Hong Kong actor Nicholas Tse and actress Cecilia Cheung, once the envious affectionate couple both on and off-camera, are rumored to be at a breaking point in their five-year marriage.

According to Hong Kong media, the couple has probably divorced or at least separated on unfriendly terms. Rumors of a separation started flying when Tse missed Cheung's 31st birthday party in Taiwan, a dramatic change from last year, when Tse took a break from shooting his latest film to celebrate his wife's 30th birthday. That year, Tse even gave her a car as a birthday present.

According to Hong Kong radio anchorwoman Siu-yan Cha, the couple's relationship has been lukewarm even before this year's Hong Kong Film Awards, where Tse was crowned Best Leading Actor as his wife shed tears of joy.

Moreover, press reports of Cheung's gleeful meeting on a May 8 return flight from Hong Kong to Taiwan with Edison Chen, who she was involved in a photo scandal with three years ago, has further deteriorated Tse and Cheung's relationship. At that time, after the racy photos with Chen surfaced, Cheung won her husband's forgiveness and crushed the media's overwhelming prediction that the couple's marriage would not last.

Tse's family members and associates have not confirmed the actor's separation from his wife. Tse's assistant said the actor is busy shooting his latest film Reversal War and denied that the couple is not speaking to each other. Meantime, Tse's father Patrick bashed the Hong Kong media as scum while praising his daughter-in-law as a brave girl.

Cheung reportedly did not show at a promotion for her latest work Repeat, I love you last Friday in Shenzhen. According to Stanley Kwan, the film supervisor, the actress needed some time alone to mitigate the stress caused by the recent negative press.