Singer Ben opens up about divorce from Lee Wook: betrayal during pregnancy, custody, and life as a single mother

Singer Ben went public with the details of her divorce in a June 24 video on K.Will's YouTube channel, titled 내 모습이 너무 웃겨 보일까? 싱글맘의 현실 육아 ("Will I look ridiculous? The reality of single-mother parenting").

Ben and Lee Wook went public as a couple in 2019 and married in August 2020. Their daughter was born in March 2023. Nine months later, in December 2023, Ben submitted a divorce mediation application to the court. Ben was awarded custody of their daughter. Her side stated that fault for the divorce lies with Lee Wook.

In the video, Ben described four to five years of trying to make the marriage work. She endured, got angry, tried different approaches. Then came pregnancy during an especially difficult stretch. She felt the child had come to save her. "Some incident happened even in that moment," she said. "It was too difficult to bear the betrayal."

Her father and most of her family opposed the divorce. (His reasoning—"everyone lives that way"—apparently didn't persuade her.) Ben said she ultimately concluded that even when her daughter turned six, she would still be wrestling with the same doubts. It was right to resolve what was wrong quickly.

"Marriage is not just about love," she said, adding that she still believes the decision to divorce was correct despite finding it painful until the end.

Returning to public life as a single mother carried its own weight. Ben said she was so afraid of public judgment that her body trembled. She worried her situation would look ridiculous to others. She closed with a direct message: "Divorce is not a mistake but can be a choice for a better life. Whether celebrities or ordinary people, I hope those who have divorced don't live like criminals."