhile, Yuqing also saw Norah, whom he refers to as his “princess”, as his happy pill.
When the reporter asked if she was attracted by Yuqing’s good looks, Norah chuckled: “He was indeed very handsome in The Flying Fish. I was even his fan back in the day! But back then, other than his looks, his acting was so-so. Besides, being handsome is just a ‘bonus’ to me. It’s not important.”
During the interview, Norah also lamented that people are always using Yuqing’s divorces against him.
“The world loves to attack him using his past marriages. The truth is, he’s on good terms with his ex-wives and they are still friends,” she said.
Yuqing’s first wife was former actress Chen Bifeng, whom he was married to from 1987 to 1990. He then married former actress Tracer Wong in 1991 but the marriage lasted just two years.
His third wife is Liang Liling, with whom he shares two sons and one stepson, local actor Xavier Ong. They were married from 2001 to 2011.
Are Yuqing’s failed marriages a cause of concern for Norah though?
“No, that only means he has great qualities and that’s why people want him. Besides, if I don’t mind his past, what does it have to do with anyone else?” she said.
Since they have been together for so long, did the couple ever think of tying the knot? Yuqing and Norah already address each other as “husband” and “wife” anyway.
“Actually we thought of getting married a few years back. But it was during the pandemic and we could only invite 50 people,” she revealed. “Yuqing is well-liked in the industry and everyone was waiting to attend his wedding. They even said: ‘If you don’t invite me, I wouldn’t speak to you again’. We later realised we really have too many people to invite!”
And because of that, their wedding plans were put on hold.
That said, Norah believes getting married is something that has to be done on a whim.
Saying that they’re happy with where they are now, Norah quipped: “Who knows maybe there will be a day when we would suddenly have the impulse to get married again and we would just do it there and then!”