Little Nyonya star Dai Xiangyu considered divorce while wife Chen Zihan battled 12 failed IVF cycles

Chinese actress Chen Zihan revealed on a Chinese variety show that she went through in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) 12 times without success.

Best known for roles in Chinese television series such as Madame White Snake (2006) and The Myth (2010), the 47-year-old married former Mediacorp actor Dai Xiangyu, 40, in 2016.

In the latest episode of Our Love Song, which aired on Sept 20, Chen said she took a three-year hiatus from acting between 2022 and 2025 to focus on fertility treatments.

She said: “During those three years, I underwent at least 12 IVF cycles, getting injections almost every single day.”

The pain of the egg-retrieval process and the subsequent failures caused her to have an emotional breakdown. She once cried on the street while hugging her husband.

Taiwanese actress Joe Chen, one of the guest celebrities on the show, asked her if she went through the process as her in-laws wanted a grandchild.

Dai eventually asked his wife to stop the IVF treatments as he could not bear seeing her in pain.

Chen also disclosed on the show that the China-born Dai, formerly known as Dai Yangtian, once told his family that he wanted a divorce before discussing it with her.

She said Dai, at that point, had to deal with a family member’s worsening health and was facing financial pressures too. The couple had also been living apart for over a year due to work commitments.

After sensing that something was amiss in their relationship, Chen insisted that Dai fly to her film location for a face-to-face discussion.

She made her stance clear: “I’m the kind of person who fixes a broken TV, not someone who just replaces it.”

When they met, Dai opened up about the pressure he was under, while Chen expressed the hurt she felt from being kept in the dark. The couple decided to give their marriage another shot.

They have since mended their relationship, with Dai surprising Chen with celebrations for their anniversaries. Chen has since returned to acting, and the couple have adopted a stray cat.

He declined to be interviewed when contacted by local Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao, merely stating that he and his wife were in good spirits. When asked whether they would continue trying for a child, he replied: “It’s all down to fate.”

This article was originally published in The Straits Times.