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Veteran HK Actor Ai Wai Reveals He Divorced Wife Of 18 Years ‘Cos She Was Addicted to Mahjong

Ai Wai shared that Lisa would stay up all night to play mahjong, without returning anyone’s calls.

Recently, veteran Hong Kong actor Ai Wai, 63, appeared on the Chinese reality show, See You Again 2 with his ex-wife, Lisa.

The reality show basically sends divorced couples on a long trip together, giving them the opportunity to communicate and understand each other once more.

Ai Wai and Lisa announced their divorce in 2020, after 18 years of marriage. The news of their separation took many by surprise, since they were known for having a strong relationship.

Lisa stood by Ai Wai for many years when he was left jobless after leaving TVB in 2012 to join HKTV.

Similarly, when Lisa was diagnosed with a tumour in her uterus in 2014, Ai Wai used up all his savings on her medical treatment.

When they first announced their divorce, reports claimed that it was Lisa who initiated the split. However, it has since been revealed that it was Ai Wai who called things off, and it was 'cos Lisa had become addicted to playing mahjong.

In the latest episode of See You Again 2, Ai Wai shared that he couldn’t bear to see Lisa, who had just regained her health after her medical episode, stay up all night just to play mahjong.

Was divorce the only solution for them?

“We’ve discussed this mahjong problem for so long, over and over. We were just stuck on this same issue, and I felt so tired. [I told her] that you can’t play mahjong again, if you do it one more time, then it means that we’re divorcing. Then, the next day, I said it once more, if you play mahjong again, we’re divorcing, I won’t say anything else. Three months later, she told me that she was going to play mahjong again, as if nothing had ever happened,” Ai Wai shared.

From then on, communication between the two broke down. Even on the show, some guests noted that Ai Wai seemed to not leave any space for Lisa to ‘explain’ her actions.

Ai Wai continued: “Five years ago, she promised that she would only play till 11pm. But she can't control herself. Once she starts playing mahjong, she won’t even return her calls. Once she sits down, [it’s like nothing else matters]. And when she goes to play mahjong till the wee hours of the night, only returning home in the morning, I didn’t tell her this, but I couldn’t even sleep at night [‘cos I was worried about her].”

“I told her that since you can’t control yourself, stop playing mahjong then. I grew to hate our discussions over her playing mahjong. We talked about this multiple times. I had given up all hope, I kept thinking to myself, ‘Why was she choosing mahjong and not me?’” Ai Wai said.

We feel Ai Wai's pain.

Ai Wai added that he felt like divorce was the only option for him. Addressing Lisa, he went on to ask her if she regretted breaking their promise and heading out to play mahjong that day.

Lisa answered that she definitely regretted it, but could only trail off as she attempted to explain that she didn’t expect them to really divorce over this issue.

At that point Lisa began crying, as Ai Wai asked her if she had truly forgotten that he’d given her an ultimatum over mahjong.

“I did try to explain to him, but he wouldn’t let me explain,” she said.

Lisa added: “I had many problems [that I was facing], but I didn’t dare to explain it to him clearly, so the problem just kept snowballing,” she said, to which Ai Wai answered: “But this problem has been going on for so long, for almost seven to eight years, does [what you’re saying] even make any sense?”

She still loves him.

Though it seems like there are still a lot of unresolved issues between the couple, things are not as acrimonious as it seems. The ex-couple shared that they are still friends, with Lisa coming over to take care of Ai Wai’s pet pooch, and Ai Wai helping out at Lisa’s business.

Additionally, despite being separated, they have not formally divorced yet as they would like for each other to take care of each other's last rites when they pass away.

In a trailer for the show, Lisa also confessed that she still loves Ai Wai, signalling that all is not lost for the ex-couple.

The second half of the episode, where Ai Wai and Lisa talk about the mahjong issue, is below.

Photos: Mango TV/YouTube

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