Rachel Wong (Singapore Influencer)
Rachel Wong | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 1995 Singapore |
| Spouse(s) | Anders Aplin (m. 2019, div. 2020) |
Background
Early Life
Rachel Wong, born 1995, is a social media influencer. She currently has 44,300 followers on Instagram.[1]
Education
Wong majored in marketing at Nanyang Business School in Nanyang Technological University, where she was also a member of the scuba diving club.[2] Prior to University, she attended National Junior College.[3]
Professional Career
Marketing Career Highlights
While still in university, Wong worked as a Digital Marketing Intern at the Singapore Sports Hub.[3] After graduating, Wong served as a Group Communications Intern for CapitaLand.[3]
Stint in the entertainment industry
Wong has hosted for several brands such as Great Eastern, DBS and Liese.[4] She has also made appearances in a number of short films and commercials. Most recently, she was cast as the lead in short film Free and Easy, which premiered at the Freedom Film Festival in 2020.[4] Presently, she is as an actress, host and talent with Faces Talent Management.[4]
Personal Life
Relationship with Anders Aplin
Wong met national footballer Anders Aplin while she was in University.[5] Both were members of the scuba diving club. They began dating after a diving trip to Tioman Island, and got married at Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa in December 2019.[2]
Four months later in April 2020, the couple split and got an annulment.[2] Their marriage was legally annulled in March 2021.[6]
Controversy about her infidelity
In December 2020, Wong was accused by a woman named Olivia Wu of cheating on her husband, through a series of Instagram stories titled “Cheater Of 2020”.[7]
In the stories, Wu claimed that Wong had been unfaithful to Aplin with 2 other men, her gym trainer, a man surnamed Han, and the emcee at Wong’s wedding, a man surnamed Wan.[8]
Upon discovering the stories, Wong sued Wu for defamation.[6] She claimed that the stories caused her to suffer damage to her reputation, which in turn affected her income as a public figure and social media influencer.[8]
To substantiate her claims, Wu sought access to Wong’s private correspondence with her gym trainer Han, as well as her diary entries from when Wong was first in a relationship with Aplin in June 2016, to April 2020, when the couple began annulment proceedings.
She also petitioned for access to Wong’s correspondence with Wan, as well as her diary entries concerning Wan, from the date she began a relationship with Aplin to 27 August 2021, when she filed a lawsuit against Wu.[8]
Wong’s lawyers objected to Wu’s requests, however their objections were overturned by the State Courts, who granted Wu access to:
- All correspondence between Wong and Han from June 2016 to June 2020[8]
- All correspondence between Wong and Wan from June 2018 to June 2020[8]
- All diary entries relating to Wan from June 2018 to June 2020[8]
Wong expressed disappointment in response to this ruling, but remained compliant, stating that “Whilst we are disappointed with the decision, we trust and respect the outcome and the appeal process and will leave the honourable court to make its necessary findings and determine the truth of the matter.”[9]
Singapore High Court rejects Wong’s appeal and orders her to turn in correspondence
On June 28, 2022, the High Court judge, Choo Han Teck dismissed Wong’s appeal to the district court's prior ruling.[10] Having deemed the documents “plainly relevant” to support either Wu’s claim of Wong’s fidelity or Wong’s claims of defamation, the High Court ordered Wong to present the materials for the trial.[11]
Not only did Choo rebut claims by Wong's lawyer that Wu’s case was a “fishing expedition”, saying that potential evidence has surfaced, referring to Wong’s past diary entries.[11] When speaking of Wong’s statements to defend her case, Choo dismissed them saying, “The narrative is not clear. By a combination of Instagram-speak and the utter failure of counsel to translate that into English, (Wong’s) statement of claim is filled with chaff."[10]
Wong’s response to the High Court’s ruling and orders
In an Instagram story posted on 30 June 2022, Wong shared that she “leaned into the judicial system for support in honouring [her] truth”, “but at some point…had to stop outsourcing [her] truth and own it instead”.[12] She then went on to conclude that her truth is “unchanged” regardless of the trail’s results.
Rachel Wong on the claims of infidelity against her and the alleged defamation that she suffered from:
“I could have stayed small, kept quiet and live in the villain narrative they painted for me.”[12]
As of July 2022, trial dates for the case have not yet been set.
References/Citations
- ↑ rachelwongggg. “rachelwongggg”. Instagram. n.d. Accessed 1 July 2022.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Seng, Sabrina. “S’pore Influencer Rachel Wong Sues Woman For Infidelity Claims, Made To Surrender Diary Entries & Correspondence”. MustShareNews. April 28, 2022. Accessed on 28 April 2022.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Wong, Rachel. “Rachel Wong LinkedIn Profile”. LinkedIn. n.d. Accessed on 28 April 2022.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Faces Talent Management. “Rachel Wong Profile”. Faces TM. August 2020. Accessed on 28 April 2022.
- ↑ Tang, Tansey. “RACHEL WONG AND ANDERS APLIN’S FREE-SPIRITED PRE-WEDDING SHOOT”. SingaporeBrides. January 2020. Accessed on 28 April 2022.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lawnet. “Wong Leng Si Rachel v Olivia Wu Su Han” Lawnet. April 28, 2022. Accessed on 28 April 2022.
- ↑ Teo, Melissa. “Influencer Rachel Wong suing woman who called her 'cheater of 2020' - here's the tea on their legal battle”. AsiaOne. April 27, 2022. Accessed on 28 April 2022.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Tan, Chloe. “Everything About the Full-Time S’pore Influencer Defamation Lawsuit Summarised for You”. GoodyFeed. April 27, 2022. Accessed on 28 April 2022.
- ↑ Vijayan, K.C. “Instagram influencer fails to block access to correspondence, diary entries in defamation lawsuit”. Straits Times. April 25, 2022. Accessed on April 28, 2022.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Tang, Louisa. “High Court orders influencer Rachel Wong to turn over correspondence with 2 men to woman who accused her of infidelity”. TODAY. June 29, 2022. Accessed 1 July 2022.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Tan, Fiona. “S'pore influencer Rachel Wong ordered by the High Court to share correspondence with 2 men involved in alleged infidelity”. Mothership. June 30, 2022. Accessed 1 July 2022.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Wong, Rachel. “rachelwongggg”. Instagram. June 30, 2022. Accessed 1 July 2022.