LayarHijau – The marriage of internet celebrity and convert entrepreneur Clara Shinta to Muhammad Alexander Assad reportedly fell apart just 52 days after their wedding on August 30, 2025.
In a podcast with Denny Sumargo, Denny Sumargo, an Indonesian actor, model, presenter, and former professional basketball player. Clara revealed that she felt ignored by her husband, who was too focused on watching Chinese dramas. “From the moment we walked until we got home, he held my hand, but his eyes were on the screen, watching Chinese dramas. No talking, no looking at me,” she said. Frustrated by his behavior, Clara even said sharply, “I even said, I might as well become a Chinese drama myself.”
This phenomenon is not entirely unfamiliar in China. Recently, the Shucheng People’s Court handled a divorce case where a wife’s excessive obsession with the drama Empresses in the Palace caused her marriage to deteriorate. The couple, Jin and Zhang, who married in 2005 after being college classmates, faced growing differences in lifestyle over time. Zhang became a full-time housewife, while Jin pursued his career outside the home.
During the 2012 divorce trial, Jin stated that his wife spent too much time at home, avoided social interactions, and almost always watched dramas, especially Empresses in the Palace. Zhang rarely did household chores and would often shut herself off for days after arguments, leaving Jin feeling trapped in emotional abuse.
Zhang defended herself by mimicking dialogue from the popular palace drama, hoping for more understanding from her husband. She said, “Dear, since we got married, we have always relied on and supported each other… I sometimes joke, and you respond sweetly—that’s part of the fun in life. Why call it emotional abuse? For this pure and sincere love, I gave up a stable job in a big city and followed you here. Now you file for divorce, and it hurts me deeply. Every couple argues, but if every quarrel ends in divorce, what about the children?”
However, Jin felt the rift was too deep to repair. After several mediation sessions, the couple agreed to divorce: the child would be in Zhang’s custody, Jin would pay monthly support, and all family assets and savings would go to Zhang.
The cases of Clara Shinta and Jin-Zhang illustrate that seemingly minor habits, like excessive watching of television dramas, can become serious triggers for marital conflict if communication and mutual respect are lacking. Unfortunately, there is no official data in China documenting divorces caused specifically by one partner’s obsession with dramas or TV programs. According to 2015 statistics, the divorce rate in China rose by 30 percent. A report from the Shuangli Law Office in Beijing—which handles many divorce cases—stated that nine out of ten divorces involve disputes triggered by social media.
