Joel Chan (陳山聰) is lucky and he knows it. When a slew of unfortunate decisions led him to rock bottom, Joel for a moment gave everything up and buried himself even deeper under layers of guilt and shame. While the public wrote him off with pity and scorn, his family moved in for the rescue and was successful in turning his life around. Given a second chance, Joel is grateful for the support he received and is now openly apologizing for the grief he had caused his loved ones, including ex-wife Ponny Yeung (楊渡萍). Born to a well-to-do family in Macau, Joel was the youngest child loved by two older brothers and four older sisters. While many of his siblings turned to business, Joel’s adventurous spirit brought him into the colorful world of entertainment. Working for TVB since 2000, he was slowly securing his way to the top when he made a choice that he now regrets. In 2011, he announced that he had divorced his wife, who is six years his senior, and very publicly pursued the much younger heiress Florinda Ho (何超雲). Sadly for him, his much-coveted relationship fizzled just two years later. Although many speculated that he was dating Florinda for her money, Joel insisted that he did not spend even a dime as he reflected on his scandal on February 4. With healthy savings, he was able to avoid falling into debt during unemployment and was even able to pay Ponny her alimony on schedule. Genuinely sorry for the pain he brought his ex-wife, Joel finds some solace in providing for her financially though understands that he may never be able to truly make it up to her. “I feel that she is a person I have wronged, so I should take responsibility [for my actions] We will take things slowly; it is difficult to become friends again so soon after what had happened.” Joel felt even more ashamed when discussing the scandal’s impact on his family. Feeling defeated after his break up with Florinda, he hid from the world in a smaller home while his mother took care of his daily needs. Even though he is now ready to face the consequences of his own mistakes, he became teary-eyed as he recalled his father’s concerned phone call when the tabloids broke the news on his alleged infidelity. Helpless, the only thing he could do was to tell his parents to ignore the gossips. While his whole family was loving and supportive, it was his favorite brother Chan San Hoi (陳山海) who inspired his change and to whom Joel owes the biggest apology. Breaking down in tears, Joel recounted San Hoi’s guilt in failing his brotherly duties and shared the advice that jump-started his healing process. “Even though he did not accompany me all the time, he would still send me messages, saying, ‘Younger brother, you must move forward’. I asked him how, he said, ‘Put down your left foot, and step ahead with your right. That’s how you can walk onward.’” Creds: Ming Pao
dunno the truth or wateva, but the whole thing made it seems like he's the asshole. I felt sorry for his wife.
