Actress Reveals Pregnancy Just Months After Her Divorce

Actress Lee Si-young is expecting her second child five months after her divorce from restaurateur Cho Seong-hyun.

The Sweet Home actress, 43, announced the news on July 8, revealing on Instagram at the time that she had decided to implant the embryo that she and Cho had created via in vitro fertilization during their marriage when faced with the end of its five-year storage period.

“My ex-husband did not agree, but I have decided to bear the full weight of this decision,” the Boys Over Flowers actress wrote on her Instagram, as per The Korea Times. “I could not bring myself to discard the embryo that was nearing the end of its storage period. My life as a mother has always been my greatest source of strength.”

“When I had my son eight years ago, it was before getting married and while I was filming a drama. Each year, I regretted and blamed myself for the moments I spent in anxiety,” she continued. “I always wanted children and I never wanted to repeat the regrets I felt with my first child.”

While Lee acknowledged there “may be many difficulties in the future,” she said that she wants “to believe that my choice now is more valuable.”

Lee’s ex-husband told local South Korean outlet Dispatch that while he didn’t agree with her decision, he would fulfill his fatherly duties.

“Although I opposed the second pregnancy, now that the child is coming, I will do my best as a father,” he said. “Lee and I have continued to communicate for the sake of our first child and we will cooperate regarding the upbringing of both children.”

Lee and Cho married in 2017, welcoming their first child, a son, in 2018. In March, the duo announced they had decided to divorce after eight years of marriage.

Lee’s decision has sparked a conversation about ethical and legal concerns regarding the implantation of frozen embryos without mutual consent in Korea, where it is incredibly uncommon to do so, as per The Korea Times.