Chinese actress Xue Jianing is frequently referred to as the ex-girlfriend of renowned Blossoms Shanghai actor Hu Ge, but she has blossomed very well on her own without him.

Xue, 45, is the former lover about whom Hu once said he had “most regrets”. Her name is still mentioned every time he and his wife, whom he married in 2022, appear in the news.

When Xue met Hu in 2004, she was already nationally famous for her role as Ha Mei in the 2002 television series Pink Ladies while Hu had yet to make his name as an actor.

Adapted from Taiwan cartoonist Zhu Deyong’s work of the same name, Pink Ladies was the most-watched show on the mainland and in Taiwan when it was aired.

Xue played the part of a woman with no interest in having a romantic relationship, and was a big fan of Japanese and South Korean pop culture.

Her cute appearance and lively personality were considered a perfect match for the role.

But the actress said she was nothing like her character because she did not follow trends blindly.

Xue was born to an intellectual family in northeastern China’s Heilongjiang province. She began hosting television shows at the age of eight and was a local star.

In 1999, she graduated with a major in performing arts from the Shanghai Theatre Academy, achieving the highest score in her class.

Xue and Hu, who attended the same theatre academy, began dating in 2006.

Hu’s career was in its infancy and he was appearing in the television drama Chinese Paladin which shot him to fame.

In August that year, he was involved in an car accident in which his female assistant died and Hu was left with serious injuries to his face.

Hu later revealed that Xue had stopped working for a year to look after him.

They separated in 2008 soon after Hu had recovered. At the time, he said he believed men should be more successful than women, and he was uncertain about his future, which is why he had broken up with her.

Xue seldom mentioned Hu after their relationship ended.

When Hu became popular again in 2015 for the dramas The Disguiser and Nirvana in Fire, Xue responded to media requests by saying: “I will not take advantage of his popularity.”

Xue later developed faith in Buddhism.

In 2017, she announced on Weibo that she had completed the five Buddhist paths – a demanding practice believed to lead to spiritual awakening – after a year, and that the religion had helped her “see things more clearly.”

During that time, she was in Tibet and living in a temple, leading some to speculate that she had become a nun for a short period.

She continued to believe in Buddhism after that and often practises meditation.

Xue remains unmarried and continues to appear in television series and theatre plays once in a while.

Although she said she enjoys the challenge of different kinds of roles, Xue said she is not interested in the trappings of fame or fortune.

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