Quan Yi Fong says she's forgiven ex-husband Peter Yu

It's arguably the biggest celebrity split in local showbiz and everyone assumed that Quan Yi Fong and ex-husband Peter Yu are on the outs with each other.

After all, Yi Fong hasn't talked much about Peter since their divorce in 2008 and their daughter, Eleanor Lee, took on celebrity hairstylist Addy Lee's last name. Similarly, Peter told AsiaOne in an interview earlier this year that he's no longer in contact with the mother-daughter duo.

"We met once a few years ago, gave each other our blessings, and decided not to keep in contact," Peter said then.

However, 45-year-old Yi Fong revealed to Lianhe Wanbao on Saturday (Nov 2) that she had forgiven her ex-husband previously and they even met recently while she was hosting the Channel 8 reality series, Beyond the Cameras. The series revolves around candidates who are receiving on-the-job media production training and understudying professionals to vie for a chance to be the top performer and join Mediacorp.

According to the Chinese daily, the production crew were afraid to let the pair meet and tried many ways to separate them. While Yi Fong was filming Beyond the Cameras, 51-year-old Peter was also filming a new drama at the same location.

Out of concern for Yi Fong's feelings, the production team attempted to minimise the risk of them meeting by arranging different call times for both.

Despite their best efforts, Yi Fong still ran into her ex-husband.

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She told Lianhe Wanbao: "I only knew later that my colleagues have been doing so many things behind my back (to prevent us from meeting). I was even wondering why my call time for that day kept changing. I was supposed to report to make-up at 4pm but I have a habit of arriving early.

"Coincidentally, Peter was running late with the styling department, so we happened to run into each other outside the wardrobe department."

Yi Fong laughed and said that when they met, everyone froze. But, she politely greeted him and even updated him on how their daughter was doing. After they parted, Peter texted her to thank her for taking the initiative and being friendly towards him.

"I was thinking that as a staff of Mediacorp, I'm the host and he's the guest. I should take the initiative as a show of good faith," she explained.

The ex-couple would 'reunite' the following day when the production team of Behind the Cameras arranged for their candidates to shadow the outdoor shoot of Peter's drama at a supermarket.

Yi Fong recounted: "When I arrived, there was a crowd outside the supermarket. I joined the crowd and saw a few aunties next to me staring at Peter and saying, 'Do you see that guy? He looks like Quan Yi Fong's ex-husband.'"

She confessed that in a moment of mischief, she chimed in: "Who is it? Who is it?"

The aunties, unaware that Yi Fong was standing next to them, even replied, "That one, Quan Yi Fong's ex-husband. What's his name?" before realising who they were speaking to and clammed up.

The actress-host even brought Peter to the same group of aunties later and asked them: "Who did you say he was?"

In a moment of panic, the aunties even misidentified him as actor Wang Yuqing, much to the amusement of both Yi Fong and Peter.

Contrary to popular belief, it seems like both Yi Fong and Peter have buried the hatchet and it’s good to know the storm has blown over.

bryanlim@asiaone.com