Taiwan's Barbie Hsu divorcing Chinese husband

台灣徐熙媛與中國丈夫離婚

'Big S' and Wang Xiaofei to divide up nearly NT$1 billion in assets


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has reportedly filed for a divorce from her wealthy Chinese husband after 10 years of marriage, with nearly NT$1 billion in assets up for grabs.

Rumors first surfaced of a potential divorce between Hsu, known to her fans as "Big S" (大S), and her husband, entrepreneur Wang Xiaofei (汪小菲), in June. At the time, Hsu's agent denied the rumors and insisted the couple was "just quarreling" and that "nothing was wrong."

However, on Monday (Nov. 22), Mirror Media cited a mutual friend who said that Hsu has hired famed lawyer Lai Fang-yu (賴芳玉) to represent her in the divorce proceedings. Lai represented Stella Chang (張清芳) during her divorce from Sung Hsueh-jen (宋學仁) last year.

According to the report, Hsu formally filed a petition for divorce at the Family Division of the Taipei District Court in early November. At stake are over NT$950 million (US$34 million) in assets, including NT$600 million in properties in Hsu's name and Wang's S Hotel, valued at NT$350 million.

The couple is reportedly seeking to come to an agreement on the division of property and child custody and support. After they reach a consensus on these elements through court-moderated mediation, an announcement will be made in the near future.

In June, Wang uploaded several photos on his Weibo page showing buildings under construction and claimed that during the three times he had returned to China during the pandemic, his company had signed contracts with 10 stores. He then criticized Taiwan's handling of the pandemic by writing, "On the other hand, my family in Taipei can't get the vaccine at all. This is so shameless and such low-class. This is the contrast, this is the gap."

A friend of Hsu's was cited by Apple Daily as saying that she has decided to divorce Wang for three reasons. The first is that they have different values, having been raised on different sides of the strait.

Second, Hsu has been living in Taipei for many years, while Wang frequently travels to China, and this has gradually caused them to drift apart. Lastly, Wang has often posted political comments criticizing Taiwan, leading to repeated clashes.

Hsu and Wang married in 2011, and they have a daughter and a son.