Lee Na-yeon, who gained public recognition through Transit Love 2, and ice hockey player Nam Hee-doo are currently apart.

On January 7, Lee Na-yeon posted a series of Instagram stories featuring the captions "Happening right now" and "Oh, KBS is broadcasting it?!" along with two photos.

The images showed Nam Hee-doo, her boyfriend and a professional ice hockey player, preparing for a match against Japan. Nam Hee-doo is currently in Harbin, China, participating in the Harbin Winter Asian Games, which began on the same day. Due to his sports commitments, the couple is temporarily separated.

The two first started dating in 2018 but went through a rough patch before rekindling their romance during their appearance on the 2022 TVING original series Transit Love 2. Since then, they have been in a public relationship.

Previously, the couple was featured on JTBC's Extreme Tour last September, where they traveled to Taiwan. During the trip, an on-site guide asked Lee Na-yeon if she was filming for YouTube while she was holding a camera. She responded, "Oh, it's for a TV broadcast," but Nam Hee-doo quickly interjected, saying, "But you are a YouTuber," repeating the question as if expecting a different answer.

Later, he was seen abruptly asking Lee Na-yeon, who was quietly eating bread, "Are you feeling sensitive right now?" and telling her, "Lower your sensitivity." The broadcast led to heated reactions from netizens, with comments such as, "He seems to be the sensitive one," "Hee-doo hasn't changed, he needs to fix that," "Why are they even together?" and "If she's smart, Lee Na-yeon should end this relationship."

Following the backlash, Lee Na-yeon took to social media to address the criticism. "TV shows have limited time and space to showcase everything, so they naturally focus on condensed moments and specific situations," she explained. "It's frustrating to see people who don't know anything making baseless assumptions and throwing careless words around."

She further defended her relationship, writing, "I'm really happy with Hee-doo, yet people keep saying, 'Oh, she's so pitiful.' What do they know?" showing unwavering support for her boyfriend despite the public scrutiny.

Copyright © 2023 Kpop Reporter. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.