Stepping out of the shadow of former beau Nicholas Tse, the great Cecilia Cheung - actress, singer and all around playgirl who consistently makes for fantastic gossip - has a new boyfriend! Since her start in the Hong Kong entertainment industry five years ago, the beauteous creature's love life has been a public affair with all involved. With Cecilia we fall in love, get our hearts broken and pine for those we lost - her life is anything but private. So now that it appears that Ms. Cheung's heart is on her sleeve once again, the Asian gossip circuits wait with batted breath - who is this new mystery lover? Ah! But this time Cecilia has thrown a curve ball - her new interest is not another Asian cutie, but a blue-eyed Westerner. Let the media feeding frenzy begin.

On August 2nd, when it was reported that Cecilia was down and out with a fever, the paparazzi caught the hot star wandering in the rain with her new man. The gentleman kindly held the umbrella for his sweetheart, but he was careful to hide his face from the camera. If this man wants to be Cecilia's new boyfriend, he will have to toughen up and get used to the paparazzi.

But to be far, Cecilia maintains that this man is not her new love, but just a friend - but aren't they all?

"In fact he is my tutor and friend," Cecilia firmly told journalists and urged them not to bother her "tutor" anymore. "We've gotten to know each other over a long period of time. My English is not very good so he teaches me English. This thing is so simple, it's not like you imagine." But it is not only the paparazzi that has taken an interested in this purported love affair; after hearing the news, ex-boyfriend Jordan Chan said, "So her English must be improving a lot." 

So who is this mystery man? Well, it's been discovered that his name is Jeroen and his is over 30 years old. His dress leans toward casual street wear, but just two days after his loving umbrella pictures with the lovely lady, he appeared at the airport in a formal suit.  So it seems that Cecilia has this guy under wraps - from street wear to formal wear he's still just chasing Cecilia's skirt.

But Cecilia still needs to protect herself against a broken heart, as this Western guy is reportedly a playboy. Jeroen's neighbor leaked to the media that he is quite the ladies man and has been seen bringing a string of women into his apartment. Note to Cecilia: Tuck your heart back into your sleeve - this Western cutie is not to be trusted.

The duo maintain that they are just friends, but one should remember that two years ago Cecilia said that she was interested in the prospect of a foreign boyfriend and caught the fancy of her then English teacher. Does anyone else see a trend developing? Or maybe she just has a thing for learning English.

(Cityweekend.com.cn August 22, 2005)