Actor Jeremy Chan says his back injury was so severe that wife Jesseca Liu had to help him get dressed

Last month, actress Jesseca Liu got fans wondering what had happened to her husband, Jeremy Chan, when she posted a picture of him hunched over a walking stick.

“Looks like the walking stick I bought for mummy can come in handy for now!” she wrote, tagging Chan.

Turns out, the 45-year-old actor had aggravated an old back injury so badly, he could barely move for two days.

In fact, Chan was in so much pain that he couldn’t properly stand, sit or lie down – and had to rely on Liu, 47, to help him get dressed.

Speaking to Lianhe Zaobao, Chan shared that his back problems actually started while filming Mediacorp blockbuster All That Glitters, in which he plays a Muay Thai boxer, in 2023.

He would also occasionally strain himself when he didn’t warm up properly before filming.

Eventually, a combination of his old injury, subsequent strains and, in his own words, “getting on in years” caught up with him on a rest day.

“I turned around and heard a ‘biak’. I thought, ‘That’s it!’” he recalled.

Jeremy Chan initially drove himself to see a TCM physician, only to find himself unable to walk after undergoing acupuncture.

Realising his condition was more serious than he thought, he called Jesseca Liu to pick him up and take him to a doctor.

He was given medication and a steroid injection, and told to rest for two days.

“During those two days, I couldn’t stand, sit, or lie down [properly]. Every movement had to be very slow,” he said.

“My wife had to help me get dressed. Thankfully, she was in Singapore and could take care of me.”

After three acupuncture sessions, Chan’s condition improved enough for him to lift his leg slightly.

At the time, he was filming the upcoming Mediacorp drama Sooner Or Later, and was relieved he no longer needed quite as much help by the time he returned to set.

“Imagine if I had to rely on the crew to help me change clothes. That would have been so embarrassing!” he laughed.

Liu even offered to accompany him to work and be his assistant, but Chan didn’t want to trouble her.

Instead, he asked her to ferry him to and from work.

As for the walking stick seen in Liu’s Instagram post? It was actually meant for Chan's mother-in-law.

Jeremy Chan explained that he and Jesseca Liu enjoy travelling, and because his mother-in-law, who joins them on their trips, sometimes experiences pain in her legs, he had bought her a walking stick that can be unfolded into a chair.

“Who knew that before she even got to use it, I’d be the one breaking it in first?” he joked.

Chan has yet to undergo a detailed examination, though he said he is doing okay now.

The experience also made him realise how easy it can be to injure yourself.

He initially thought suddenly pulling something like that was “a bit ridiculous”, until friends started sharing their own equally mundane injury stories.

Some had hurt themselves while putting on their pants. Others simply got injured getting up from a chair.

These days, Chan makes it a point to stretch more and even takes his time getting out of bed in the morning instead of springing straight up.

His injury wasn’t the only personal revelation Jeremy Chan shared during the interview.

In Sooner Or Later, Chan plays car salesman Wang Hailong, who gains the ability to foresee the future in his dreams after being struck by lightning.

Asked if he has his own “if only I knew” moment in real life, he recalled an opportunity he passed up early in his career.

“When I had just entered showbiz, I actually had a chance to develop my career in Hong Kong. But I didn’t have the courage then,” he said.

“I thought, ‘Forget it, I don’t even know if it’s real or not.’ If only I had known, I would have gone and given it a try. But I also believe everything happens for the best.”

While Chan says he isn’t superstitious, he does check his Chinese zodiac forecast every Chinese New Year.

He also revealed that he once made a vow to a deity in hopes that Jesseca Liu would win Best Actress at the Star Awards.

His promise? To go vegetarian for two years… “just on the first and 15th days of the lunar month”.

Apparently, even he hesitated while making the vow.

“When I was making it, I naturally paused for two seconds before blurting out, ‘the first and 15th’,” he laughed.

“Maybe deep down I felt that when it comes to sincerity, it’s better not to go all-in.”

Since she took home the Best Actress trophy for her role in Emerald Hill – The Little Nyonya Story in April, Chan has kept his word, marking the first and 15th days of each lunar month on his calendar.

“As long as I don’t eat meat, it’s fine,” he said, adding that when he’s filming outside and vegetarian options are harder to find, he simply has a salad.

Sooner Or Later, which also stars Paige Chua, Guo Liang, Jernelle Oh and James Seah, is slated to air in January 2027.