Wu Apologizes For Lying - Taipei Times

Television star Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) yesterday publicly confessed that he has been married for 10 years and has four children, after his wife, Chang Wei-wei (張葳葳), went public with the information in a newspaper interview on Monday.

Wu apologized to the public for lying about his marriage over the past 10 years. As recently as Monday, Wu was still insisting that he was not married "legally," though he admitted to having children.

"I might have lied to the public in certain aspects, but I didn't have any bad intentions," Wu told a crowd of reporters who had been chasing him over the past days.

PHOTO: SHEN CHAO-LIANG, LIBERTY TIMES

Wu said he and Chang become husband and wife 10 years ago, after a "simple ceremony" attended by their parents. As Wu and Chang did not register their marriage with authorities, the spouse columns on their identification cards still remain blank. The children, meanwhile, bear the mother's surname, rather than Wu's.

Wu said he has been taking care of the children, just like other fathers do, despite his refusal to talk about the matter in front of the media. "They do have a father, and the neighbors all know about this," Wu said.

He said concealing his marital status was not intended to protect his career in the show business, but rather to protect his children from possible harm. "I'm not obliged to disclose my personal life to the public," Wu argued. "This issue is drawing media interest today only because of my growing popularity."

During an interview with local papers on Monday, Chang said that she had kept silent so as not to harm Wu's public image as a famous entertainer. She said she finally decided to speak out after Wu continued to date other girls and repeatedly denied to the media that he was married.

Gossip about Wu's love affairs have appeared from time to time on the entertainment pages of local newspapers. The most well-known one being his relationship with Chen Hsiao-hsuan (陳孝萱), another TV star. Wu and Chen broke up early this year, soon after some pictures that showed Wu intimately hugging another woman named "Candy" were publicized. In addition, one of Wu's assistants, identified as "Angela," reportedly also had a love affair with him.

Speaking of his love affair with Chen, Wu said it took place "during the low ebb" of his marriage with Chang. "Lovers and couples are likely to encounter a low ebb in their relationships," Wu said.

Wu said he had told Chen about Chang and his children, and that Chen had shown full understanding about the issue. However, Chen yesterday denied having any knowledge of Wu's wife and children until Chang publicly exposed the matter.

Wu admitted that he loved to fool around, but insisted there was nothing wrong with his lifestyle.

"I'm an entertainer, rather than a politician," Wu said.