Reporter Claims Karen Mok Didn't Cause Stephen Chow & Athena Chu's Breakup In The '90s

For those who don’t know or were too young to remember, legendary Hongkong filmmaker Stephen Chow and '90s screen goddess Athena Chu once dated for several years after meeting and working together on the set of 1992’s Fight Back to School II. However, Hongkong singer-actress Karen Mok, another one of Stephen’s old flames, was rumoured to come between them, and their three-year relationship came to an end.

Recently, a veteran Hongkong reporter came forward to shed some light on the truth behind Stephen and Athena’s split, claiming that Karen actually had nothing to do with it.

Back then, there were all kinds of juicy speculations, such as the one where Athena was said to have dumped Stephen in a rage after discovering a strand of Karen’s wavy hair in bed (really, though?). In another version of the story, Athena broke up with Stephen after visiting him in his hotel room and finding a woman hiding in the bathroom.

According to the reporter, however, Stephen had actually been very faithful to Athena, who was unlikely to have let go of him so easily. What really drove them apart, the reporter revealed, had something to do with Stephen’s seven-year lawsuit following his unsuccessful applications to immigrate to Canada, although it’s not clear how exactly that led the ex-couple to Splitsville.

Stephen submitted his first immigration application in 1993 but was rejected ‘cos an ‘informant’ had alleged that he was involved in money laundering for the triads through his filmmaking projects. His application was rejected again in 1996, and his appeal was rejected in 2001.

The reporter thinks that it’s a crying shame Stephen couldn’t follow through with his plans to settle down in Canada with Athena ‘cos if they did, they would probably be one big happy family with lots of kids by now.

Of course, don’t expect Stephen or Athena to respond to these reports as both parties have remained very tight-lipped about their former relationship. During her guest appearance on a Chinese talk show in 2017, all Athena would say about Stephen was: “We made a good pair of partners when we were filming. Talented people tend to be more eccentric, so they can be harder to get along with.”

Karen and Stephen, on the other hand, are still on good terms, with Karen even lending her voice to the soundtrack of Stephen’s 2016 blockbuster film, The Mermaid.

Photos: PBE Media, IMDb, Athena Chu/Weibo, Karen Mok, Weibo

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