Actor James Seah responds to question about whether he's still married to Nicole Chang Min

Three months after divorce rumours involving James Seah and his influencer wife Nicole Chang Min, 34, first surfaced, the 35-year-old actor finally met the media at a press conference for his upcoming Mediacorp drama Brighter Days.

Naturally, questions about his personal life came up, with several media outlets asking about the speculation surrounding his marriage.

Seah and Chang Min tied the knot in January 2022 after dating for six years.

The actor previously addressed the rumours in an online statement, calling the allegations "baseless" and denying them. He also asked the public to respect their privacy.

8days.sg was one of the last media outlets to speak to Seah that day, and despite having fielded questions about his personal life throughout the event, he remained polite, patient and composed during our interview.

His reserved demeanour was a stark contrast to co-star Felicia Chin, whose unmistakable cackle could be heard echoing through the room.

In the new Mediacorp multi-generational series, which spans more than three decades, Seah plays two characters – father-and-son pair Soh Seng and Soh Da Ping.

Soh Seng is a famous host in the '90s, while Da Ping is a troubled – or, in Seah's words, "kind of poor thing" – man who resorts to questionable means to get what he wants.

Da Ping is also a chronic liar who loves stirring up trouble, something Seah was quick to distance himself from in real life.

"Ugh, I don't want. I stay away [from such trouble]. I think for me, as a man, all men want peace. Please, no drama," he said.

He also insisted he's nowhere near as good a liar as his character.

"I can act lah, but I don't think I can lie," he smirked.

As Brighter Days explores themes of misunderstanding, anger and the inability to let go of the past, Seah, who's Christian, shared how his faith has shaped his approach to forgiveness.

"I feel forgive and forget is not easy to do, but I guess forgiving is a decision you have to make first. Then the forget part, of course, there are wounds internally that need time to heal," he said.

So how does Seah heal?

He keeps himself busy and turns to exercise when he needs to clear his head.

"I guess these activities keep me distracted or calm me down because whenever I do this kind of activities, I look inwards and reflect on myself also," he said.

"But for this current period of time, I've been a bit more busy with work, so work has been keeping me busy."

Of course, it's hard to talk about Seah's life lately without addressing the intense interest in his marriage over the past few months.

Seah and Chang Min have yet to publicly clarify their current marital status.

When we asked if he was finally ready to address the speculation, Seah deadpanned: "What I want to say has been said previously in my statement so I'm not going to comment any further."

So we asked him directly: Is he still married?

Seah let out a loud "huh?" before smiling and asking: "Your boss asked this ah? Hi boss, no comment."

Brighter Days is available for free on demand on mewatch from Aug 24, and premieres the same day at 9pm on Channel 8, airing weekdays.

This story was originally published in 8Days.

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