Bruce Lee’s former lover Betty Ting shares details of the night he died

Hong Kong-American martial artist Bruce Lee (R) and Taiwanese actress Betty Ting. Photo from Instagram/mr_kun_san

In a rare appearance on a TVB talk show aired Wednesday, Ting recounted the events of July 20, 1973, when Lee, then 33, died at her residence in Hong Kong.

Ting said she met Lee in 1970, and despite his being married with children at the time, it was he who pursued the relationship.

"The whole world loved him—it would’ve been strange if I didn’t," she said. Lee, she added, was drawn to her honesty and straightforward personality.

The pair became inseparable. Ting accompanied Lee to meetings with producer Raymond Chow, picked out his clothes, and even took him for haircuts during the filming of the 1972 film "The Way of the Dragon." On set, staff affectionately called her "Little Dragon Girl," a nod to her constant presence by Lee’s side.

Ting was also with Lee on the day of his death. She recalled that he arrived at her apartment at 5 p.m. Around 7 p.m., he complained of a headache and took a painkiller she gave him before lying down to rest. They had planned to meet Chow later that evening.

When Chow called to check on their whereabouts, Ting tried to wake Lee but received no response. Chow arrived around 9:45 p.m. and also failed to rouse him. Ting’s personal doctor called for an ambulance around 10 p.m., and Lee was rushed to the hospital.

Ting explained that she did not call for help immediately because Chow had instructed her to wait until he arrived. She also admitted she panicked, unsure of what to do. Chow, she said, believed the situation might be similar to a previous incident two months earlier when Lee briefly fell into a coma but later recovered.

The ambulance’s departure from Ting’s home revealed their affair to the public and triggered a media storm. Under Chow’s guidance—and reportedly at the request of Lee’s family—Ting initially denied both the ambulance's origin and her romantic involvement with Lee, saying that she felt she had no right to speak out.

"I was 26 years old at the time, and the man adored by millions died in my bed," Ting recalled. "I became the enemy of the public."

In the aftermath, rumors spread that she had given Lee an aphrodisiac or poisoned him—accusations she flatly denied, stating that she had never even heard of those drugs.

A coroner later concluded that Lee likely died from cerebral edema, possibly due to an allergic reaction to a common painkiller. Ting stressed that the medicine was one Lee had taken before, and she and her own family had used it as well.

"Frankly, even if the medicine caused it, what could I have done?" she said. "I didn’t create the drug."

Though decades have passed, the trauma remains. Ting revealed that she still checks on her daughter Candy Heung—whom she shares with ex-husband Charles Heung—at night to ensure she’s breathing. Still, she believes Lee was fortunate to pass peacefully in his sleep. Her Buddhist faith, she said, helped her overcome fear and guilt, allowing her to channel grief into personal growth and charitable acts.

Recent reports by TVB noted that advances in medical research have cast doubt on the original cause of Lee’s death. Some experts believe genetics may have played a role—Lee’s father and brother both died while resting. Others suggest epilepsy, pointing to incidents of muscle spasms and seizures Lee suffered in the months before his death.

Now 78, Ting takes a rather spiritual view.

"Beloved artists often have short lives—like Teresa Teng, Leslie Cheung, Anita Mui," she said. "People who are hated, like me, live on. That’s not my will, not yours—it’s heaven’s will."

Ting currently lives in Hong Kong with her daughter. In recent years, she has kept a low public profile, appearing mostly at Buddhist events. She embraced Buddhism after giving birth, adopted a vegetarian lifestyle, and says the teachings gave her peace and purpose.

"I’m walking a broad, peaceful road now," she said. "Whatever comes my way, I’m no longer afraid. And I can use what I’ve learned from Buddhism to help others."

Lee, born in 1940, revolutionized martial arts cinema and became a global icon through films such as "The Big Boss," "Fist of Fury," "The Way of the Dragon," "Enter the Dragon," and "The Game of Death." In 1999, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.