Ever since Kenneth Ma ended his relationship with his two-timing ex Jacqueline Wong last year, fans have been hoping for him and his good friend Natalie Tong to get together.

Last month, there were reports that a romance could indeed be brewing between the Big White Duel co-stars because they seemed to be spending a lot of time together. But Kenneth went on to deny the rumour, saying that he only sees Natalie as “a younger sister”.

However, that certainly hasn’t stopped the rumour mill from churning. In fact, there are now claims that Natalie is pregnant with Kenneth’s child, and that Kenneth was the one who came between Natalie and education consultant Samuel Chan, which was a relationship that was never confirmed, by the way.

But neither Kenneth nor Natalie, so mild-mannered usually, are taking that allegation lying down.

It all started when Samuel, who is nicknamed the “Wang Leehom of the educational world” 'cos of his good looks, posted an Instagram Story update that said, “Another leading man has shown up in her life. Even though he looks like he has a boiled dog’s head [Ed: A Cantonese term used to describe a cheesy grin or insincere smile], he seems to be good for her.”

Netizens immediately speculated that he could be referring to Natalie and Kenneth, and surmised that the latter might have come between him and Natalie (even though, like we said earlier, they never admitted they were actually dating). Soon after, there were even claims that Natalie and Kenneth are expecting a baby together.

On March 5, Kenneth took the opportunity to clear the air during an event, saying that he would appreciate it if people would stop associating him with “the person with the surname Chan”, presumably referring to Samuel.

According to the 46-year-old, he does not know Samuel, nor has he ever met him before. He said that while he, Natalie, and the rest of their gang of friends from A Fistful of Stances often meet up, they don’t really talk about their personal relationships, and Natalie has never mentioned Samuel before.

He added that he usually doesn’t pay much attention or respond to gossip, but this time, it has gone too far. “It would be great if they could stop spreading rumours like this about me,” he said. “I used to stay silent in the past and took gossip as a way to promote Big White Duel, but it has gotten out of hand and is even impacting my character, so I must speak up.”

Natalie has also taken to Instagram to share her thoughts. “I hardly read the news these days, so I don’t know the extent of the nonsense they’ve written about me, and I have no interest in finding out and will not be responding to it,” she wrote. “I will just continue to work hard and live well. It’s been so many years, can you just give me a little peace?”

In a second post, the 38-year-old dispelled the bun-in-the-oven talk in a very clever and indirect way, saying, “By the way, I recently got to know a good Chinese medicine doctor who has been helping me to take care of my body. My menstrual cycle has been very regular and I no longer feel discomfort when I’m on my period. If you want, you can PM me for more details!”

Photos: Natalie Tong/Instagram, Natalie Tong/Facebook, Samuel Chan/Instagram, Kenneth Ma/Weibo