Last week, 5566 member Jason Hsu’s wife, Taiwanese model Bernice Chao, shared some pictures from her maternity shoot on her socials. And we have to say that it's one of the coolest maternity shoots we’ve seen.

The 33-year-old shared that she has always loved the sea, so when the time came for her to do her maternity shoot, she decided to share her love of the sea with her unborn baby. But Bernice, who's seven months pregnant, did not settle for a normal seaside shoot. Instead, she chose to go diving.

According to Bernice, the shoot took two days, and required loads of preparation beforehand. She first consulted her doctor, who laid out a number of guidelines for her, ensuring that she did not dive deeper than three metres, so that she would not hold her breath for too long and tire herself out.

Before taking the plunge, Bernice also monitored her baby's heartbeat and ensured that the baby was resting in a safe position. She also measured her own cervix to check for signs of premature birth. 

During the dive, Bernice was also accompanied by a maternity nurse, and an experienced dive instructor. However, she was hit by a bout of seasickness  before she started the photoshoot.  In order to protect her baby, Bernice decided not to take anti-nausea medicine, choosing to power through her seasickness.

“I’ve never experienced nausea during the course of my pregnancy, the photoshoot was the first time I vomited so far,” she laughed. Bernice also added that she’s had a relatively uneventful pregnancy, and that she did not suffer much discomfort. 

​Finally, she said that she wants to offer up some encouragement to all women through this shoot.

“Regardless of whether you’re already a mother, or about to become one, make sure that you don't forget your own hobbies and joys. While taking on your new role, make sure that you don't forget about yourself. You have to love yourself,” she said.

In late 2017, Chinese actress Li Xiaolu got into a huge scandal when she was photographed spending the night at Chinese rapper PG One’s home. The problem? At that time, she was still married to Chinese actor Jia Nailiang, with whom she has a seven-year-old daughter. 

To make things worse, a video of Xiaolu and PG One kissing and engaging in other intimate, couple-like behaviour was leaked in October last year. A month after that, Xiaolu and Nailiang announced the end of their seven-year marriage.

Needless to say, her career and reputation took a huge hit, but it looks like netizens have temporarily forgotten about her relationship drama and found new reasons to hate on her.

Although it’s been a while since the 37-year-old has taken on an acting project (we’ve seen what happens to disgraced stars in China), Xiaolu still keeps fans updated on her social media platforms. She also launched her own clothing line called 3000 Concepts of Lu last year and frequently models her own products, which mainly look like items you’d typically see on teenagers or young adults. And some netizens seem to have a problem with that.

In the comments section of a video she shared of herself dancing, someone wrote that Xiaolu, who turns 38 in September, should look and act more like her own age — that is, more “modest” and “dignified” — especially since she is a mother.

Well, Xiaolu wasn’t going to let such blatant age-shaming stand, and replied, “I’ve always been like this. Why should I live in the shadow of others? This must be your first day knowing me and seeing me dance.”

In fact, fans have noticed that ever since her cheating scandal, Xiaolu has become more carefree in her behaviour and wardrobe choices — sporting midriff-baring tops, getting purple highlights — and not caring about what others think of her.

Hey, if we still looked like we were in our 20s while actually pushing 40, we would probably do the same.

Here’s a throwback to the show that kicked off the reality show trend in China — Where Are We Going, Dad?. The first season aired in 2013 and not only did it make '90s pop star Jimmy Lin relevant again, it turned his eldest son, Kimi, who was three then, an instant star. 

However, when Kimi turned six, Jimmy decided to pull his son out of the show so he could lead a normal childhood. And he has stayed true to his word, rarely uploading any pictures of Kimi on his socials.

Which is why netizens were super excited to catch a glimpse of Kimi, who’s now 10, in a recent episode of reality show My Dearest Ladies.​​​​​​​

In that episode, Jimmy and his wife, Taiwanese model Kelly Chen, can be seen going into Kimi’s bedroom, where they told a half-asleep Kimi that he would have to take care of his younger brothers, three-year-old twins Jenson and Kyson, for the next three days.

Although the clip did not show much of Kimi’s face, netizens quickly zeroed in on one particular soft toy that was resting above Kimi’s pillow. 

​As it turns out, that particular soft toy was the one Kimi had brought along with him when he filmed Where Are We Going, Dad? seven years ago. 

Back then, when Jimmy told Kimi that he had to part ways with the toy doy, which Kimi had nicknamed Xiao Huang, the three-year-old immediately burst into tears, endearing him to viewers.

“I still remember how much Kimi cried when Xiao Huang was confiscated,” a netizen commented.

No surprises then that Kimi has kept the soft toy until today, and even still sleeps with it. 

With the passing of casino magnate Stanley Ho, his wives and kids have been thrust back into the spotlight (not like they have ever been out of it) as the issue of how his vast inheritance will be divided among his family has become a major talking point.

While his second, third and fourth wives and their kids are still very much in the public eye, little is known about the family he had with his first wife, Clementina Angela Leitao, who passed away in 2004 at the age of 80.

Their first child, Jane, was born in 1947. She read law in England and was hailed as a capable career woman. She married Siu Pak Shing, who's the heir of a wealthy funeral business in Hongkong, but their marriage ended in divorce in 1981. Jane passed away in 2014 at the age of 67 after years of suffering from Churg-Strauss syndrome, a rare disease that affects one's blood vessels. She is survived by her daughter Ringo Siu.

Robert was born a year after Jane and was regarded as the heir to his father's casino empire. Sadly, Robert and his wife, English model Suki Porter, were killed in a car accident in Portugal in 1981. Robert was only 33 then. 

Stanley and Clementina were devastated by their son's death and they appointed their youngest daughter Deborah to become the guardian of Robert and Suki's two girls, Faye and Sarah. Sarah, who was three when her parents died, told the South China Morning Post in a 2009 interview that she and her sister were brought up by their grandmother, who split their time between Hongkong and Macau.

In 2006, Sarah founded SHO Fine Jewellery, while Faye was named the honorary president of Anima, the Society for the Protection of Animals in Macau, in 2010. She was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer in 2016, but has successfully battled the cancer into remission.

The couple’s two youngest daughters, Angela, 62, and Deborah, 58, have largely stayed out of the limelight, save for a high-profile spat over money earlier this year.

Angela, who is married to Danish artist Peter Kjaer, is very involved in the arts. She lived in the US for seven years, but eventually returned to Hongkong, where she purchased an art gallery in the California Tower in upscale Lan Kwai Fong. Its opening in 1993 was attended by Stanley himself.

Deborah is known for her trademark buzz cut and androgynous style. She reportedly once told reporters, "I don't need anyone to woo me, dogs will always have the number spot in my heart."

In 2000, she went public with her relationship with a female model from Xinjiang named Golly and sources claimed that Stanley was infuriated with her coming out. 

She is also reported to have a strong interest in the property market, snapping up a number of high-value houses and buildings in the past years. In 2005, she opened a two-storey foot massage parlour cum hair salon in Central Hongkong. She handed over the reins to her female friend, Liang Caiyi, for reasons not made known to the public.

​Stanley and Clementina's two surviving daughters made headlines earlier this year when Deborah started legal proceedings in the High Court to demand that Angela provide her with legal documents with regards to The Clementina Ho Trust and The Stanley and Clementina Family Trusts.

Angela’s lawyers shot back, saying that Deborah’s claims of being “ill in Macau and poor” were “unfortunately a fabrication as she has received annual distributions on time”. They added that she has received around HK$97mil (S$17.8mil), and Angela blasted her younger sister’s actions as “unnecessary and disruptive”.

Netizens also pointed out that both Angela and Deborah were conspicuously absent from Stanley’s 98th birthday celebration last November. Granddaughters Ringo, Faye and Sarah were also missing from the festivities, sparking questions on whether they have chosen to distance themselves from the Ho family.

On a recent episode of the Chinese variety series My Dearest Ladies, Taiwanese star Jimmy Lin gave everyone a glimpse into his expansive, not to mention, expensive home, captivating viewers with the various smart features he had installed.

When you first step into the living room, you’ll be greeted by the 45-year-old car aficionado's extensive collection of racing helmets and memorabilia, including multiple trophies that his racing team has won over the years. However, that’s not the main draw here.

Instead, it’s this unassuming voice-activated device, which responds when the words “dream home” are uttered. According to Jimmy, it can do everything, from switching on the lights, to searching the Internet for today’s weather report. You know like, Alexa. 

He also installed this custom-designed ceiling feature, which can transform the ceiling into the galaxy, for his eldest son, 10-year-old Kimi's room. Just like almost everything else in Jimmy's home, this feature is voice-controlled as well. When he utters a specific command, the lights will dim, and the stars will magically appear.

​According to reports, Jimmy has always been a tech geek. The ‘90s pop idol is known to be a superfan of Apple, and somehow manages to get his hands on the latest iPhones even before their release. He also started an IT company that specialises in writing software for surveillance and banking back in 2000. 

“I’ve always liked technology, so I gathered a variety of devices and home systems [for my home]," said Jimmy. "There are many items here that I’ve integrated into the system to be controlled with the press of a button, or with a simple voice command. It’s more convenient this way." 

After the news of Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho’s death was released on May 26, several members of his large family held a press conference outside the hospital, where his daughter Pansy shared a few words with the media. However, some netizens decided to zero in on a seemingly trivial detail in the background instead.

Standing quietly at the back of the group was Chinese model Ming Xi, the wife of Stanley’s youngest son Mario. Several Weibo users took issue with the colour of Ming Xi’s hoodie and slammed her for wearing “red” during such a solemn occasion.

“Did she forget to bring her brain?” one scoffed, while another accused the 31-year-old of wanting to steal the limelight.

The topic soon generated an intense debate among netizens. While it was pointed out that the colour of the hoodie is actually brown and therefore not as offensively bright as red, many felt that it was still inappropriate and that she should have worn black, grey, or white like the other family members as a basic sign of respect.

More level-headed folks then came to Ming Xi’s defence, saying things like “She could have left the house in a hurry” and “Why do you have so much to say about people’s clothing?” Someone also remarked that whatever Ming Xi wears should only be an issue among the Ho clan, and urged netizens not to be trolls for the sake of it.

Well, it is the Internet, and the Victoria’s Secret model married into one of Asia’s richest and most powerful families so… go figure?

Mario made headlines when he proposed to Ming Xi with a super lavish, Crazy Rich Asians-esque set-up (which involved 99,999 roses and 1,000 witnesses) a year ago. The couple welcomed their first child — and Stanley’s first grandson — in October last year, and had tabloids buzzing again when they were rumoured to be receiving S$20mil in cash and a S$90mil mansion from Mario’s parents as a “reward”.

When you’re one of the richest men in Asia and the patriarch of a huge, highly-capable family, it’s no surprise that you’d get only top-notch hospital care. 

Macau casino magnate Stanley Ho passed away yesterday (May 26) at the age of 98 after 11 years of being in and out of the hospital for various health issues. Hongkong media did an extensive evaluation of how much he might have spent, and needless to say, the estimated amount is jaw-dropping.

According to reports, Stanley’s health woes began in July 2009 after he fell and injured his head in his fourth wife Angela Leong’s apartment. He was hospitalised for over 100 days and his medical expenses were said to have cost HK$1mil (about S$183,000) a day, which added up to a final bill of at least HK$100mil (S$18.3mil) for those three-plus months.

His family continued to spare no expense even after his condition improved, forking out HK$1.15mil (about S$210,000) a month so that he could recuperate in the most comfortable environment and receive the best medical treatments. According to the list of ward accommodation charges on the Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital website, the rate for a suite, which is where Stanley is believed to have stayed, is HK$23,000 (about S$4,200) a day.

​Even when he was home, Stanley was surrounded 24/7 by a team of nurses and physical therapists. Unsurprisingly, there are some pretty stringent requirements to working for the Ho clan, such as having a minimum of five years’ experience. In addition, Stanley’s residence had to be stocked with all the necessary medical equipment, adding another HK$20mil (about S$3.7mil) to the bill.

After doing the math, reporters estimates that his medical expenses over the past 11 years could exceed HK$200mil (about S$36.6mil). It’s a shocking amount for sure, but let’s not forget that the “King of Gambling” has reportedly left behind a TW$2 trillion (S$94.5bil) fortune.

Chinese actress Angelababy has sparked an intense debate on the internet (again) for a seemingly innocuous little detail: Her handwriting. We did say stars get scrutinised for everything.

In the first episode of the latest season of Chinese variety show Keep Running, the cast members were given cardboard flags and asked to write down the goals they wish to achieve by the end of the season. Angelababy decided to switch things up a bit by asking if she and Chinese actor Zheng Kai, who was seated next to her, could write down goals for each other instead.

While Zheng Kai’s goal for Angelababy was “Don’t let your lipstick stain your teeth”, she challenged him to lose 20 jin (10kg) and go back to how he looked during the show's first season in 2014. She had also written “Do you know why I didn’t call you?” and appeared to correct a mistake by scribbling over the first half of the original sentence.

Netizens soon zeroed in on the quality of her penmanship and took to social media to air their thoughts, slamming her with comments like “It really doesn’t look good”, “The words are too ugly to look at”, and “It’s basically like a kindergartener’s”. One even nitpicked at how she wrote the word “季” (ji, meaning “season”), pointing out that it looked more like “李” (li).

​On the other hand, there were many fans who came to her defence by praising her “cute” handwriting and criticising the haters for their hurtful remarks. “You guys are not calligraphers, why do you care so much?” questioned one, while another said, “There are a lot of people who write like this, why aren’t you attacking them too? You must have the best handwriting in the world.”

This is not the first time the 31-year-old has gotten flak for her lettering. In 2018, the production team behind Chinese variety show Back to Field shared handwritten messages from their cast members, including Angelababy, whose writing was also thrashed for being “ugly” and “like a kid’s”. Ouch.

​After months of delay no thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwanese singer Jam Hsiao has finally launched his bubble tea shop @At Tea.

Yesterday, thousands of Jam's fans thronged the shopping district of Ximending in Taipei —  guess social distancing is a thing of the past for them — to witness the shop's official opening, as well as to catch a glimpse of their idol. 

The 33-year-old singer, who reportedly invested TWD15mil (S$700,000) in @At Tea, already has plans to open more branches, ideally near JJ Lin’s newest Miracle Coffee branch and Mayday's Ashin’s clothing store, StayReal, in Taipei’s East District. His reason? To form “the strongest brotherhood”. 

“I think it would feel great, like living in a community... Then it will seem like everyone lives close together,” enthused Jam at the thought of becoming store neighbours with his buddies. 

Jam was also asked if he would invite his pals like JJ and Jay Chou to his new shop. After all, that's what JJ did last week when he held a gathering at his newest Miracle Coffee branch, which resulted in this now-viral photo. 

"JJ likes desserts. But if I continue to give him sweet things, his dimples will get deeper,” joked Jam. “I will always remember JJ’s expression when he tried my milk tea, it was so good that he couldn’t speak. As for Jay, he is the king of milk tea. When I sent him an entire tray of milk tea, he excitedly said: “Oh! Milk tea king, right?”. He’s not good at sweet talk, but I guess he was really happy inside.”

Besides his showbiz commitments, Jam has also invested in other F&B ventures, like his own brand of instant noodles and a hotpot restaurant in China. In other words, he's really busy. So how exactly is Jam going to find time to be hands-on with his new business? 

“Of course, I’ve had tried everything we're selling. On top of that, I make sure that the quality can meet the market’s expectations,” Jam said confidently. 

“I’ve always wanted to open a lot of stores, and I’ve never actually thought about how much money these side businesses will make. In the past, I’ve had family members and friends asking me for jobs, but I draw a line between work and my personal life. I'm also afraid that those close to me won't be able to make the distinction. But I've always hoped that outside of my main career, I can create job opportunities for those close to me and young people." 

It’s only been a few hours since Chinese blogger Grace Chow broke the Internet with her explosive exposé of her ex-beau Show Luo’s philandering ways. But the scandal is already taking a toll on the Taiwanese singer’s reputation and career.

As soon as netizens got over the shocking details of Show’s debauchery (Grace’s post mentioned “inappropriate relationships”, “one-night stands” and, um, “multi-player sports”), they began to call for his removal from popular variety shows Go Fighting! and Produce Camp 2020.

There seems to be more concern about his involvement as a mentor on Produce Camp 2020, as the reality TV competition features young female contestants who could easily be taken advantage of. Some even threatened to boycott the programme if there is no change to the line-up.

As a precautionary measure amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, the 40-year-old has been in self-isolation since arriving in China a week ago, which caused him to miss filming for the first episodes of both shows. Chinese singer Wowkie Zhang stood in for the first two episodes of Produce Camp 2020, but now, viewers are saying he should just replace Show permanently.

Sure enough, Taiwanese media have noticed that both programmes appear to have removed all — or at least most — content related to Show from their official websites, which suggests that they may indeed have cut ties with him.

According to reports, show contracts in China include a stipulation that the performer must not do anything that goes against moral values, otherwise, the company reserves the right to end the working relationship between the two parties at any time.

If the speculations about Show’s dismissals are true, then cheating on Grace was one very, very expensive mistake. Taiwanese media estimate that Show could have earned around NT$180mil (S$8.5mil) from each of the two programmes, which means that he may have just kissed NT$360mil (S$17mil) goodbye.

In addition, Show was previously rumoured to be returning for the third season of Street Dance of China alongside GOT7’s Jackson Wang and EXO’s Lay Zhang. However, the programme was pushed back due to the coronavirus situation, so it remains to be seen whether he loses yet another gig due to his alleged inability to keep it in his pants.