Over the weekend, Mediacorp actor Zhang Yaodong shocked everyone when he revealed that he has two daughters.
The announcement came four months after the 46-year-old actor was accused of being a serial cheater. There were also allegations that he has fathered two kids with a long-time girlfriend.
Turns out, Yaodong’s revelation wasn’t exactly a surprise to his pals like Shaun Chen, 46.
“He did tell us before and as a friend we can only support him,” said Shaun in a recent interview with Chinese media zaobao.sg.
According to Shaun, he did not want to interfere with how Yaodong dealt with his personal matters, so all he could do was to “keep the secret for him”.
Shaun also shared that he met Yaodong’s daughters many years ago, and that they “look a lot like their dad”.
Now that the cat is out of the bag, Shaun, who has two daughters — Nellie, eight, and Neia, seven — with wife Celine Chin, 34, is really happy for his friend.
“All these years he couldn’t say [that he has kids], but now, he finally can be open about it. I can tell he’s getting along very well with his daughters too,” said Shaun, adding that Yaodong and the mother of his daughters have “found a comfortable way to deal with the problem so that it does not affect the children”.
It’s not known if Yaodong and his partner are still together.
Shaun went on to urge the public to give Yaodong “more space”.
“As a friend, all I hope is that he can accept reality and take good care of his children,” he said.
“I hope he can move forward. After all, he still needs to work,” he added.
As to why his friend decided to come clean about his personal life, Shaun said he and Yaodong have been busy and have not seen in other in a long time, and so he cannot speak for him.