Chinese stars Gao Yuanyuan and Mark Chao met and fell in love while collaborating on a film in mainland China. The couple has been married for 12 years and has a daughter. Gao Yuanyuan recently opened up about her struggles during marriage and motherhood in an interview on a podcast. She revealed that she went through a period of “extreme pain” in her career during the time of her marriage and childbirth, which quickly became a hot topic on Weibo.
In the interview, Gao Yuanyuan shared that the years following her marriage and the birth of her daughter were particularly difficult professionally. She explained that the struggle stemmed not from any issues in her marriage, but from the “unknown and inexplicable negativities” arising from her career coming to a halt. She expressed her frustration at facing a roadblock in her acting career, yearning for good projects while feeling unsatisfied with herself, leading to a sense of helplessness. Coupled with uncertainty about the future, she found herself in a deep state of internal conflict and anxiety.
At the age of 46, Gao Yuanyuan married Mark Chao in 2014 and gave birth to their daughter at the age of 40 in 2019. The period of preparing for pregnancy, being pregnant, and raising a child completely disrupted her life rhythm, forcing her career to a standstill for several years.
It was not until she made a comeback after giving birth and starred in her first film “Perfect Partner” that Gao Yuanyuan played a female lawyer struggling to balance her career, family, and motherhood, mirroring her own inner struggles at the time. She admitted that the experiences during those years eventually fused into her performance. After the pain, she gradually found a balance between her roles as a mother and an actress, as well as rediscovering herself.
In fact, Gao Yuanyuan and Mark Chao’s marriage has always been stable. In a previous program, Gao Yuanyuan openly discussed the topic of life and death, joking with Mark Chao that “it’s better for me to go first” at times. In response, Mark Chao always calmly and responsibly replied, “That’s fine, I’ll take care of things afterward.” This genuine companionship and sense of responsibility have been lauded by netizens as the “ultimate romance.”
Gao Yuanyuan revealed that her peace towards life and death stems from her experience of giving up work and dedicating herself to taking care of her sick mother in her final years. As for her end-of-life arrangements, she mentioned that she would plan ahead, not wanting to burden her daughter or have elaborate farewell ceremonies.