Trouble in paradise for ‘Alvivi’

(MM) – What began with sex may now be ended by it. The relationship of former sex bloggers Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee is on the rocks over alleged infidelity, even as they are set to face trial in court next Wednesday over a Ramadan prank that had sparked public uproar.

Accusing Lee of having sex with others behind his back, Tan said he was ready to give up on their relationship over what he dubbed a violation of their rule to “swing” only in front of each other.

“I’m just about to throw in the towel, because this has been happening again and again and again,” Tan told The Malay Mail Online this week.

“Even ‘non-exclusivity’ has degrees. Ours is a very measured, strictly-defined version, which means ‘only have sex with other people in front of each other, no hanky-panky behind’. If hanky-panky happened, disclosure is necessary. Of course, that’s easier said than done,” added the 25-year-old.

Although Tan and Lee ― known jointly as “Alvivi”, a contraction of their first names ― have swapped sexual partners throughout their nearly two years together, the former said that they remain emotionally exclusive to each other.

He acknowledged, however, the complications of their open relationship.

“I was always pushing for a totally open relationship, but she wouldn’t take it. That’s what bothers me. She acts like the loyal exclusive kind, yet behind my back she’s anything but,” said Tan.

A post on the couple’s “Alvin and Vivian – Alvivi” Facebook page on Wednesday said: “Alvivi is coming going (sic) to split soon. Thanks for following us, but this is the end. #ThatsIt”.

But Lee told The Malay Mail Online yesterday that she is trying to save the relationship. While acknowledging that Tan caught her having sex with someone else on December 28, she said it was a “one-off thing”.

“I’m willing to do anything to salvage this relationship. I really do want to make up with him. We have been together for almost the course of two years,” she said.

“I feel my efforts are futile. He doesn’t seem to want to patch things up, but I want to,” said Lee, adding that Tan had also cheated on her in September.

On Lee’s own Facebook page, she wrote to Tan last Tuesday saying: “‘I’m very sorry for hurting you, betraying your trust, disappointing you and letting you down”.

“Yes, I admit that I may not be sexually exclusive to you (and I’m willing to change that) but I’m emotionally exclusive to you. I love and care for you more than you think,” wrote the 24-year-old.

Tan admitted that he has also cheated on Lee, but told The Malay Mail Online that he only did it after he found it “meaningless to stay exclusive to her”.

The couple achieved notoriety in 2012 when they hosted a blog, “Sumptuous Erotica”, in which they catalogued their sexual exploits in a series of photographs and videos. The blog is now defunct, but they have a joint Facebook page and a YouTube channel titled “Alvin Vivian”.

They had then largely escaped punishment despite calls for them to be charged with anti-pornography laws over their blog, although Tan lost his scholarship at the National University of Singapore as a result.

But the subsequent controversy with the “Ramadan” greeting saw the authorities throwing the book at them, charging them under Section 298A of the Penal Code for causing religious disharmony and under the Sedition Act, while their previous sex videos also led to a charge under the Film Censorship Act.

Tan and Lee were accused of posting a mock “Selamat Berbuka Puasa” (breaking of fast) greeting on their Facebook page last July, during the Ramadan fasting month, that showed them eating “bak kut teh” and describing the soupy pork dish as “wangi, enak, menyelerakan” (fragrant, delicious, appetising).