Yuzuru Hanyu’s Sudden Divorce has Caused Chaos on Social Media Sites in China

Yuzuru Hanyu, two-time Olympic champion in men’s figure skating, announced his sudden divorce on his SNS late at night on November 17. Fans in Japan and abroad are in a state of panic.

 

He had announced his marriage in August, but his wife has not been able to leave the house due to slander and stalking, unauthorized interviews and media coverage, and being accosted by suspicious people in her living space.

“Because of my inexperience, it was extremely difficult and unbearable for me to continue to protect my partner and myself as it was. I made the decision to divorce because I wanted my partner to be happy when I thought about the future.”

The couple has been married for five years.

 

At a press conference at the Japan Press Club on February 27, 2018, after the Pyeongchang Olympics, he was asked, “Do you want to have a family and become a father in the future?

“I don’t know how to answer this question,” he said. “I have fans who support me so much, and even people who are not my fans support me so much this time, but if I have a family, they might say I betrayed them. I am not an idol.”