Marco Ngai sheds 30kg after harsh criticism, regains dashing appearance

There's nothing like public pressure for a celebrity.

In April, ex-TVB leading man Marco Ngai made a public appearance as a spokesperson for a China company and he was heavily criticised for his stocky looks.

A month later, he announced on Xiaohongshu that he would be developing his career in China for the upcoming few years.

However, from the beginning of his appearance on Douyin livestreams, viewers have largely been focused on the 55-year-old's appearance, criticising him for his oily skin, being severely overweight and tarnishing his younger, more dashing image.

Many nagged at him to lose weight and in July, Marco responded that he had already lost 15kg, and intended to lose more.

Marco has now shed a total of 30kg and looks sharply different from his heaviest at 119kg.

At the time of writing, he has also achieved 10 million yuan (S$1.9million) worth of sales and 19,000 sales in one single livestream.

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Marco currently focuses on selling baijiu, a type of Chinese liquor. On his livestreams, he sings and interacts with his viewers, and has been ranked first on four charts: overall Douyin livestream sales chart, newcomer host chart, foodie chart and baijiu chart.

The past few years have been tough for Marco and he seems to be finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

In 2020, his ex-wife Zhang Lihua was exposed for cheating on him, with paparazzi photos showing Zhang holding hands with a man and kissing him in a taxi before heading up to the man's apartment.

Zhang, 20 years Marco's junior, later told the media that the couple had been sleeping in separate bedrooms for five years but still lived in the same house for their daughter's sake.

After getting divorced from Zhang in 2020 and becoming the main caregiver of his daughter Jessica, Marco said to the media that he would never get married again.

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jolynn.chia@asiaone.com