Year of 'true love' and shame for fame

Celebrities rarely fail to provide fodder for the paparazzi, but 2014 has turned out to be more eventful than expected for some of the bigwigs. Perhaps the most interesting drama of the year was played out by Chinese diva Faye Wong and her former boyfriend, actor-singer Nicholas Tse. The two ex-flames were spotted together in Wong's apartment in September, triggering the rebirth of an unbelievable "love story". Wong and Tse, with an age difference of 11 years, first started dating in late 2000. But their relationship ended after Tse started dating actress-singer Cecilia Cheung in early 2002.

Then came another twist in the Wong-Tse tale. Tse ended his romance with Cheung in July 2002 and reunited with Wong in June 2003, before breaking up again in November. In 2006, Tse married Cheung, and the couple had two sons before divorcing in August 2011. In 2005, Wong married actor Li Yapeng and gave birth to a daughter, but they separated in September 2013.

That the 45-year-old Wong and 34-year-old Tse would reunite after a decade was beyond many people's imagination. In fact, their reunion proves wrong the Chinese saying that a good horse will never turn round to graze, and confirms that "all things will return to their origin".

Like Wong, actor Huang Haibo too found "true love" this year. After being detained by Beijing police for patronizing a prostitute on May 15, Huang's on-screen image of a loving son-in-law took a severe beating. (Huang's popularity among young men and women peaked after the telecast of the popular drama Let's Get Married, in which he starred with actress Gao Yuanyuan). Although he was released in November after spending six months behind bars, many expect both his career and image to suffer, especially because the film and TV regulator and industrial associations have given a call to overlook "tainted" entertainers.

However, the "true love" Huang got in adversity seems to outweigh his losses. During his detention, girlfriend Qu Shanshan announced that she would not "leave and forego" Huang, which moved him so much that he made up his mind to marry her after his release. Huang's readiness to end his life as a single will see the fruition of his "romance" despite the police case and the threat to his career.