April 6, 2023
SINGAPORE – Social media influencer Wendy Cheng, more popularly known as Xiaxue, announced in an Instagram post on Wednesday night that she is splitting from husband Michael Sayre.
The 38-year-old said in the post: “After 17 years of being together, Mike and I have decided, mutually and amicably, to end our marriage. This announcement may come as a surprise to many of you, but we have actually been separated for a long time now.”
Ms Cheng added she and Mr Sayre, who is three years her senior, took a long time to come to the decision, stating that it was “not an easy one to make”.
She said: “This may not be the fairytale ending that everyone wishes for, but 17 years is a long time and we had a good run with loads of love, happiness and memories we formed together. Unfortunately nothing lasts forever.
“Our focus now is on co-parenting Dash and continuing to support each other as we move forward in separate lives.”
In her post, Ms Cheng wished Mr Sayre “nothing but happiness” in his future, and insisted she “never regretted picking” him.
She also apologised to her followers “who have been here with us all these years”, and sought privacy.
The pair were married in 2010 at the now-closed Forlino’s restaurant at One Fullerton. They have a 10-year-old son together.
A check on LinkedIn by The Straits Times shows that Mr Sayre currently works as the co-founder and chief executive of automation firm Kabam Robotics.
In a 2014 interview with bridal site SingaporeBrides.com, Ms Cheng said that the pair had met online in 2005 when Mr Sayre had emailed her after stumbling on her blog.
She said then: “Usually, I ignore any emails from the opposite sex, but for some reason, I decided to reply to Mike’s. We added each other on MSN and in the beginning, we chatted every now and then, but as time went by, we started talking via MSN more frequently, and that eventually progressed into web-cam chats.
“After numerous trips back and forth America and Singapore, Mike decided to move to Singapore for me after his graduation.”
The blogger rose to prominence in the mid-2000s as one of Singapore’s first social media celebrities, winning awards and snagging sponsorship deals.
In recent years, however, she has courted controversy with some of her tweets and comments, such as those shaming overweight individuals or racist in nature.