While some celebrities are snapping up multi-million-dollar homes, Chinese actor Wu Xiu Bo appears to be desperately trying to get rid of his and is reportedly selling his California mansion at a massive loss.

Best known for his role as an undercover Communist Party member in 2010 hit spy drama Before Dawn, the married star was officially banned from acting for three years after Chinese singer-actress Chen Yu Lin went public with their seven-year affair in 2018.

After news of the affair broke, his reputation as a family man took a beating and the 52-year-old has all but disappeared from the big and small screens.

According to reports, Xiu Bo and his wife, who is also his manager, He Zhen Ya, bought the 7,017 square feet two-storey home in San Marino in 2015 for US$5.5 million (S$7.6mil). He had reportedly signed a declaration renouncing the right to the property, and the house is fully-owned by Zhen Ya.

They couple had originally applied to rebuild the property, however it was rejected by the city government as the house, which was built in 1931 and designed by a well-known designer, is considered a historical building.

Xiu Bo was engaged in a lawsuit with the government and finally won after two years. But now they are letting go of the home before it is being rebuilt — and at a loss too.

The mansion was originally listed for US$5.88 mil (S$8.02mil) at the beginning of the month, however the price was slashed to US$5.28mil (S$7.23mil) after 20 days.

While some took this as a sign that Xiu Bo has fallen on hard times and is struggling financially, sources close to the actor say he is doing fine even though he hasn’t worked in over a year. Well, he did make the Forbes China Celebrity 100 list five times in the past seven years after all.

Instead, they believe the couple could be selling their US assets due to the increasingly strained US-China relations.

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