Taiwanese Star Phoebe Huang Claims She Was Physically Abused “At Least 5-6 Times” By Ex During 16-Year Marriage

In 2022, Taiwanese actress-host Phoebe Huang, 50, announced that she was splitting from her husband of 16 years, Canadian actor Christopher Downs, 52.

The pair, who share a 14-year-old daughter, Kyana Poppy Downs, reportedly often clashed about where they should live, and due to the pandemic, lived mostly apart in the period leading up to their divorce.

After two years, Phoebe has shared the true reason behind the breakdown of her marriage.

According to Phoebe, she was psychologically and physically abused by Christopher throughout their marriage, and that he had assaulted her “at least five to six times”. As a result, she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

She decided to speak out about the abuse as she wanted to protect her family and empower other victims of domestic abuse.

Phoebe broke into tears several times during a recent interview as she recounted the abuse.

She said Christopher would resort to verbal insults and emotional abuse during their fights.

This would later escalate into physical violence such as slapping, striking, and even strangling her.

“He would behave as though he was playing ice hockey and charge towards me, striking me with his elbow,” she recalled.

Phoebe grappled with feelings of guilt and self-blame, believing that she was somehow at fault for the abuse she endured.

It was only after seeing a psychiatrist and reading up on abusive behaviour that she realised she wasn’t to blame, and learnt how to stand up to Christopher.

Despite the abuse, Phoebe hesitated to call the authorities as she feared the public scrutiny that would come with exposing her private struggles.

She was also afraid that she would be separated from her family as she is not a Canadian citizen.

It was only later when she approached her friend, Taiwanese actress Lang Tsu Yun, for help, that the latter introduced her to a lawyer to pursue legal action.

After filing a police report, Phoebe was put under protective care in 2021.

She later learned that Christopher had already filed for divorce.

Christopher has since taken to Instagram to refute her claims, writing: “Don’t reward yourself through someone else’s real pain.”

A netizen suggested: “Your Mandarin is not very good, it’s best to hire a lawyer to represent you. The situation will only get more complicated if you explain yourself through the media, it will not benefit you.”

In response to the comment, Christopher simply stated: “Really? What should [I] say? She is pretending to represent abused women when she’s NEVER been abused and I can prove it. What should I have said in Chinese?”

In a separate post, he shared a screenshot of Phoebe’s interview with a comment that read: “Phoebe, even the Canadian court is saying you aren’t a victim of domestic abuse. Stop trying to incite public outrage.”

“Anyone who has seen me interact with my family will know that I’m a good father. A third party (presumably their kid) has also said that neither parents have laid hands on them, and that they’ve never seen either parent hurting the other,” said Christopher.

He added that as their divorce lawsuit is still ongoing, he will not comment more on the matter.