Lin Chi-ling and husband Akira welcome baby into family

This Chinese New Year, Taiwanese model Lin Chi-ling won't have to put up with questions from nosy relatives about when she and her husband Akira are going to have a kid.

On Monday (Jan 31) morning, the 47-year-old announced the birth of their baby on social media.

"Thank you for coming into our family. Finally, finally, an angel has joined our family," Chi-ling wrote.

"I want to share my deepfelt happiness and gratitude with everyone I love in this new year. I also want to thank everyone for their blessings and encouragement all these years."

According to Apple Daily Taiwan, the baby is a boy and was born in Japan just before 2021 ended. Due to the pandemic, the little one will not be travelling to Taiwan for the time being. 

Chi-ling married 40-year-old Japanese pop star Akira — from the boy band Exile — in June 2019 and the couple has been dogged by pregnancy rumours since then.

She was also said to have frozen her eggs in 2014 and gone for in-vitro fertilisation in 2019.

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/ChilingLinOfficial/posts/484691013026539[/embed]

kwokkarpeng@asiaone.com