Actress Guan Xiaotong skips social media birthday post for boyfriend Lu Han for first time in 8 years, fueling breakup rumors

Chinese actress Guan Xiaotong. Photo from Guan's Weibo

Citing Sohu, Znews reported that Lu celebrated his 35th birthday on Sunday. Since the couple made their relationship public in Oct. 2017, Guan had traditionally posted a heartfelt birthday message for Lu on her Weibo account at midnight on April 20 every year. However, this year, she refrained from making any social media posts or comments, prompting many to speculate that this could indicate a breakup.

Rumors of a potential breakup between Lu and Guan have been circulating online, particularly after some incidents in late 2024. At the time, Guan’s film was airing, and Lu had shared a post to promote it. However, he quickly deleted the post, raising suspicions. The hashtag "Lu Han deletes post promoting Guan Xiaotong’s film" went viral on Weibo, quickly accumulating over 200 million views.

Adding fuel to the fire, Guan’s management studio reportedly removed comments mentioning Lu from its Weibo account. During a public appearance in late February this year, the actress did not address her relationship with Lu. Instead, she focused on her new film project and mentioned she would be busy with work in the coming months.

Chinese actor Lu Han. Photo from Lu's Weibo

Guan, 28, has been a prominent figure in the Chinese entertainment industry since childhood. Encouraged by her family, she first appeared in the 2003 films "Profoundly Affecting" and "Nuan." In 2017, she was named one of "Forbes China’s 30 Under 30," a list of influential individuals in their respective fields under the age of 30.

Often referred to as the "Nation’s Daughter" in China, Guan is considered one of the "Four Dan Actresses" of the post-90s generation and is recognized as part of the "New Four Dan Actresses" by China’s national broadcaster CCTV. The "Four Dan" label refers to the four most successful and financially influential actresses in China, with the original members being Xu Jinglei, Zhou Xun, Vicki Zhao, and Zhang Ziyi.

Lu, also widely recognized by his stage name Luhan, first gained fame as a member of the South Korean-Chinese boy band EXO and its sub-group EXO-M, from which he departed in Oct. 2014.

In 2017, Forbes ranked him as the second highest-paid celebrity in China on its "China Celebrity 100" list, following Chinese actress Fan Bingbing.