'That's going to be awkward': Sisters Who Make Waves' Jessica Jung is dating Gillian Chung's ex

These singers have been making waves, but is there some turbulence in the sea ahead?

The results of the third season of Sisters Who Make Waves were reportedly leaked earlier this week, with the top 10 finalists comprising, in descending order, Cyndi Wang, Jessica Jung, Kelly Yu, Tan Weiwei, Gillian Chung, Charlene Choi, Fiona Sit, Amber Kuo, Tang Shiyi and Zhang Tianai.

In the hit Chinese reality competition show, over 30 female stars past their prime compete to debut as a new 10-member girl group.

This means that American K-pop star Jessica Jung and Hong Kong singer-actress Gillian Chung would debut in the same girl group.

However, there's a deeper undercurrent that links Jessica and Gillian together: their relationships with Tyler Kwon, an American businessman.

Kwon, the CEO of Coridel Entertainment, was in a romance with Gillian around 2012 when she was filming Ip Man: The Final Fight. Amid rumours of infidelity, the couple split up after 10 months. 

Jessica, 33, confirmed she's dating Kwon, 42, in 2016.

"That's going to be awkward," one netizen commented on South Korean news website Instiz.

Said another: "What, the current girlfriend and ex-girlfriend in the same group?"

[[nid:590485]]

One user also commented: "Ex-girlfriend and current girlfriend, is this a Hollywood show?"

Gillian, now 41, didn't address those rumours at that time but instead explained the reasons for their failed relationship.

"The problems we've had did not come suddenly — it built up over time… we have different lifestyles. While he's a businessman who makes rational decisions and has to socialise for his job, I'm someone who likes to stay at home," Gillian told Hong Kong media at a press conference.

She added: "I couldn't understand most of the conversations he had with his friends and I would often ask him about what he said. We had a lot of difficulty talking to each other. When he doesn't understand what I'm saying and doesn't get it even when I explain it to him, I would get really frustrated." 

In 2018, Gillian married Taiwanese doctor Michael Lai but the couple announced their divorce in 2020.

In 2016, Jessica revealed that she had been dating Kwon for three years, confirming their relationship in an announcement of her signing under Kwon's Coridel Entertainment.

In an interview with Star News in May 2016, Jessica said: "[Kwon] is an intelligent person — being a part of the entertainment industry, people in other fields seem cool. He's someone you can respect."

The duo have remained a couple since, with Kwon consistently sending the singer well-wishes on her birthday via Instagram as far back as 2015, despite him not using the platform very often.

"Happy birthday, J!" Kwon wrote in April this year, adding "#soulmates" to the post.

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/CcdWDJ7vF7J/[/embed]

ALSO READ: Raymond Lam, Richie Jen, Alec Su and Singaporean Huang Yida reportedly in rehearsals for Call Me By Fire 2

khooyihang@asiaone.com