HONG KONG: Former
Hong Kong actress Isabella Leong has confirmed that she has broken up
with long-time boyfriend Richard Li, son of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka
Shing.
"Stepping into 2011, I will also step into a new stage of my life. I have broken up with Richard Li.
"We
had a wonderful time. We will raise our children together. Our common
goal is that they grow up healthy and happy. I hope this statement will
end the ceaseless speculation about me," said Leong in a statement to
the media on Saturday.
Leong's separation from Richard Li comes
at a time when many people believed she would soon officially become his
wife, after she bore him a son Ethan in Canada in April 2009, then a
pair of twin sons born in San Francisco last June.
However, Leong's marriage into the wealthy Li family was not to be.
Leong's
manager Lu Mi Xue has confirmed on Sunday that the 22-year-old
Macau-born actress has indeed separated from Li, 44, but denied rumours
that a third party came between the pair to cause the split.
Lu
also revealed that Leong, who is currently in Canada with her children,
already has an agreement with Li regarding how their assets will be
divided and how they will share custody of their children but declined
to elaborate.
She went on to dismiss rumours that Leong was given
HK$500 million (S$81.7 million) to break up with Li, and told Hong Kong
media that Leong did not have a 'cash for children' agreement with him,
describing the pair as having truly loved each other.
The reason for their split is still unknown.
No showbiz comeback for Leong
According
to Leong's manager, the actress who had starred in films such as "The
Knot" and "Mummy: The Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" before retiring from
the entertainment industry to be with Li, has no plans currently to make
a showbiz comeback.
"Work is presently not Isabella Leong's top priority. Her children are still young and need care," said Lu.
Leong reportedly met Li through her co-star Michelle Yeoh while working on "Mummy: The Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" in 2008.
According
to business publication Forbes, Richard Li has US$1.1 billion (S$1.4
billion) in total assets and was ranked the 16th richest man in Hong
Kong in 2009.
His father, Asian tycoon Li Ka Shing, dwarfs him
in terms of wealth, with assets worth an estimated US$16.2 billion
(S$20.6 billion) that same year.
-CNA/ha
this is damn old news.
btw, vaness is back with arissa.
Who is Arissa?
Old news and also there is Celebrity Gossip TV programmes forum to post such a topic.