MAMAMOO Wheein's Reaction To Hwasa's Past Love Life Resurfaces Amid Dating News

On June 30, MAMAMOO‘s Hwasa has been reported to be in a relationship with a non-celeb businessman.

MAMAMOO’s Hwasa | *@_mariahwasa/Instagram*

Following the report that claimed Hwasa and her alleged significant other have been together for five years, K-Pop fans have re-visited the idol’s appearance on Life Bar.

MAMAMOO’s Hwasa Is Reportedly Dating A Businessman 12 Years Older

Back in 2018, Hwasa and her teammate Wheein guested on Episode 78 of Life Bar, talking about their love lives and dating preferences.

MAMAMOO’s Wheein | *@whee_inthemood/Instagram*

In this episode, Hwasa revealed that she “puts all [her] pride down and goes all in, head-over-heels,” when she’s interested in someone. Then, Hwasa explained that such relentless pursuit of a man once had Wheein in tears.

Hwasa: I realized during a past relationship, though, is that when I find someone I love, I put all my pride down and go all in, head-over-heels.

Kim Heechul: Like, there’s no playing hard-to-get or anything like that?

Hwasa: Not at all. So, I was interested in a non-celeb. And he kept turning me down because, as a celeb, I had that ‘tough girl’ reputation going for me. So he thought I’d be headstrong and hard to date. But, for a whole year, I kept pursuing him because I liked him so much.

Han Hye Jin: Did you end up dating him, though?

Hwasa: I did! We dated for two and a half years.

Wheein recalled a time when Hwasa came forward and told her about a new relationship. Having watched Hwasa struggle so much with romance—or, more so her unreciprocated feelings, Wheein found it exhilarating enough to end up shedding tears about it.

I’ve been with Hwasa through all of her love interests. She’s always finding herself in one-sided, unreciprocated crushes. And I watched her pursue this person, too. I heard all about her struggles. But I told her to keep going because I felt like he’d end up with her somehow. Then, one night, she came home and told me that she was able to make it official and that she was finally in a relationship with the person! Then, for some reason, I started bawling. I was so excited for her! We even held hands and twirled around in so much happiness.

— Wheein

At the time when the episode aired, MAMAMOO fans applauded Hwasa’s courage to speak about her love life without hesitation. Fans also found it amiable that Hwasa was “like the rest of [us]” when it came to dating.

“I love this. Idols can date. What’s the big deal? I appreciate her talking to us about these things. Idols are in their prime dating ages. I hope more of them go on and seek love while there’s time.”
“It seems that Hwasa has a lot of self-love. She’s confident with herself and honest about a lot of things. I love that about her.”
“I like that she’s telling us about it all. As her fan and as one person to another. And I 100% agree that love makes us see new things about ourselves that we’ve never seen before.”
“Wow. Hwasa is so open and honest. Of course, love makes us stupid. Finding the right person can do that. It’s great that she’s not afraid to share things like that with her fans. What a woman!”

Fast forward to 2023, K-Pop fans believe—based on the interaction told in the episode—that the latest dating speculation might be true as it suggested Hwasa having pursued the relationship while the businessman hesitated to “accept Hwasa’s affection.”

He couldn’t easily accept Hwasa’s affection because she is a well-known public figure 12 years younger than him. I think there was a lot of concern because of the age gap and the fact that there is a difference between celebrities and regular citizens.

— Insider

Meanwhile, Hwasa has not responded to the report; Some believe the postponement in official statements must be due to her being mid-switching agencies from RBW to P Nation.