'Adultery' Masahiro Higashide Divorces Wife Anne After 5 Years of Marriage

Actor Higashide Masahiro. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Hee-eun Park] The famous Japanese actor couple Masahiro Higashide and Anne Watanabe have finally divorced. Multiple Japanese media outlets reported on the 31st that Masahiro and his wife Anne have divorced. With this, Masahiro Higashide and Anne Watanabe have ended their five-year marriage.

Previously, the two appeared together in the 2013 NHK drama "Gochisousama" and developed a romantic relationship. They later got married in January 2015. They have two daughters and one son.

However, in January, it was revealed that Masahiro Higashide had an affair with Erika Karata. The two first met during the filming of the 2017 movie "Asako I & II" and reportedly developed an inappropriate relationship.

In particular, controversy intensified as Erika Karata, born in 1997, was a minor at the time their inappropriate relationship began in 2017. Their agencies officially acknowledged the affair at that time.