Hongkong actor Lai Lok Yi may be a popular TVB star living in a huge luxury apartment that’s reportedly worth millions of dollars, but the 41-year-old comes from very humble beginnings and certainly knows what it’s like to go through tough times.

After losing his father to cancer at a young age, Lok Yi’s mum struggled to raise him and his two brothers all by herself.

The family lived in a public housing estate and had to rely on the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme, a welfare programme that provides financial assistance to those in need.

Things began to look up when Lok Yi joined showbiz in the early 2000s. Thanks to his resemblance to late Hongkong singer Danny Chan, TVB gave him a lot of opportunities, including a lead role not long after his debut with 2003 drama Hearts of Fencing.

As his popularity grew, so did the size of his bank account, and he started renting his own place for HK$8,000 (about S$1,400) a month.

Alas, things went downhill in 2006. A severely reduced workload meant that he couldn’t make enough money to even pay his rent, and Lok Yi had to move into a tiny 16 sqm subdivided flat and live on very simple meals.

On the bright side, that period of poverty was when he got to experience the kindness of others, most notably from Hongkong singer-actor Ekin Cheng.

“When I was at my lowest point, Ekin would ask me to go to his house and pick out clothes,” Lok Yi once recalled in an interview. “He had a lot of shirts that were only worn once, and he would give them to me. He said to me, ‘I don’t want these shirts, come over and get them! I’ve only worn them in China so people in Hongkong won’t know.’”

Ekin also tried to help Lok Yi get more work by introducing him to directors.

These days, Lok Yi is obviously doing much, much better. His career has been smooth-sailing ever since starring in TVB sitcom Come Home Love, and his personal life’s been going well too.

In 2014, he married former Miss Hongkong contestant Nicole Lee after dating for three years, although the relationship apparently almost didn’t work out ‘cos he was intimidated by her family background. She grew up very wealthy and he had an underprivileged childhood.

Unfortunately, their poor boy/rich girl dynamic gave rise to unsavoury rumours about Lok Yi “living off” his wife and he was called a “kept man”, a nasty label he’s been trying to shake off by working hard to make money and take care of his family in the midst of the pandemic.

The couple welcomed a son in April 2017 and are preparing for the arrival of Baby No. 2.

Photos: Lai Lok Yi/Facebook