Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau, 64, has remained a dominant figure in the entertainment industry for more than four decades. At the height of his fame, his popularity reached levels that made ordinary life difficult to maintain. Those pressures ultimately played a major role in his decision to keep his relationship private for decades.
Andy Lau met his now-wife, former Malaysian model Carol Chu, in 1986. In past interviews, the singer-actor said that it was around 1997 when he and Carol Chu realized they were committed to spending their lives together. They secretly married on June 23, 2008 in the United States. The couple share one daughter, now 12 years old.
In recent discussions about the 1990s entertainment scene, filmmaker and businesswoman Tiffany Chen, widely known as Xiang Tai, shared firsthand accounts of just how intense Andy Lau’s fan culture once was.
“When Andy Lau was promoting a movie, I had to call ten bodyguards,” she said, recalling the chaos surrounding his public appearances. Describing just how big the crowd was, she revealed, “It was very crazy. Everywhere we stepped, there were people.” According to Xiang Tai, fans surrounded vehicles, convinced Andy Lau was inside. “They blocked the bus and wouldn’t let us leave,” she said. “They used sticks to hit the bus. The bus couldn’t start.” The situation only de-escalated after extreme measures were taken. “They sent a representative onto the bus to search for Andy Lau,” she explained. “When they realized he wasn’t there, only then did they let us go.” She recalled that even the restaurant would have broken windows because of extreme fans.
“Of course he was scared,” Xiang Tai said. “At that time, he wasn’t married yet, and there would be a bunch of people in front of his house.”
She noted that while fans were respectful, others crossed boundaries. “Andy Lau’s fan club was very organized, with fans who really love him,” she said. “But there were also some who became jealous.” She also spoke about Andy Lau’s once-hidden marriage, saying the person who endured the most was his wife. In some situations, they had to take extraordinary measures. “Sometimes she even had to hide in the car, covered with a blanket, just to avoid being photographed by fans,” Xiang Tai revealed.
When asked about those years in a past interview, Andy Lau said Carol Chu never once thought about breaking up. In hindsight, those were better times, at least when they first started dating, they didn’t have to intentionally hide in order to keep things private, adding that doing so in this day and age would’ve been impossible. He also shared that from the moment they decided they would be together for good, they were rarely apart.
