When Selena Li signed up for a career in show business, she was not mentally prepared to be in the cross hairs of Hong Kong's infamous paparazzi.

A slew of bad press stressed the slender 31-year-old TVB actress so much that she fell ill a few months ago.

She suffered hormonal imbalance that resulted in bad skin, reported Mingpao Weekly.

"I'm better now, but I was really depressed and miserable for a few months," she told The New Paper.

"It got so bad that for a while, I didn't dare to step out of my house for fear of being photographed.

"Some of my friends outside showbiz also started to avoid me, refusing to meet me over dinner because they were worried that they'd become a target of the paparazzi too."

Li, who grew up in Toronto, Canada, and speaks fluent English, said the gossip about her was "ridiculous".

"One article linked me to (fellow actor) Ruco Chan simply because I sat in his designated chair on a film set," she explained with a sigh.

"What happened was I was feeling tired and I just wanted a seat, but the paparazzi immediately assumed that Ruco and I were so close we were 'sharing a chair'."

Another piece of news proved to be even more damaging.

The former Miss Hong Kong 2003 finalist was made out to be a "gold-digger" and the "third party" who "tried to break up" the romance between a wealthy man and his girlfriend.

"It's so infuriating because I'm good friends with the couple," said an exasperated Li.

"I feel so sorry that I've pulled them into this mess.

"Now, I make it a point to never sit beside a guy, even if I'm with a big group of friends... Also, I'll never get a ride home from any of my guy friends again."

Li, who dated TVB actor-singer Patrick Tang for five years till their split in early 2010, believes it is her single status, not her Westernised upbringing, that makes her a target of gossip.

"Although I'm from Canada, I'm actually quite conservative at heart... For one, I don't go around kissing guys," she said.

"The paparazzi likes to make me out to be some promiscuous tigress who's always on the prowl.

"But I'm not going to force myself to find a boyfriend, just to stop them from writing stuff about me." With a smile, Li - who can be seen in the dramedy series Wish And Switch on VV Drama (StarHub Ch 855) on weekdays at 8pm - added that she "believes in destiny".

"Women shouldn't be bound by a biological clock. I'm in no rush to get attached and thankfully, my parents do not give me pressure... I believe the right person would show up in time, according to God's plan."

This article was first published in The New Paper.