Stephen Chow, 59, Denies He Is Dating 17-Year-Old Failed Miss Hong Kong Contestant After They Were Seen Going On A Yacht Trip Together

Comedy legend Stephen Chow has always been very low-key about his love life.

So low-key, that his 13-year relationship with socialite Alice Yu Manfung, which ended in 2010, only came to light when the two were embroiled in a dramatic financial lawsuit late last year. He also previously dated Hongkong singer-actresses Karen Mok and Athena Chu.

Recently, it was rumoured that Stephen may have his eye on a new romantic target, an unsuccessful Miss Hong Kong 2021 contestant named Ukei Cheung.

Oh, and by the way, he’s 59 years old and she’s only 17, making that a 42-year age gap between them.

The speculations were sparked after a reporter from Hongkong’s Headline Daily spotted Stephen boarding a yacht “worth over HK$100mil (S$17.4mil)” with Ukei and two other young women.

They went out to sea and played water sports for a few hours before having a party on the boat and returning to shore at about 10pm. The next day, Stephen and Ukei showed up at the pier again to sail out for another date.

According to so-called inside sources, Stephen and Ukei first met at a yacht party in June this year. Stephen was said to have approached Ukei first to strike up a conversation and ask for her number, and the two started going out in secret.

However, the fiercely private Stephen had a few ‘rules’ for Ukei to follow on their dates.

For example, he would only use WeChat to call her and would never leave a record of their conversations. Ukei would also have to make sure that not a single trace of Stephen could be seen or heard in any of the photos and videos she took while they were together.

That aside, Stephen reportedly treats Ukei very well and performs thoughtful gestures such as sending a car to pick her up for their outings.

Alas, it turns out those were all just baseless rumours.

Stephen’s assistant has since come forward to clarify that the filmmaker and Ukei aren’t even close at all, let alone lovers.

Wait, so what about the yacht trip they were photographed on?

“There was a large group of people on the boat that day,” his assistant explained. “The girl had taken the initiative to invite Stephen to go wakesurfing two days earlier, but Stephen ignored her ‘cos they hardly know each other. I don’t understand how such a report could’ve been written when so many people went out to sea to play together.”

Ukei took part in this year’s Miss Hong Kong auditions and was the youngest out of all the participants.

She drew attention for her resemblance to Chingmy Yau’s daughter Sham Yuet (and for an infamous pic of her in a skirt so short, it exposed part of her buttocks), but she did not make it to the finals.

Photos: PBE Media, Ukei Cheung/Instagram, Headline Daily