Even though Kate Pang, actress and wife to Andie Chen, has stated publicly that she might take legal action against Melissa Faith Yeo if she continued to tarnish her husband’s reputation, that hasn’t stopped Yeo from making more TikTok videos about the topic.
Some might laud Yeo is brave or foolish for continuing to toe on the thin line, but here’s a hot take:
Maybe Yeo is continuing to make TikTok videos because Andie Chen was never the main contention in the first place; merely a reference to prove her point.
Just because you’re a star celebrity, doesn’t mean the world revolves around you.
Eleven Years Back Into The Past
In case you’re not caught up with this saga, here are some crucial details that you need to know.
On 31 May 2022, Yeo posted an exposé, entitled “Spilling the tea on the media industry in Singapore”.
In the post’s caption, she addressed that it was mostly to answer the commonly asked question of ‘What had happened to her’ in the past 10 years, such that it made the actress-slash-model abandon her showbiz career for real estate.
Yeo elaborated that back in 2011/2012, she had been struggling in the showbiz industry for a multitude of reasons, though she attributed the main cause to the public break up.
She didn’t name any names for this particular relationship, but the internet remembers; netizens were quick to realise that she was referring to Andie Chen.
She said, “My breakup was public. I don’t know why, it was so unnecessary.”
She goes on the record to state that they broke up in 2011, which had been a quiet affair, since both of them later stated that they had parted on “good terms”, in some form or another.
Since it was corroborated by both parties, we can assume that it’s true. It was nothing as dramatic as Amber Heard and Johnny Depp’s separation.
However, Chen suddenly brought up their estranged relationship when he was nominated for Best Actor in the Star Awards in 2012, which changed everything for her.
From her perspective, it felt like Chen was trying to garner “pity votes” and he needed the media attention in order to win the Award, and she, by extension of their break-up, was a means to an end.
Yeo then recalls that she didn’t have the best reputation to begin with.
She was one of the public figures who was more open about “body positivity” back when (social prejudices are such wonderful things), where she wasn’t shy to admit that she had a boob job done, but she was harshly censured for it.
Hence, when Chen brings up their past relationship, and somewhat insinuates that she was… fickle in her love affairs, the media latched onto the narrative and gave her Hell for it. Figuratively.
Quoting from the February 2012 interview that Chen did with The New Paper (TNP), the actor cited that it was their “character differences” which led to the split.
He added, “There’s sexual temptation in the industry. […] I’m surrounded by women and I have an actress girlfriend, she will also be surrounded by good-looking and rich men. Since I’m looking for stability in a relationship, why would I be with someone who’s constantly tempted?”
Everything went downhill afterwards for Yeo.
She was accused of cheating on Chen—which she denies in another TikTok video—and was slut-shamed.
In the showbiz, reputation means everything.
Yeo’s career and mental health suffered from the social backlash, and it is only after a decade where Yeo feels like she’s in the “right headspace” and not “clouded by emotions” to share what had happened to her.
Yeo: The Unnamed Man is Not The Main Point
Regardless of Kate Pang’s subtle threat in the interview with Shin Min Daily News, Yeo continues to make more TikTok videos anyway.
Is it for clout? To finally get her revenge on Andie Chen? To just be a contrarian and daredevil?
The answer is none of the above.
@msfaithyeo Reply to @doremiisdenice It took time to heal, but I don’t expect unsympathetic haters to understand that.
In her new TikTok video, posted on 9 June, Yeo responded to a commenter who accused her of dredging up the past in a bid for fame.
Here’s an even better question: What does she even need the fame for now? She’s a real-estate agent now, hello?
Yeo replied, “Hey guys, a few days ago, I spoke about my experience in the media industry. Spilled some tea. Named a few names. No, sorry, I actually only named one name, technically. A few organisations, a musical. But the only one name I didn’t put out, I’m getting a lot of hate and vitriol for.”
She wastes no time refuting that she didn’t make the video to slam on Andie Chen.
(She still doesn’t refer to his name directly throughout, by the way.)
Rather, Yeo points out, it appears that quite a few viewers had completely missed the main point of her previous TikTok video.
What really drove her out of the showbiz in the end, and killed her career, was more so the malicious gossip that surrounded her publicised break-up and how she was perceived by the industry.
What she was trying to bring to light is the hypocrisy, double standards and misogyny present in the media industry.
In the previous video for instance, when Yeo candidly admitted to the fact that she had a boob job done, the ex-model mentioned that if she was a plus-sized woman, she would have been considered “brave” and would have become a figure of feminism.
But because she wasn’t, she was criticised for her actions.
Yeo argued that it was her own body, she had every right to decide what she wanted to do with it, but that strong opinions only made her more unpalatable to the media and industry.
As for the misogyny and hypocrisy, Chen stated in the 2012 TNP interview that they were both surrounded by attractive individuals, which implies that the temptation should apply to them both, and yet she seemed to be only one who was accused of infidelity and looseness.
Till this day, Yeo still has to live with those allegations weighing down her.
It’s even more ironic now that Chen made that statement, considering how he’s tied in matrimony with Kate Pang, who is also an actress and similarly surrounded by the same “temptations”.
Yeo goes on to acknowledge that they could debate back and forth whether Chen had intentionally besmirched her reputation, or it was an unwitting sentence which caused disastrous effects to her career (to the point where she was omitted from gala premieres), but she stated that it doesn’t matter anymore…
“Since it was me who had to deal with the consequences,” Yeo concluded.
Her dreams, aspirations, careers, and passion, all of it had gone up in smoke.
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Ten Years of Healing and Reflection
Therein lies the million-dollar question: Why did Melissa Faith Yeo decide to divulge the details of her past now?
“I decided to wait until now to make sure I’m in the right place in life, um, in the right space. To see this from an objective point of view and to talk about it. I told myself if I were to get emotional, then no, it’s not the right time to talk about this.”
Yeo confided that she didn’t want to discuss a topic that has burdened her for so many years if she was going to get emotional or see things through a tinted lens of emotion.
The timing and her mental state are very important to her; she’s aware that she’s made mistakes in the past because she was led by nose by her own emotions and impulses.
All these years of silence were spent on self-reflection and healing since she doesn’t want to be “that person” anymore.
Honestly, given the maturity that she’s shown as she addresses the audience, the character development shows.
In between her explanation, she thanks the viewers who have expressed their sympathies and genuine concerns for her, and those who have discerned her true intentions in sharing her story now.
It’s painful to revisit the lowest points of her life, especially because of the pain that it has caused her, but Yeo felt that it was necessary, and it wasn’t something she should be avoiding.
“I feel like we should embrace our past. We shouldn’t run away from it or be afraid of it, because it is the past that makes us who we are today.”
In conclusion, Melissa Faith Yeo isn’t ignoring Kate Pang’s legal threat simply because she can.
The “tea” she was spilling was not about an ex she had, but the inherent biases and ugliness in the seemingly glamourous showbiz industry.
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Featured Images: Tiktok (@msfaithyeo) & Facebook (Kate Pang 蕾馨)
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