Jewelry alumnus and broadcaster Lee Ji-hyun spoke about the pain she experienced after her second divorce.
On the 3rd episode of MBN variety show Kim Ju-ha's Day & Night, single moms Lee Ji-hyun and Jung Ga-eun appeared as guests.
In response, Kim Ju-ha cautiously brought up the topic of divorce, saying, "Haven't these two of you experienced moments we didn't know about?" and "There must have been many difficult moments leading up to the decision of the pain called divorce."
Jung Ga-eun joked, "How should we prepare tissues?", and Lee Ji-hyun bluntly asked, "I've done it twice—first time or second time? Which one should I talk about?", provoking laughter.
Then Kim Ju-ha said, "You didn't live together for the second one, right? Actually it was just paperwork, but even that divorce took quite a while," and Lee Ji-hyun replied, "That's right. Sign the paper and it's over," adding, "If you sign the paper it becomes that. You shouldn't sign carelessly. We've all tried it, but divorce litigation is actually more difficult and messier than any other court case, and because of that, the moment you sign the document (marriage registration), there are pains that you have to wage an enormous war to break that document," conveying the reality.
At that point Jung Ga-eun asked, "What year was your first divorce?", and Lee Ji-hyun snapped, "Sister! I don't remember! There's an eraser in my head!", making everyone burst into laughter.
Jung Ga-eun said, "I divorced in 2018. Now the word divorce comes up a lot, but to be blunt, at the time divorce was a stigma. So if news came out saying I divorced, I felt like my life would be over," expressing her distress.
Lee Ji-hyun agreed, saying, "Me too," and Jung Ga-eun added, "But I had to raise my child. I was very afraid until it was publicized in the media, thinking, If I don't do broadcasting activities, how will I make a living and raise my child?"
Lee Ji-hyun revealed, "That fear is enormous. From that feeling I developed panic disorder. When I was going through my second divorce, I was so anxious about whether an article would come out or not, and as my family suffered so much, the guilt was overwhelming. Worrying about it so much ultimately brought on panic disorder," surprising everyone.
She said, "Actually my body is very healthy. But panic disorder is the problem. When it hits so severely, even though I know it, I think, 'This doesn't feel right; maybe there's a problem with my heart. Maybe it's something else,' and from that fear I unknowingly go to the emergency room. I call 119. I can't walk. Before panic disorder I liked driving. But I can't drive. I'm too afraid to drive distances over 30 minutes."
Meanwhile, Lee Ji-hyun married a private citizen seven years her senior in 2013 and had one son and one daughter, but they divorced by mutual agreement in 2016. She then remarried in 2017 to an ophthalmologist but had her second divorce in 2020, and she is now pursuing a new challenge as a hair designer while raising her two children alone.
[Photo] OSEN DB, MBN
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