"Just his mere existence, Ryu Si-won, gives me so much reassurance." Math instructor Lee Ah-young explained why she chose to be the 19-years-younger wife of actor Ryu Si-won over a high salary and career.
On the 26th, the TV CHOSUN variety show "Lover of Joseon" continued from last week and revealed the daily life of Ryu Si-won and Lee Ah-young.
Ryu Si-won remarried in 2019 to Lee Ah-young, who is 19 years his junior. Afterward, Lee Ah-young's existence was kept veiled, but recently Ryu Si-won's close friend in the entertainment industry, comedian Yoon Jungsoo, revealed the wedding on "Lover of Joseon," exposing her appearance. Ryu Si-won and Lee Ah-young attended Yoon Jungsoo's wedding together, and among the scenes, her striking beauty passing by even briefly became a topic of conversation.
Even Yoon Jungsoo joked, "After the wedding aired, articles about the daughter-in-law were the most numerous." Ryu Si-won said, "Honestly, I really wanted to make it public. When my wife goes somewhere to eat, so many people ask for her contact information. There are so many that it bothers me. I wanted to open it up quickly so people would know that instructor Lee Ah-young is Ryu Si-won's wife."
But it was a bit more complicated for Lee Ah-young before she decided to appear on the show. She said, "When people saw it, she was exposed naturally while attending brother Yoon Jungsoo's wedding and that led to her appearing on the show, but at first I worried a lot." She added, "Even before, when my husband appeared on shows, I couldn't help but care about people's reactions. When I watched from beside him, I felt frustrated, upset and angry thinking, 'He's not that kind of person; he's a good person — why do people speak badly of my husband?'"
In fact, Ryu Si-won went through a sensational lawsuit during his divorce from his former wife. He married in 2010 and had one daughter, but the marriage ended in divorce in 2012, only two years later. He then engaged in a divorce lawsuit that lasted about three years, longer than the marriage. During that process, Ryu Si-won was accused of assault, threats and location tracking of his ex-wife and was fined 700,000 won. Conversely, he sued his ex-wife for perjury, and she was fined 70,000 won for that. As a result, Ryu Si-won was ordered to pay 30 million won in alimony and 390 million won in property division, and during the lawsuit period he was ordered to pay 49.5 million won in child support and 250,000 won monthly until 2030.
The 19-year age gap and these incidents were also barriers to Ryu Si-won and Lee Ah-young's marriage. Conscious of that, Lee Ah-young said, "When I appeared on the show there were parts I was worried about. I also wondered how it would look with that image. But I thought it might be better to appear on the show to show that we live so nicely and well, and my husband shares our daily life and is very caring, and that it's not the image portrayed in the articles."
For love, Lee Ah-young chose Ryu Si-won over her career. When Ryu Si-won began, "My wife received a tremendous offer during her offline instructor days before marriage," Lee Ah-young said, "The contract period was seven years, and they asked her to focus only on work during that time. It was just before our marriage. Of course I didn't want to miss it, but looking ahead I thought I would regret choosing work." Ryu Si-won confessed, "I am so grateful and touched that she chose me there. Because if that condition had been me, I wonder if I could have done it easily; it wasn't that easy. So conversely I feel apologetic throughout our marriage."
Lee Ah-young emphasized her unwavering affection for Ryu Si-won, saying, "I just feel reassured. Just his existence as Ryu Si-won makes my husband's place feel so solid to me. He is reliable." Ryu Si-won responded, "My feelings haven't changed since our newlywed days. It's been six years. And I'm surprised at myself for that."
Meanwhile, their daughter, who was born last year through in vitro fertilization, recently celebrated her first birthday. Lee Ah-young said, "My husband always writes a handwritten letter or card for every anniversary. This Christmas he was busy, the child was born and I was overwhelmed, yet he still wrote one. Lately I'm interested in velvet material, and the card my husband wrote was velvet. Also, my husband always writes letters to his parents on Lunar New Year, Chuseok and their birthdays," expressing her emotion.
[Photo] Provided by TV CHOSUN.
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