Taiwanese actress Michelle Chen and Chinese actor Chen Xiao have divorced after eight years of marriage, confirming long-standing speculations.

On Tuesday (Feb 18), the former couple, who share an eight-year-old son, Muchen, posted on their individual Weibo accounts the same message in Chinese. It said: “Grateful to have met each other. I wish you all the best in the future, we will co-parent our child together and accompany him as he grows up.”

The pair got married in July 2016 after co-starring in the 2014 Chinese drama The Romance Of The Condor Heroes. In December 2016, their son was born.

But rumours of the former couple’s marital struggles have circulated online for years.

In 2019, the two faced speculations of a cold war and a rocky marriage, but Michelle Chen refuted the rumours.

Rumours of their divorce then surfaced in June 2024 after a Chinese paparazzo claimed that the two had been heading toward a divorce for a year. It was also alleged that Chen Xiao had since then barely returned home and changed his phone number, making it nearly impossible for his wife to contact him. Neither party had confirmed nor denied these rumors.

In December 2024 after Michelle Chen’s father died, Chen Xiao did not attend the funeral in Taiwan and was instead in China. The actor also did not post about his father-in-law’s death on social media.