MANDO-pop king Jay Chou is officially off the singles market. Taiwanese-Australian model Hannah Quinlivan walked down the aisle with him in Yorkshire, northern England, last weekend, sending social media and the Internet into a frenzy.
It was reported that the keywords “Jay Chou marries” were searched 520 million times on Chinese social network site Weibo on the day of his nuptials at Selby Abbey — a church dating back to the 11th century — last Saturday.
The 36-year-old Taiwanese musician, dubbed the “Asian King of Pop” exchanged vows with Quinlivan, 21, at the church before hosting a party that featured both symphony and rock band performances at the 300-year-old Castle Howard.
Taiwanese media reports that Chou has a special place in his heart for the United Kingdom. His love affair with the country started in 2006 when contemplating a location for his Twilight’s Chapter Seven music video, inspired by Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional detective Sherlock Holmes.
He eventually decided on the EU country, saying: “Where else is the best to film a detective story other than the UK?”
Chou has three more music videos featuring scenes from Edinburgh and London, and the UK left a further imprint on the musician when he was in the capital city to promote The Green Hornet in 2011. The flick, co-starring Seth Rogen and Cameron Diaz, was Chou’s Hollywood debut.
He has since made London his holiday destination a few times with his mother and Quinlivan. The couple is expected to stay on in the UK as Chou waits to start filming for Now You See Me: The Second Act — a thriller co-starring Michael Caine, Daniel Radcliffe and Morgan Freeman.
Chou’s love life began with Taiwanese starlet Vivian Hsu in 1999 before moving on to Jolin Tsai (2002-2003) and then news anchor and host Patty Hou for a brief year over 2005 and 2006. Chou dated Quinlivan for four years before tying the knot.
The pair reportedly met when Quinlivan was working part-time at a fashion store partly owned by the singer. They got closer after Chou encouraged her to learn to play the piano.
Chou told the media he does not remember having any big arguments during the courtship. He was quoted as saying: “My mental age is about the same as Quinlivan and we just get along like children.”
The only thing the couple disagree on is movies, reports said, because they like different genres.
Another Taiwanese heart-throb who is off the market is actor Nicky Wu, or Wu Qilong, who married Chinese actress Cecilia Liu Shishi in China.
Wu broke the news himself through a Weibo announcement on Tuesday. He posted their marriage certificate, wedding rings and a line which read “Relishing the blissful moment”. Liu reposted the same message on her page, adding: “We are very happy.”
Wu, 44, and Liu, 27, paired up in China’s 2011 time-travel drama Scarlet Heart, which was a hit across the mainland, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. The former member of Taiwanese boy band “The Little Tigers” back in the 1980s was previously married to Chinese actress Ma Yashu in 2006 but they divorced in 2009.
This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on January 23, 2015.