Ge Tian (center), the ex-wife of Liu Xiang, cries as she gets into a car after arriving in Beijing at midnight Thursday, following her divorce from the former star hurdler, June 25, 2015. [Photo/IC]

There are also netizens calling for respect for celebrities' privacy. "Celebrities are also human beings, we should respect them and, of course, they should not try to draw attention with their personal stuff", posted @xiangdaozai.

Citing an insider, Entertainment Online, a program on Shanghai-based Dragon TV, reported last month that "the couple have great differences in personality and can't get along with each other."

But Liu and Ge both declined to respond to the report.