ZHANG Ziyi's dreams of becoming a rich tai-tai has been shattered, according to the Taiwanese media.

News of the Chinese beauty's engagement was publicly confirmed by her beau, Israeli billionaire investor Mr Vivi Nevo, last July.

The wedding was supposed to be held this month. But, Mr Nevo, 44, announced last month that the wedding will be postponed.

A friend of the couple told The New York Post's gossip column that though they had been considering getting married next month, the couple had decided to find another date because of their busy schedules.

Now, Taiwaneses media are reporting that the couple has broken up for two months already.

Mr Nevo was reportedly so turned off by Ziyi pestering him to marry her that he dumped her.

The actress supposedly flew to the United States to win her man back but failed, the reports added.

Another report said the relationship ended because both were not able to come to terms on their pre-marital assets agreement.

When contacted by The New Paper, local celebrity hair stylist David Gan, who is a close friend of Ziyi's, said he does not know about the break-up.

He added: 'I had been on the phone with Ziyi for the past two days but she didn't say anything about her relationship with MrNevo. I also didn't ask her about it. But she sounded cheerful and excited.

'But I know Ziyi the best, even if you don't believe me. She's not the kind who would pester a man to marry her. She's a workaholic and loves her work.'

David also said he was styling Ziyi in Germany in March when Mr Nevo visited her.

'They were very loving and looked very happy together. They didn't appear like they had quarrelled,' he said.

He told me that Ziyi was carrying a Birkin bag which he had liked. She said Mr Nevo had given the bag to her. David thinks it must have cost a hefty five-figure sum.

David, who has known and worked with Ziyi for 10 years, believes that no relationship can last forever in this new age.

'Happiness is the most important factor when you decide whether or not to stay in a relationship,' he told The New Paper.

Ziyi, 30, is one of China's hottest stars. She first shot to fame as the headstrong Jen in the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

The role won her the Most Promising Actress award at the 13th Annual Chicago Film Critics Awards in 2001.

She subsequently starred in acclaimed movies like Hero, 2046, House of Flying Daggers and Memoirs of a Geisha.

The actress had reportedly admitted to the media before that she has a fear of marriage.

She also reportedly said in a Chinese TV programme that she's nothing like the character she plays in her new movie, the romantic comedy Sophie's Revenge, who would try all ways to win back a boyfriend who jilted her.

She had reportedly said: 'I like and respect women who are independent and have their own thinking. How could we regard men like they are our everything?'

The production crew from the movie however reportedly revealed that the couple's relationship was already strained before work on the movie began in January.

Ziyi, who is also the movie's producer, had to knock on doors to look for investors for the movie. She was purportedly embarrassed when investors asked why her rich fiance didn't invest.

Mr Nevo's supposed lack of support for the movie led the production crew to wonder if he doesn't support Ziyi or he thinks Sophie's Revenge wouldn't succeed.

No ring?

The Taiwanese media also reported that Ziyi was seen without her seven-carat engagement ring in Beijing recently.

She is said to be dating someone new, though his identity has yet to be ascertained.

In an interview with Elle magazine, Ziyi was quoted as saying: 'I'm keen on marriage and family, but now I'm especially afraid. What if the marriage isn't happy?'

Ziyi and Mr Nevo were in the limelight for the wrong reasons in Jan when paparazzi took photos of them sunbathing in the Caribbean island of St Barts surfaced.

She had taken off her red bikini top and rolled down the bottom, while he grabbed her bottom and landed enthusiastic kisses on her back.

This article was first published in The New Paper