26-year-old Chinese male star Zhao Lei is a member of the group “X Nine” and re-debuted as a member of the project group “R1SE” after participating in the 2019 talent show “Produce Camp 2019.” This Valentine’s Day, he shocked everyone by announcing his relationship and marriage to popular internet celebrity Qko (Yan Qin), but the marriage has drawn criticism from fans. In September, he and his new wife appeared on the marriage reality show “Sing My Marriage” (literal translation for 天声一对), publicly responding to the announcement of his marriage for the first time.
Zhao Lei admitted that he faced dual pressures at the time: on one hand, he worried about negative public opinion about his wife; on the other, due to his experience with divorced parents, he was hesitant about marriage. On the show, he emphasized: “The two of us need to face everything in the future together,” and said that getting married ended his feeling of rootlessness. Responding to outside voices questioning if 26 is too young to get married, Zhao Lei repeatedly stressed in the program that “you have to have control over your own life,” and refused to let external opinions sway him. He explained that this was a “settling dust” kind of natural choice, not a hasty decision. Zhao Lei also promised that after marriage, he would “return to his career with greater maturity and use his work to repay fans.”
It is rumored that Zhao Lei and Qko have actually been in a relationship for nearly 10 years. Some of Zhao’s fans suspected that Qko was a sasaeng (obsessive fan), but no one ever confirmed this. Some fans have speculated they were already in a relationship during those years, but people mistook Qko as a sasaeng fan. Also, since Zhao Lei debuted as part of a fan-invested idol group after the talent show, some netizens have left comments such as, “If fans voted to make you debut, you’re not allowed to date. Otherwise, pay the fans back.” His marriage announcement became a trending topic, and fans posted on the show’s official Weibo, saying “There’s nothing good to say to someone who tramples on fans’ sincerity,” and “That guy seems to have a grudge against his fans.” However, there are also those supporting their idol, saying “LeiLei and QQ will definitely be happy together.”
Source: ETtoday Star Cloud