The messy divorce of actors Phoebe Huang and Christopher Downs

Christopher Downs, a Canadian actor based in Taiwan, and Taiwanese actress Phoebe Huang had a marriage that many once envied. However, recently, Taiwanese media revealed the unexpected divorce and abuse allegations by both parties.

Content warning: This gallery contains mentions of abuse.

Image: xiakeli / Instagram, Phoebe Huang / Facebook

Christopher Downs is a Canadian actor and TV host who is best known for his work in Taiwan. He is one of the rare Caucasians to have managed to successfully establish a career in Mandarin-speaking markets such as Taiwan and China.

Image: Chris Downs / Facebook

Born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on February 6, 1972, Christopher Downs was based in Canada and trained as a 3D animator in McGill University.

Image: Chris Downs / Facebook

Before making the decision to move to Taiwan in 1996, Christopher Downs was part of the group of animators who worked for the 1993 cult classic film by Steven Spielberg, ‘Jurassic Park’, reports Xinhua.

Image: Chris Downs / Facebook

In 2001, Christopher Downs made his acting debut in Taiwan when he starred as the lead character Alex in the film ‘Deep Pacific’.

Image: Chris Downs / Facebook

Christopher Downs appeared as a minor character in the Taiwanese TV drama series 'What Does Emmanuel Want?' in 2005, but he drew the attention of Taiwanese media for his appearance as a Caucasian man on Taiwanese TV, which was a rare occasion.

Image: Chris Downs / Facebook

Baidu reports that Christopher Downs only shot to fame after being featured as a guest on Dee Hsu and Kevin Tsai’s talk show, ‘Kangxi is Coming’ when he was asked about his love life, and admitted that he was dating actress Phoebe Huang in 2006.

Image: Chris Downs / Facebook

Phoebe Huang is a Taiwanese actress, singer, and TV host who is best known for starting out as a singer with the album ‘Give Me All Your Love’ in 1996, and later becoming an actress.

Image: Phoebe Huang / Facebook

According to Baidu, Phoebe Huang's mother trained her in music. Honing her musical talents further, Phoebe Huang moved on to choral singing and eventually met her singing mentor, Taiwanese veteran singer Cao Chuan.

Image: Phoebe Huang / Facebook

Phoebe Huang is also an actress and has acted in works such as 'What Does Emmanuel Want?', ‘Sisters’, and ‘The Story of Time’. ‘The Story of Time’ earned her a Golden Bell award for Best Supporting Actress.

Image: Phoebe Huang / Facebook

Phoebe Huang and Christopher Downs had met while working together in 'What Does Emmanuel Want?'. While Christopher Downs played a minor character, Phoebe Huang was playing the main character, Ainu.

Image: Chris Downs / Facebook

In their 16-year marriage, Christopher Downs and Phoebe Huang had a daughter, Poppy. Poppy is also a mini-celebrity in her own right, as she has starred alongside her father in the reality TV show ‘Where Are We Going, Dad?’.

Image: Chris Downs / Facebook

Christopher Downs, Phoebe Huang, and Poppy's family relationship was regarded as harmonious and the envy of many in C-entertainment at the time, as it was frequently shown, especially in 'Where Are We Going, Dad?', that the three of them had a loving relationship.

Hence, it was a shock when it was announced that Christopher Downs and Phoebe Huang were separating on July 6, 2022, Sina reports.

Image: Chris Downs / Facebook

Taiwan News reports more on the divorce, stating that despite having the image of a picture perfect family, Christopher Downs and Phoebe Huang would often argue but reconcile quickly, and the two had once admitted that Phoebe Huang “has a very strong personality”.

Image: Chris Downs / Facebook

Things between Christopher Downs and Phoebe Huang became messier after they separated and divorced in 2022. 8days states that on February 21, Phoebe Huang filed a domestic violence charge against her ex-husband in 2023. However, evidence supporting the charge only surfaced in 2024.

Image: Phoebe Huang / Facebook

Mirror Media reported that there was photo and record evidence to prove that Christopher Downs had gotten physical with Phoebe Huang while the two were residing in Canada.

Image: Chris Downs / Facebook

According to Mirror Media, the documents could not legally be shown to the public. They allegedly stated that Christopher Downs had physically injured Phoebe Huang.

Image: Phoebe Huang / Facebook

According to 8days, a neighbor witnessed Phoebe Huang crying in public on the street and assisted in reporting Christopher Downs to the police. Furthermore, a fellow actress and friend of Phoebe Huang stated that she was aware of additional physical and emotional abuse between the couple on other occasions, with Downs being the alleged abuser.

Image: Chris Downs / Facebook

According to official court records filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia regarding the divorce, Christopher Downs was reported to be a regular abuser with criminal accounts in Taiwan and Canada. However, Christopher Downs has uploaded evidence reportedly proving otherwise.

Image: xiakeli / Instagram

On December 11, 2023, Christopher Downs posted what appears to be evidence of a clean criminal record in Taiwan to his Instagram page. If this evidence is true, it could imply that the case and allegations of abuse between him and Phoebe Huang are more complicated than they appear.

Image: xiakeli / Instagram

Christopher Downs had also claimed on Instagram that there were discrepancies in the medical reports concerning the details of Phoebe Huang's injuries. He said that Vancouver's justice system had failed to verify whether the abuse allegations against him were true.

Image: Chris Downs / Facebook

According to Yahoo News, Christopher Downs clarified the charges brought against him in Canada that resulted in his detention, stating that under Canadian law, if a report is made against a man for domestic abuse by a woman, the accused will be detained and imprisoned regardless of whether the accusation is true or not.

Image: Chris Downs / Facebook

Christopher Downs has now turned the allegations against Phoebe Huang in the aftermath of the divorce. He actively addresses them on social media, accusing Phoebe Huang of being an abuser herself and of having alienated Poppy from him for years following the divorce.

Image: Chris Downs / Facebook

Furthermore, Christopher Downs accused Mirror Media of being hired by Phoebe Huang to launch a smear campaign against him for "two weeks in a row," highlighting the news outlet's lack of credibility.

Image: xiakeli / Instagram

Yahoo News reports that Christopher Downs had also accused Phoebe Huang of hiring people to stop him when he returned to Taiwan in 2022. She allegedly wanted to prevent him from visiting people he wanted to see during his trip back to Taiwan since the divorce.

Image: xiakeli / Instagram

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