Lee Hyo-ri calls herself the "textbook of idol dating" on new JTBC show '연애전쟁'

JTBC's new variety show 연애전쟁 premiered on June 23 at 8:50 PM with Lee Hyo-ri, Seo Jang-hoon, and Kim Hee-chul as MCs. The three sit on opposite sides of real couples in relationship crises, each arguing for one person to decide whether they should stay together or split.

Kim Hee-chul didn't wait long to needle Lee Hyo-ri about her dating history. "You're the GOAT," he said. "The textbook of idol dating. You were so famous from trainee days." Her reply: she married Lee Sang-soon in September 2013 and has "been rehabilitated, so please be quiet about it." (13 years married, no kids, currently living in Pyeongchangdong, Jongno-gu, Seoul—the woman has done the work.)

When it came to actual cases, she was sharper. The first involved a male fitness trainer who accepted a luxury bracelet from a female client. Lee Hyo-ri's call: "It's a job teaching exercise, so why receive gifts from female members? This all falls under the Jang Yeong-ran law." Seo Jang-hoon jumped in to correct her—it's the Kim Yeong-ran Act. She nodded and moved on. "Anyway, it's cleaner not to receive gifts."

At the production presentation held online the same day, she was direct about her approach. "I told them to break up a lot. If that's the case, break up," she said. Her own past "wasteful relationships" are why she tells people not to fear ending things.

Sooyoung appeared as the first guest. CP Kwon Hae-bom and PD Park Eun-young also attended the press event.