Hong Kong - Singer-actors Charlene Choi and Ronald Cheng have ended their low-key, six-year relationship, Choi said in a surprise announcement on Wednesday.

Just this week, an Apple Daily report said they had registered their marriage in Los Angeles in 2006. In the past year, Cheng, 38, had spoken of marrying Choi, 27, in unusually high-profile remarks.

But she was teary at a Beijing publicity event for her movie Beauty On Duty when asked if he had popped the question, said Ming Pao Daily News.

She answered: 'We've parted for some time.'

She also said that they broke up because of certain realisations, and 'not because of problems with marriage or third parties'.

She added: 'Please don't report again that we're lovey-dovey. We've really broken up.'

The couple had been linked since they acted in the 2004 movie Hidden Heroes. According to Apple Daily, Cheng later had 'Charlene' tattooed on his right arm, then had to cover it under mid-sleeved shirts even on hot days to hide the evidence of their romance.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.