Legendary actor Jackie Chan (成龙) had his fair share of romances – but the one that the media have always been curious about was his relationship with the late Teresa Teng (邓丽君). Interestingly, the veteran star was never shy about his relationship with the Taiwanese songbird, even mentioning her in his memoir. However, Jackie’s 2022 book, “I Am Jackie Chan” (我是成龙) detailed the pair’s history and his biggest regret about the singer’s death.
According to the book, Jackie’s three-year romance with Teresa had many turbulences. In the beginning, the two were close and spent lots of time together and even went on dates. The actor said, “Seeing her every day was the only happy thing then.” However, not long after the happy days, the pair broke up so Jackie could focus on his career – but the split was only momentary as they renewed their relationship after Jackie made an effort to meet the singer despite his busy schedule.
News outlets have reported that Jackie and Teresa had a loving relationship despite keeping it low-key. Although, Jackie admitted that his rough behaviour had caused a rift between him and the late singer. One incident noted in the book was when Teresa wanted to speak to Jackie privately before leaving Taiwan. However, Jackie said he ignored her and continued chatting to his friends to show his authority. The act angered Teresa, who scolded him, saying, “Jackie, I don’t think you need me. You can just stay here with your brothers!”.
After the fight, the two went their separate ways, but Teresa did confide in Jackie’s agent, months after the breakup. She harboured anger towards Jackie because she allegedly said, “I hate him (Jackie) to death.” Since then, every meeting the two had only ended in simple greetings or the two completely ignored one another.
In 1995, Teresa went on holiday in Thailand with her fiance, Paul Quilery. During that time, the singer experienced frequent asthma attacks. Days before her death, she had called Jackie, who missed the call due to work. The veteran actor said his assistant reminded him to return Teresa’s call, but he was too busy and had forgotten. A few days later, news of the starlet’s death emerged, which shocked and saddened Jackie.
Jackie revealed that he deeply regretted not answering Teresa’s calls or even calling her back. He also said this led him to develop the habit of immediately answering calls or calling back if someone asked him to.
Source: China Press
