5 Chinese celebrity couples who dated on-screen, then in real life from Fan Bingbing and Li Chen

Publish date: 2024-03-11

The couple fell in love while filming the TV series The Empress of China in 2014 and 2015, which was produced by Fan Bingbing and also saw her play the female protagonist.

As two of the most high-profile and bankable Chinese celebrities at the time, the power couple attracted a flurry of media attention, with netizens delving into almost every aspect of their relationship. Excitement built further when Li proposed to Fan in 2017, but then the X-Men: Days of Future Past star’s tax evasion scandal broke in 2018 – causing both her personal and professional life to grind to an abrupt halt.

Although Li is believed to have stood by Fan’s side throughout the ordeal, the pair eventually broke up, but reportedly remain on good terms.

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Liu Shishi and Nicky Wu (Scarlet Heart)

Liu Shishi met Nicky Wu, or Nicholas Wu Qilong, in 2011 when the pair played the leads in time-travelling TV series Scarlet Heart.

On screen, their feelings for each other in the face of complicated circumstances melted audiences’ hearts; in real life the pair also fell for each other despite their 17-year age gap, and publicly acknowledged their relationship after the movie. In 2016, Liu and Wu got married in one of the most lavish showbiz Chinese weddings ever, reportedly spending US$3.2 million on their big day.

They welcomed their first baby boy in 2019, and Wu often talks publicly – and proudly – about his journey as a father.

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Tiffany Tang and Luo Jin (Diamond Lover, The Princess Weiyoung and more)

Tiffany Tang and Luo Jin became good friends and then lovers after starring in no fewer than five dramas together, including Diamond Lover (2015) and The Princess Weiyoung (2016).

The couple got married after a two-year courtship – although it was rumoured to be longer – in a romantic, low-key wedding in Vienna, Austria in 2018. The pair welcomed a daughter in late 2019 – and were reportedly thrilled about it.

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Gao Yuanyuan and Mark Chao (Caught in the Web)

Directed by renowned Chinese director Chen Kaige, Caught in the Web (2012) saw Gao Yuanyuan play terminally ill Ye Lanqiu, who suffers through a string of depressing events and relies on the kindness of Yang Shoucheng – played by Chao – to get by during the last days of her life.

Although the pair did not have a happy ending in the movie, in real life the pair tied the knot in 2014.

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Michelle Chen and Chen Xiao (The Romance of the Condor Heroes)

The couple met on the set of wuxia series The Romance of the Condor Heroes in 2014 when Michelle Chen was chosen to play the role of Xiaolongnü, and Chen Xiao was cast as Yang Guo. In the show, Yang is infatuated with Xiaolongnü.

Then, following the project, the couple took their IRL relationship to the next level, and their romance culminated in a wedding in 2016.

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