Ian Fang doesn't deny he dated Rebecca Lim, skirts question on when they broke up

For years, Rebecca Lim and Ian Fang had always maintained to the media that they are "just good friends" and not a former couple, despite the rumours.

But now that the 35-year-old actress is marrying a corporate branding professional, Ian appeared to be singing a different tune.

Two days after Rebecca dropped the bomb, Lianhe Zaobao published a report of their recent interview with Ian, 30.

The Chinese daily wrote he sounded dejected in the phone call, and didn't deny that he and Rebecca had dated. Ian also added he had always tried his best but couldn't be like Christopher Lee and Fann Wong. The latter is, of course, the golden celebrity couple in Singapore.

However, Ian skirted the question on when he and Rebecca broke up, replying: "Never mind… help me send my blessings to her."

Feeling emo

When Rebecca announced her engagement on Nov 15, the attention was on Ian's reactions on social media as much as it was on her unexpected news.

While he congratulated her in the comments section on her post, he appeared emotional on his Instagram.

He shared a photo of him looking pensive, accompanied by the cryptic musing: "Not every Christopher Lee has a Fann Wong. Not every Fann Wong is accompanied by a Christopher Lee."

Ian also posted on his Story the song Guest by Chinese singer Zhang Yuan, captioning it: "So this is how it feels like."

The song is about a man feeling lost after he receives news that his ex-girlfriend is getting married.

Ian posted another Story a few hours later: "Why am I getting scolded because someone is getting married? Why? What did I do wrong? What is it about me that made you so cranky? Am I doing something? I didn't say anything at all! What did I do! Why are you scolding me!?"

He later deleted the post and Stories.

The netizens were probably still begrudging the scandal in May 2019 when Ian and local actress Carrie Wong's steamy DMs — which contained inappropriate language and plenty of sexual innuendos — were leaked. At that time, he was rumoured to be dating Rebecca, and was thus deemed to have cheated on her.

Advance notice

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In his interview with Zaobao, Ian said Rebecca told him about her engagement before she broke the news to the public.

"She showed me respect," he added.

Ian also told reporters she's a wonderful person and someone very important to him. They went through many things together, he said, and he's happy for her that she's found Mr Right.

"I hope that man can give her a lot of happiness because he has the best girl in the whole world. Don't bully her, try to help her. Showbiz is not like the other industries so I hope he will bear with it," Ian said.

And if the man doesn't take good care of Rebecca in the future, Ian warned he would look for him to settle the score.

kwokkarpeng@asiaone.com