Simu Liu confirmed he and Jade Bender have broken up. The Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star, 33, said he was “going through a breakup” during an appearance at the San Francisco tech conference Dreamforce last week. Liu and the Senior Year star, 25, never discussed their relationship but they did make two red carpet appearances together over the summer.
Liu brought up his relationship status after Salesforce executive vice president Jody Kohner asked him about his mental health, referring to a Sept. 3 Instagram post. At the time, Liu reflected on his life-changing experience as the lead of a Marvel movie. Liu wrote that he was neglecting “to spend the necessary time to check in with myself and prioritize my mental health” during the whirlwind experience on the Shang-Chi media tour. “How are you today?” Kohner asked Liu.
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“I’m OK, I’m OK,” Liu replied, reports SFGate. “I’m learning to prioritize myself, I’m becoming more and more comfortable with the idea of therapy and support systems… It really just hit me recently just how burnt out I was.”
“I experienced moments where I’m living my dream and it didn’t quite feel like I was where I needed to be with myself,” Liu continued. Then, he added that he is “also going through a breakup,” which inspired the audience to break out in “aww”s. “That’s probably also contributing to it but that’s OK, I’ll be OK,” Liu said.
Liu and Bender were linked in June when they were seen leaving a West Hollywood restaurant together, reports PEOPLE. They were later seen at a taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, when Liu appeared on the show as a guest during Chelsea Handler’s stint as guest host. In late July, they made their red carpet debut at the 2022 ESPY Awards. In August, they walked the Bullet Train red carpet together.
Liu’s acclaimed performance in Shang-Chi has led to a flurry of opportunities for the Kim’s Convenience star. He will next be seen in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, which opens in July 2023. His other upcoming movies include One True Loves, Atlas, Arthur the King, and a Shang-Chi sequel. He also published a memoir, We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story, in May. As for Bender, she scored her breakout role in the Rebel Wilson-starring Netflix comedy Senior Year.
