Singaporean actress Chen Yixin moves to Paris: 'I have to trust the process and I have to grow'

Singaporean actress Chen Yixin, 26, announced on Tuesday (Sep 8) that she has moved to Paris. In a video uploaded to her social media platforms, Chen, who is the daughter of veteran entertainers Edmund Chen and Xiang Yun, said that the move was due to a desire to see what her life "could look like somewhere new", following years of scrutiny in the public eye.

Recording the video in an apartment, Chen said: "For the longest time, I kept most of myself to myself. I don't really like talking to the camera just because so much of my personal life [has been] discussed. I didn't want to give any more ammunition to be picked apart."

Chen acknowledged that a part of her is possibly "acting out" due to the pressure she has put on herself.

"There [are] digital footprints of me growing up, which is really not the most ideal for a young girl," said Chen, who added that she was "very, very sensitive to unnecessary noises" and that it affected her.

According to Chen, she also started to realise that she didn't feel as connected to her content as she used to because she didn't dare and didn't know how to share the things she wanted to share.

"In fact, in this video, I actually had a letter written but I decided to go rogue with it because I want to build a community around me that loves me for who I am, that knows me for who I am," said Chen.

Pointing out the irony of choosing to put her life on the internet, Chen added: "Mainly, I wanna find out how my life could look like in somewhere new. I have to trust the process and I have to grow."

With Chen having "no friends" in Paris, she wanted to share her experience and have her followers be "a part of [her] journey".

Chen's video comes about six months after her appearance on 8days' chat show DNA, where she and Xiang Yun shared the challenges she faced while growing up as the child of celebrities and how she regularly came home from school in tears.

“I think for me, I experienced a lot of ostracism," said Chen at the time. 

"But I also have to acknowledge that a lot of the time it’s probably something I pressured myself into thinking. I withdrew myself from a lot of people because I felt they knew more about me than I knew about them."

Following news of Chen's move to Paris, many of her peers left supportive comments on her page, including actress Chantalle Ng, who wished her the best and encouraged her to "go find" former actress Sharon Au, who is also based in Paris. 

Au then replied, "Auntie Sharon is here", prompting Xiang Yun to express her gratitude.