He had spoken of how the secret to their "happy union" was "open communication".

That was in January last year, when Chinese- American actor-host Allan Wu talked about his marriage to former MediaCorp actress Wong Li-lin to The New Paper.

Sadly, it's all now come to an end: Wong has filed for a divorce.

According to the Family-Divorce and Ancillary Matters hearing list linked to the Subordinate Courts website, the pre-trial conference was held at 9.30am on Thursday.

Wong, 40, who is represented by Harry Elias Partnership, is the plaintiff/petitioner, while Wu, 41, the defendant/respondent, is represented by Joyce A Tan and Partners.

The couple had quietly married in December 2003 in Los Angeles, Wu's home town, after a two-year courtship which, the actor said, was sparked by their first kiss in Bali the year before.

The public got wind of their marriage only in May 2004, when Wong talked about it and spoke of their impending first child in a press statement.

By then, Wong was about four months pregnant. She gave birth to a daughter in October 2004. They had another child, a son, in February 2006.

The children are now aged eight and seven respectively.

Wu is known as the host for all four seasons of The Amazing Race Asia and the China version of the reality show, The Amazing Race: China Rush.

Wong made her acting debut in a television drama, Masters Of The Sea, in 1994, before becoming a household name after embodying the tough-cop lead role as Inspector Elaine Tay in MediaCorp's Channel 5 cop drama Triple Nine.

Shanghai

In August 2011, the couple had packed their bags and took their children to relocate to Shanghai for Wu to further his career. There, Wong kept home while Wu pursued his career.

Nonetheless, the family kept their District 9 apartment in Singapore as they "planned to shuttle between China and Singapore often", Wu revealed in a previous interview with The Straits Times.

Calls to Wu's and Wong's mobile phones on Thursday night were unanswered.

The New Paper understands that Wong plans to return to Singapore with the two children while Wu will remain in Shanghai.

A recent posting on Twitter suggests that Wong has been busy moving homes.

Wong said in a post on the social site last Thursday: "Movers in today...am spent from all that packing! One step closer to home."

The pair are still signed under artist management agency Fly Entertainment, headed by actress-comedian Irene Ang.

Neither Fly nor several celebrity names associated with the company responded to calls from TNP on Thursday.

But Fly released a statement last night to confirm that the pair had "reached a mutual decision to get divorced".

Surprised

A fellow Singapore TV actor friend of the couple, who insisted on remaining anonymous, was surprised when told of the news.

"Oh dear... the children," he said. "The children always suffer in a divorce."

He declined further comment.

Another friend of the couple, actor Tay Ping Hui, 42, also declined comment.

"We should be giving them the privacy that they need at this time," he said.

In the January 2012 interview with TNP, Wu had said he and Wong "talk about everything and we make sure we tell each other when we are unhappy with something.

"When you keep the channels of communication open, it prevents quarrels and fights."

Wu had also mentioned in the same interview that if relocating to China did not work out for him, his "top priority is to support my family while acting and hosting.

But, if I can't, then I'll work a nine-to-five job... maybe."

"I'm a survivor, I'll find something to do," he added.

Get The New Paper for more stories.