Masahiro Higashide Faces Criticism for Remarriage After Being Blessed with a Child But Remains Likable According to Movie Insider

Masahiro Higashide, the actor who announced his remarriage after being blessed with a child, has stirred some buzz in the public.

At the end of August, Higashide announced his marriage on his YouTube channel. His partner is former actress Karen Matsumoto.

Higashide married actress An in 2015 after they played a married couple in the NHK morning drama “Gochisousan” in 2013. They had three children together, but in 2020, reports of his affair with Erika Karata surfaced, leading to their divorce that same year. Naturally, he faced a storm of criticism.

Though his work opportunities diminished due to the affair, he was able to continue his acting career, and filming for a new movie began in the fall of 2021. However, he found himself in trouble again.

It was surprising that he had a new girlfriend at that time, but reports in October 2021 by “Shukan Bunshun” revealed that he had called her to the filming location for a date. While such behavior was often seen among older actors, it certainly raised eyebrows for Higashide.

 

Even in a mountain lifestyle, there were “multiple women present.”

Moreover, this was during the COVID pandemic. It seems that the president of Higashide’s agency became furious and immediately terminated his contract, leading him to work as a freelancer afterward.

Since around winter 2021, he has often been featured in the media for living a “semi-self-sufficient lifestyle” while hunting in the mountains of northern Kanto. However, reports surfaced that he was living with three young women, sparking criticism on social media.

In reality, the women were living in separate rented homes and sharing food, so the claim of “cohabitation” appears to have been misinformation. It would be more accurate to describe it as “cooperative living.”

However, one of these three women turned out to be his wife, which sparked further controversy. According to Higashide, they began dating this year, but his wife is already pregnant, and they are expecting their first child next spring.

On social media,

“Even though he said he didn’t have that kind of relationship with the women, it turns out that he did after all.”

Criticism and comments like this emerged.