Faye Wong and Nicholas Tse: A story of fated lovers

Although Valentine’s Day has already happened this year, there are still six more to celebrate according to Chinese tradition! And with that, the romantic story of Faye Wong and Nicholas Tse is perfect for the occasion.

Image: EMI Records, Zhejiang TV

Faye Wong is a Chinese singer-songwriter and actress best known for not only her cantopop and Chinese hits but also for her on-screen works with film auteur Wong Kar-wai.

Born as Xia Lin on August 8, 1969, in Beijing, China, Faye Wong was active in the singing scene as a student. According to Oriental Daily, Faye Wong even had to hide her activities as a singer due to them being looked down upon by her family!

Image: Cinepoly

Continuing on from the report by Oriental Daily, Faye Wong had gone against her parents’ wishes by secretly producing cover albums in the 1980s.

Image: EMI

Faye Wong moved to Hong Kong with her father with the aim of obtaining permanent residency while there.

Image: Miramax

According to The Standard, Faye Wong went from working as a model to continuing to pursue singing, and it was then that she came under the tutelage of Tai See-Chung.

Image: EMI

This was one of the pivotal points in Faye Wong’s career, as Tai See-Chung was known for mentoring big names in the industry like Anita Mui, Andy Lau, and Aaron Kwok back then!

Image: EMI

Oriental Sunday reports that Faye Wong eventually managed to be signed with Cinepoly Records, and this was considered a risk back then as mainland Chinese people were not attractive for the pop market back then.

Image: JSG Live

In order to revamp her image and manage the potential fallout from Cinepoly’s decision to sign Faye Wong, the studio rebranded her with an English name, ‘Shirley Wong’.

Image: Sony Pictures

Shirley Wong later became known as Faye Wong when she took a break to undergo training in New York and released the album ‘Coming Home’, reports Time.

Image: Cinepoly

The songs in that album were such a big hit that Faye Wong decided to make a final rebrand into being known as ‘Faye’ and ‘Wang Fei’. Since then, she has become one of C-pop’s most iconic singers, especially with the release of ‘Fuzao’ and ‘Sing and Play’.

Other than singing, Faye Wong is also an actress. She is best known for her work in the 2000s with films such as ‘Chungking Express’, ‘Chinese Odyssey 2002', and ‘2046’ and was nominated and won several Best Actress awards!

Image: Miramax

In her personal life, Faye Wong has been married twice, to Chinese rock musician Dou Wei, and to Chinese actor Li Yapeng. She has two children, one from each marriage, including singer-songwriter Leah Dou.

Since her divorce from Li Yapeng in 2013, The Star reports that Faye Wong has reunited with her ex-beau, Hong Kong actor Nicholas Tse, thanks to the matchmaking abilities of actress Vicki Zhao, who urged the two to reconcile in 2014 in Paris, according to The Straits Times.

Image: Weibo, Zhejiang TV

Nicholas Tse is a Hong Kong actor and singer-songwriter most known for his work on ‘New Police Story’ and ‘Young and Dangerous: The Prequel’.

Nicholas Tse is the son of Hong Kong actor and actress Patrick Tse and Jennifer Lee. He was born on August 29, 1980, in Hong Kong.

Image: Emperor Motion Pictures

Despite having a famous father, Nicholas Tse entered showbiz mainly after being enamoured by Faye Wong’s singing performance back when he was 14 in 1995, when Faye Wong was 24, reports The Straits Times.

TVB reports that this was a major factor in him starting to sing professionally at 16 with the release of his first album, which was a big hit and won him the 1997 Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards Presentation in the category of Most Popular New Artiste!

Starting out as a singer, Nicholas Tse later went into film in 1998, similar to Faye Wong’s career trajectory.

Image: Emperor Motion Pictures

According to the South China Morning Post, Nicholas Tse and Faye Wong first started their relationship back in the late 1990s, but broke up in 2002. Back then, it was rumoured that the relationship had ended due to his growing bond with actress Cecilia Cheung.

Image: Sougou

The Straits Times reports that Faye Wong and Nicholas Tse’s relationship officially dissolved in 2003 when Faye Wong was seen with her next suitor and later husband, Li Yapeng. In the same vein, Nicholas Tse later got married to Cecilia Cheung in 2006.

Despite the two having moved on with their new partners back then, they had not stopped thinking about each other. In 2003, Faye Wong released a song with lyrics that tells the story of a woman moving on romantically, alluding to her relationship with Nicholas Tse, reports The Straits Times.

Image: Sony Pictures

The same report from The Straits Times also noted that Nicholas Tse had not forgotten about Faye Wong in an interview in 2012, where it appeared that he still had some regrets about the end of his relationship with Faye Wong.

Image: Emperor Motion Pictures

However, the South China Morning Post would report that while the two were both physically in Paris in 2014, many fans were expecting that the two ex-lovers would reconcile, seeing as both Nicholas Tse and Faye Wong were now both single at that time. They eventually did in September of that year!

The reunion of the two famous lovers after more than a decade apart had the internet buzzing, especially after The Straits Times reported that Nicholas Tse had declared that he had never stopped loving Faye Wong for over 20 years since their breakup. In 2024, the two are still together.

Image: Cinepoly, Emperor Motion Pictures

The story of Faye Wong and Nicholas Tse's reunion is similar to the Chinese tale of 'Zhinu and Niulang,' in which two lovers are only reunited after separation once a year, on the Chinese Valentine's Day of Qixi. However, Faye Wong and Nicholas Tse's story is much happier, as the two continue to be together after a long period of separation!

Image: EMI, Emperor Motion Pictures