Sun Yuchen, a Chinese entrepreneur, filed a civil lawsuit on August 27, 2026, against actress Jing Tian and her parents seeking the return of more than 30 million yuan (about 4.46 million USD) given as a bridal gift, according to his lawyer Zhang Qihuai. The case has been officially registered and a property preservation request has been filed as part of the legal process [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9].
Sun and Jing Tian were previously in a romantic relationship and discussed marriage in the first half of 2026 before their split. Zhang Qihuai described the lawsuit as a property dispute focused on recovering the bridal gift. "They broke up, so he just wants the money back," the lawyer said [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9].
On the same day as the lawsuit filing, Sun posted a long message titled "My Girlfriend Jing Tian" on the social platform X, describing their relationship and mentioning overseas surrogacy details. He ended with a note saying the story was "purely fictional" [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7].
Jing Tian’s studio issued a statement firmly denying the allegations. It called the claims "extortion based on leveraging the artist's reputation" and said the matter will be handled by the courts [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8].
On August 28, Jing Tian herself posted on Weibo that she would never "sell love or soul for money." She added, "I still believe in love, I still have bad judgment, I still lack wisdom. But I believe in the law, in kindness, and in eventual justice and fairness. Time will prove it all" [4, 5, 6, 8, 9].
There are circulating rumors online that Jing Tian requested between 30 and 50 million yuan from Sun purportedly related to overseas surrogacy, but these claims lack official confirmation. Sun reportedly disclosed surrogacy details in his post, but legal filings focus only on the bridal gift refund and do not involve surrogacy, a point Jing Tian’s studio reiterates [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9].
The case has sparked a wave of public interest on Weibo, with many examining Jing Tian's relationship history. Previous reports mention former boyfriend, table tennis champion Zhang Jike, with whom she had a publicly known romance that ended amid rumors of gambling debts and private photo scandals [10, 11, 12].
Jing Tian has raised challenges over the court’s jurisdiction, and proceedings are still in the preliminary stage without substantive hearings [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9]. It is not yet clear whether ongoing legal tensions will impact the release schedule of Jing Tian’s three pending television dramas [9].
