She had the world at her feet after rising to fame in a popular Chinese television show before a surrogacy scandal ruined it all.
Zheng Shuang, originally from Shenyang, China, enjoyed all the perks of being a successful actress after her 2009 breakout role in Meteor Show, including modelling for Prada and receiving nominations at prestigious award shows.
The 33-year-old’s personal life equally flourished, and she was enjoying a romantic relationship with one of China’s biggest reality TV producers, Zhang Heng, with the pair marrying in America in 2019 before opting to become parents via surrogacy.
China forbids surrogacy, but travelling abroad to have surrogate children has increasingly become an option for some Chinese couples, particularly wealthy ones.
Things took a turn shortly after they exchanged vows when the couple’s relationship broke down two months before the surrogate babies were due.
She faced accusations of demanding in a recorded phone call that the surrogate mothers abort their foetuses seven months into the pregnancies, despite her ex offering to be a single father. Zheng accused the producer of attempting to extort her.
Shockwaves reverberated around China when Zhang alleged that the US-based children, born to two separate women in late 2019 and early 2020, were physically abused while in Zheng’s care – a claim she unequivocally denies.
Now, the actress, who was dropped by Prada, has lost her riches and enviable lifestyle, and is said to be grappling with intense financial issues. Reports claim that she is facing threats from creditors regarding a lack of debt repayments.
She was once a highly regarded actress in China, but Zheng Shuang suffered a fall from grace after being found at the centre of series of shocking scandals (seen at a 2020 Prada event in China)
In January 2021, Zhang took to Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, to explain his ‘helpless’ situation, saying that he had remained in the US to care for his children, whom he described as ‘two young and innocent lives’, according to BBC.
Given that fans had not seen the actress pregnant publicly, it came as a surprise for many and simultaneously set off a debate about whether surrogacy should be completely banned in China, according to the South China Morning Post.
‘Surrogacy is clearly banned in our country, as its disregard to life makes one’s blood boil,’ China Central Television, the state broadcaster, said. ‘No law or ethics will allow it.’
Chinese outlets found American birth certificates from the states of Colorado and Nevada detailing the birth of a boy on December 19, 2019, and a girl on January 4, 2020.
Zheng’s name was listed on both documents, with a date of birth matching her Chinese legal documents.
The drama continued when secret phone recordings of the couple were made public, where the two families discussed the options available after their split.
Zheng’s father suggested the couple abandon their children at the hospital – an action the celebrity producer’s father branded illegal.
Actress Zheng Shuang and her ex-boyfriend Zhang Heng are pictured in Shanghai, China in 2019
The Zhang family released a recording where the two families can be overheard discussing the options over the newborns, which included abandoning them (pictured Zhang with his children)
Zhang said he noticed a burn under his son’s nose (pictured) after the toddler returned from spending time with his mother
The Zhengs suggested putting the children up for adoption while begrudging the fact the children were not aborted while in the womb.
Zheng’s attitude during the alleged call and the fact that she allegedly considered forcing the surrogate mothers to terminate their pregnancies because she didn’t want the babies saw her come under fierce criticism online.
The hashtags of their birth certificates and the alleged recording saw 1.53 billion and 1.96 billion views on Weibo.
Zheng, who was photographed in a Prada ad campaign nine days prior, was sacked from her position at the Italian fashion house, making her the most short-lived brand ambassador in the brand’s history.
At the time, Prada said: ‘Following significant recent media coverage of her personal life, Prada Group has today decided to cancel its collaboration with the actress Zheng Shuang, which was announced January 11, 2021.’
The hashtag #DoYouSupportSurrogacy trended on Weibo, with many claiming the route to parenthood is morally unethical, according to the BBC.
The producer alleged that Zheng had abandoned their children two years on from their split and did not want to sign legal papers which would allow the children to travel to China.
Zheng denied the allegations and instead claimed that Zhang was cheating on her in September 2019. She eventually returned to China alone while Zhang settled in Denver with his parents and children.
Pictured: Zheng Shuang smiling as she walks down the red carpet at the 31st Hong Kong Film Awards in 2012
The father-of- two won custody of his children (pictured) in May 2021, while the actress gained visitation rights
Zheng responded to the claims, saying, ‘it’s a very sad and private matter for me’, accusing Zhang of attempting to extort her.
Then, in 2020, Zheng filed for custodianship after Zhang alleged that she abandoned the family in America.
‘I told her I understand because you are a celebrity you don’t want anyone to know you have a surrogation baby in the United States,’ he said.
The fertility clinic in which Zheng engaged also claimed to be owed $68,000 (£54,825) for the successful surrogacy, according to Today Online. The clinic also confirmed Zheng’s request to terminate the pregnancies at the seven-month mark, which was denied.
The clinic further alleged that the actress wanted to arrange monthly payments in order to have her children raised in the U.S., instead of bringing them back to China.
Those claims, came alongside Zheng’s allegation made in Denver County Court, after he noticed bruises on his children.
‘The past six months both of my children got injured really bad when they stay with my ex-girlfriend’s,’ Zhang told CBS News, adding that his daughter needed stitches on one of her fingers, while his toddler son appeared to have suffered a burn under his nose.
Zheng and Zhang (seen during a press conference in Shanghai in August, 2019) welcomed a son and daughter via surrogate in December 2019 and January 2020. However, the clinic confirmed the actress wanted to terminate the pregnancies at the seven month mark
Zheng (pictured on a fashion magazine) was blacklisted by Chinese state regulators due to her surrogacy scandal and was dropped by Italian luxury label Prada
The producer further claimed that his ex-partner’s accounts for the injuries were inconsistent and that his children were growing more afraid of their mother as time on.
‘My son was so struggling, ”No, don’t go dad. Let’s go home. I’m afraid. I’m afraid of mom” and crying,’ Zhang said. ‘That is why I called child protective service because he told me mama did it.’
The father added that child protective services’ failure to investigate his claims prompted him to speak out.
‘I want everyone living in Colorado to know this story. The reason we have the child protective services department is because we want to protect our children before they got hurt not after they got hurt the department started to investigate, that’s too late,’ Zhang said.
Zheng denied her ex-husband’s claims through a statement issued by her attorneys, Martha Timmers and Madeleine Rosengrants of Sherman & Howard.
‘Shuang Zheng unequivocally denies she has ever abused or neglected her children,’ the statement read.
Meanwhile, Zheng was found guilty of evading roughly $2.3million (£1.8million) in taxes in 2021.
The series of scandals led the actress to be listed among ‘actors with poor conduct’ by Chinese state regulators and was therefore blacklisted and banned from making public appearances.
Chinese megastar actress was accused of physically abusing her two children born via surrogate by her ex-husband and reality TV producer, Heng Zhang (seen in Shanghai in 2019)
The actress (seen at a Beijing gala in January, 2021) is now reportedly using a old phone and has a ‘swollen’ appearance
China’s National Radio and Television Administration issued a comment on Zheng’s actions, writing via CNN: ‘(She) circumvented the law to seek surrogacy overseas, then wanting to abandon (her babies), actors like her lack personal virtue,’ the commentary said.
‘We won’t give the chance and platform to celebrities embroiled in such scandals to make public appearance.’
In May 2021, Zhang won the custody battle and posted on Weibo that he was granted ‘parenting solo decision-making authority’ while Zheng was granted visitation rights, according to The Straits Times.
‘My hands are shaking with excitement, as this may be the only good news for me after more than one year of suffering,’ he wrote on Weibo.
Now, the 33-year-old actress is said to be living abroad in the US and facing financial turmoil.
In a video posted at the end of last year, she told how she was unwell and living in dirty conditions, and her lack of finances have caused her pet dog to lose weight, VN Express International reported via Z News.
The Vietnamese news outlet said that the actress failed to adjust to her changed lifestyle, with her unemployment and excessive spending plunging her into debt.
In a reality worlds away from the height of her career, Zheng is reportedly using an old phone and has a ‘swollen’ appearance with ‘thinning hair’, the news outlet claimed.
The Vietnamese outlet added that production teams who stopped projects midway due to Zheng’s scandals are now seeking compensation and have filed lawsuits against the actress.
The court ordered Zheng to pay 120 million yuan (£13.26million) to the ‘Secret Keepers’ crew, VN Express International reported via Renwu Magazine.
Meanwhile, VN Express International also revealed via The Paper that a second court ruling demanded Zheng pay 90.5 million yuan (£10million) to the ‘Jade Lover’ crew.
The outlet also claimed that, in April last year, legal documents disclosed by Tianyancha, a business data and investigation platform, declared Zheng bankrupt, instigating speculation online about whether she had repositioned assets to evade repayment.
