'Cornered to speak': Influencer admits to cheating on wife after being blackmailed for $20k

Mere months after influencer Dee Kosh made headlines after being accused of sexual harrassment, one of his talents — or his boys, as they're popularly known — is rounding out the year with a controversy of his own. 

In a lengthy Instagram story posted on Sunday (Dec 13), influencer Xinde Yap, who has been managed by Dee Kosh's talent agency since 2016, admitted to cheating on his wife of 11 months, claiming he was "cornered" to publicly reveal his affair after being blackmailed for $20,000. 

He had intended to deal with the issue "privately" and "as a family", but an unidentified person was "using [his] status as a public figure" to extort him in exchange for keeping the matter offline, the 25-year-old said. 

He went on to say that he would not succumb to "any form of intended 'blackmailling'". Rather, he decided to "own up" to his mistakes and handle the consequences accordingly.

He ended the story by profusely apologising and thanking his wife, Paix Wang, for deciding to "continue protecting the family" and standing by him.

He also vowed to repent for his mistakes by aiming to be a "better person, a better father and a better husband". 

The couple married in January and have a seven-month-old daughter, Bree. 

Wang herself also addressed the situation in a statement on Instagram, saying that she was "extremely heartbroken" and "disappointed" at Yap for "taking the easy way out when the going gets tough".

She also expressed her frustration at the woman that Yap had an affair with, blaming her for "initiating the physical cheating" and her "shameless advancement" towards him.

She then alleged that the woman had proceeded to send her "screenshots of [her and Yap's] conversations" and "intimate details of their affair" after finding out that she was still supporting her husband. 

She also hinted at the identity of the blackmailer, insinuating that the woman allegedly requested "monetary benefits" to keep the affair private.

Wang echoed Yap's efforts of promising to work on their marriage and explained that while her trust towards him had been "broken", she intends to remain married to him, and hopes that he will "learn from his lessons". 

While some netizens expressed support for Wang, others questioned her decision. 

"According to the wife, the third party's [boyfriend] told the wife what's been going on.

"Imagine if that didn't happen, wouldn't the cheating continue or the fact that this man won't 'own up to his mistake'?

"Clearly this man is just regretting that he got caught cheating and apologising to save his own a**. The wife is a good woman for thinking of the family but the guy better wake up his f***** idea, got child already some more," one Reddit user commented. 

Many users shared similar opinions, questioning Yap's motivations for revealing the affair. 

A second commenter wrote: "The only reason why he admitted to cheating on his wife was because he didn't want to get blackmailed. Sincerity much?"

Another even joked about the scandal, quipping, "Anyways does this mean that he is now shortlisted for Dee Kosh's top 10 idiots of 2020?"

Yap had revealed his plans to marry Wang in a Dee Kosh video last November, announcing at the same time that she was five months pregnant.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab5C-xqNBNY&feature=emb_title&ab_channel=DeeKosh[/embed]

The video started out with Yap, Dee Kosh and influencer Ben Tang, who is also managed by Dee Kosh, playing a game, but segued into Yap's confession on his marriage as well as footage of his proposal. 

He also revealed that they had met through a mutual friend at his gastrobar Chug Chug.

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/B4r3q0vBLfb/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link[/embed]

qistina@asiaone.com