Donnie Yen, 58, Didn’t Know He Was 18 Years Older Than His Wife When He Was Courting Her

Hongkong action superstar Donnie Yen, 58, and his wife, former beauty queen Cissy Wang, 40, just celebrated 18 years of wedded bliss.

The couple are not only known for their loving relationship, but also their whirlwind romance.

They dated for only three months before tying the knot in August 2003. They now have two kids, Jasmine, 17, and James, 13.

Prior to their union, Donnie was married to advertising executive Leung Zing Ci, with whom he has a 25-year-old son named Jeff.

In a recent interview on Chinese talk show A Date With Luyu, Donnie revealed that he didn’t know Cissy’s age when he was courting her.

“Because I was divorced before, I felt insecure about marriage. But soon after meeting my wife, I had this strong feeling that I had to be with her. But at that time, I didn't know she was so young,” he said.

“And I didn’t know he was so old! Cissy chimed in.

He proposed after dating for two weeks and Cissy said yes (obviously).

But because Cissy is traditional, not to mention, only 22 then, Donnie had to fly to Toronto to ask her parents for her hand in marriage.

Cissy recalled that he had to get past her grandma and aunt first (they approved him at first sight), and then her parents.

I saw his hands shaking. I was so nervous! she said.

During the interview, Donnie also talked about his showbiz journey and financial struggles.

He picked up martial arts from his mother, grandmaster Mark Bow-sim, at a very young age. When he was 10, his family moved to Boston, where his mum founded the Chinese Wushu Research Institute.

After Donnie returned to Hongkong, he joined TVB in the mid-80s. He chose to enroll in the artiste training class where he became classmates with actor Gordon Lam.

However, Donnie did not graduate after three years.

Then, he was only earning HK$3,000 (S$518) a month and when he did not have enough money to buy food, would go hungry and only have his meal on set ‘cos it was free.

He would only borrow money from his father when he was left with no choice.

When asked why he put himself through all that, Donnie said: Since you have chosen to do one thing, you must do it well.