Director Syamsul Yusof and actress Puteri Sarah Liyana have ...

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian celebrity couple Syamsul Yusof and Puteri Sarah Liyana, who were embroiled in a year-long scandal, have officially divorced.

Syamsul, 39, an actor and the director of hit movie Mat Kilau (2022), divorced his first wife, actress Puteri Sarah, 37, on Wednesday at the Kuala Lumpur Lower Syariah Court in a closed session, according to Malaysian news portal mStar.

They married in March 2014.

The former couple have two children – Syaikhul Islam, six, and Sumayyah, four – who will come under the custody of Puteri Sarah, although Syamsul will be allowed to spend time with them without any restrictions.

Syamsul will pay RM6,000 (S$1,750) in monthly child support, starting in July. He will also pay an insurance amount of RM3,500 and a vacation fee of RM5,000 annually to each of his children.

“I will bear all the needs and expenses of my children. Everything is okay and good,” he said.

He will also give Puteri Sarah RM15,000 as nafkah iddah, a payment a man must provide for his former wife over a period of three consecutive months after divorcing her.

The judge ordered Puteri Sarah to observe iddah (a period during which a woman cannot marry another man) for three months, according to Islamic law.

The divorce comes after a year-long scandal involving Syamsul’s relationship with Malaysian actress Ira Kazar, 27.

In 2022, Puteri Sarah had accused him of having an affair since 2019, which he denied.

He announced in January that he had taken Ira as his second wife in Thailand, which triggered further backlash. Puteri Sarah then filed for divorce.

In an interview with the Malaysian press after the court proceedings, Syamsul said: “Puteri Sarah and I will still be friends after this. This was just one of life’s challenges.”

Puteri Sarah added: “Hopefully, there will be no more conflict after this.”