The third season of TV Chosun reality show “Taste of Wife” will end earlier than planned, as actress Ham So-won and the show producers apologized Thursday for fabricating many elements of the show.

The show became mired in controversy when viewers alleged that the program‘s most popular couple, Ham and her husband Jin Hua, had fabricated several scenes in the reality show that looks at the everyday lives of celebrity couples.

Viewers pointed out that the luxury villa where Ham’s Chinese parents-in-law lived was remarkably similar to one available through Airbnb. Viewers also claimed that Ham had played the part of her aunt when Ham’s mother-in-law was on the phone with Ham’s aunt, citing the similar voice and pronunciation as evidence.

“Yes, it is all true. I am sorry. I exaggerated elements and appeared in the show,” Ham said Thursday via Instagram. “I didn’t want to cause harm to ‘Taste of Wife’ that is like my home so I expressed my wish to step down from the program. At the same time, I am deeply sorry that it came to the conclusion it did.”

The producers of “Taste of Wife” had admitted to exaggeration earlier Thursday.

“We realized that some elements in the episodes with Ham So-won were exaggerated. We feel responsibility for damaging the trust, which is the most important virtue of a broadcasting program,” said producers of “Taste of Wife.” “The producers acknowledge the publics’ criticism and decided to end the season with the episode that airs on the 13th.”

The producers mentioned that although they try to fact-check the show, concerns for the celebrities’ privacy had made it difficult. The exaggerated episodes have been removed from streaming services.

Ham and her husband joined the program in June 2018 and contributed to the popularity of the show by showing the life of a Korean-Chinese couple with an 18-year age difference.

Meanwhile, it has since surfaced that actress Youn-A turned down an offer to join the show in 2019 because the production staff wanted to show only the luxurious side of her life, sparking criticism of the program producers.

By Lim Jang-won (ljw@heraldcorp.com)