Idols’ 5-Year Dating Ban Forced Sandara Park To ‘Ghost’ Her Ex-Boyfriend

Sandara Park revealed that she once ghosted her ex-boyfriend because of YG Entertainment’s strict dating ban.

During the latest episode of MBC’s “Radio Star,” the 36-year-old former 2NE1 member got candid about her dating history, revealing that she went through an era of cyber-dating and going on secret dates during the early years of her career because her former label had a 5-year dating ban.

Sandara further shared that if she got caught dating, there might be a possibility of getting cut from the group. Out of fear, she often just texted her ex-boyfriends and met with them at least once or twice a month.

Interestingly, because the “Festival” singer was afraid to get caught in public — given that she was one of the most popular K-Pop stars during her group’s active years in the industry, she ghosted one of her ex-boyfriends during their scheduled trip.

“Once, I was given vacation days, and so my boyfriend and I planned to go on a trip, and he was excited for the trip. But on the day of the trip, I got scared because at that time, if I went outside, people said, ‘Look, it’s 2NE1!’ There was a lot of [paparazzi]. So, on the day of the trip, I ghosted him. He called me multiple times, but I just looked at the phone and said, ‘Sorry,'” she shared, according to an English translation from Koreaboo.

After the incident, her ex-boyfriend eventually broke up with her. Sandara did not disclose the name of her former lover, but when asked by host Kim Gu-ra about whether or not he was a celebrity, the former said yes.

In the interview, Sandara talked about some of her dating experiences and moments when she almost got caught on a date. She also ended up apologizing to her ex-boyfriends on television.

This wasn’t the first time the K-Pop idol was vocal about dating in the industry.

Previously, she admitted that she was the reason why YG had a dating ban in the first place during her appearance on the “No Back Tak Jae-hoon” web show. There, she revealed that after she made her debut back in 2009, a lot of male celebrities “hit” on her, so the company confiscated her and her bandmates’ cell phones.

Sandara is currently promoting her self-titled solo album, which was released early last month. It’s considered her first-ever solo album after 14 years in the K-pop industry and 7 years since 2NE1 disbanded in 2016.

The album features five tracks: “Festival,” “Happy Ending,” “T MAP,” “DARA DARA” and “Play!”