Song Joong-ki: His Marriages, Divorce, and Children

Few K-drama actors toggle between heartthrob status and real-life tabloid headlines quite like Song Joong-ki. He went from the global smash Descendants of the Sun to a very public divorce, then remarried a British former actress and became a father of two before turning 40, according to The Korea Times (English-language South Korean daily). Here’s what the verified record says about his marriages and children — and what remains rumor.

Born: September 19, 1985 ·
Height: 178 cm (5 ft 10 in) ·
Spouse: Katy Louise Saunders (m. 2023) ·
Children: 2 — son (2023), daughter (2024) ·
Ex-Spouse: Song Hye-kyo (m. 2017–2019) ·
Est. Net Worth: $15 million

Eleven facts, one pattern: the public record is thin but consistent, and it traces to four sources — Wikipedia (community-maintained encyclopedia), The Korea Times, NDTV, and CivicPost.

Did Song Joong-ki have a child?

Yes — twice over. Song Joong-ki and his current wife, Katy Louise Saunders, have a son and a daughter, which makes the “did he have a child” question easy and “how many” the useful one. As of 2025, the confirmed count is two (Chosun Ilbo English).

How many children does Song Joong-ki have?

• Son: born June 14, 2023, according to multiple entertainment reports compiled by Wikipedia.
• Daughter: born November 2024, announced on November 20, 2024, per The Korea Times.
• Agency confirmation: HighZium Studio said in 2024 that Song Joong-ki was becoming a father of two (NDTV).

Neither child has appeared in publicly shared family photos as of 2025 (Fanplus Community).

Who is the mother of Song Joong-ki’s child?

• Katy Louise Saunders — a British former actress, described that way in coverage of the marriage (The Korea Times).
• Wife since January 2023 — the marriage and pregnancy were announced together on January 30, 2023 (Wikipedia).
• Mother of two — she and Song Joong-ki share a son born in 2023 and a daughter born in 2024 (Chosun Ilbo English).

The implication: the “one child” boilerplate from early 2023 is already outdated. Any current profile of Song Joong-ki has to account for two children, not one.

Who is Joong-ki’s ex-wife?

Song Joong-ki’s ex-wife is Song Hye-kyo, a South Korean actress. Their marriage ran from October 2017 to June 2019 and produced no children (allkpop; CivicPost).

Who is Song Hye-kyo?

• A South Korean actress (allkpop).
• Married Song Joong-ki in October 2017 (CivicPost).
• Divorced in June 2019, with no children from the marriage (CivicPost).

Why did Song Joong-ki marry Song Hye-kyo?

Fans filled the gap with a storybook narrative — the actor and actress who became Korea’s most watched couple — but none of that storyline was ever confirmed by either side.

The pattern: the “why” of the marriage was never documented, only the “when.” Everything else in the coverage is interpretation.

How many wives does Song Joong-ki have?

Two. Song Joong-ki has been married twice: first to Song Hye-kyo, and currently to Katy Louise Saunders (Wikipedia).

Who are Song Joong-ki’s wives?

• Song Hye-kyo — married October 2017, divorced June 2019 (CivicPost).
• Katy Louise Saunders — married January 2023 (The Korea Times).

What is the timeline of his marriages?

• October 2017 — first marriage to Song Hye-kyo (CivicPost).
• June 2019 — divorce finalized (CivicPost).
• January 2023 — second marriage to Katy Louise Saunders (The Korea Times).

The catch: older profiles that list only one marriage are common, which is why the “how many wives” query keeps surfacing.

How did Song Joong-ki meet his second wife?

The official record begins in January 2023. Song Joong-ki announced that he had married Katy Louise Saunders and that the couple was expecting their first child (Wikipedia). The Korea Times reported that the marriage registration happened that same month (The Korea Times).

Who is Katy Louise Saunders?

• A British former actress, according to coverage of the marriage (The Korea Times).
• The mother of Song Joong-ki’s son (2023) and daughter (2024) (Chosun Ilbo English).

When did they start dating?

• The relationship surfaced publicly in late 2022, ahead of the January 2023 announcement (Wikipedia).
• How or when the couple first met has never been officially confirmed.

That absence of detail is unusual for a star of his profile, and it has fed a steady stream of speculation.

How did their relationship become public?

• Through the agency announcement: HighZium Studio’s January 2023 statement confirmed the marriage and the pregnancy together (Wikipedia).
• There was no gradual celebrity-couple rollout — the news arrived as a single statement.

The trade-off: the couple protected the early relationship from press coverage, but the secrecy left the public with one extremely dense announcement and very little after.

Why did Song Joong-ki leave his wife?

No verified reason for the divorce has ever been published. What is documented: the marriage ended in 2019, and Song Hye-kyo’s side described the split as an amicable agreement (CivicPost).

What was the reason for the divorce?

• On the record: an amicable divorce, per statements released at the time (CivicPost).
• Off the record: a January 2025 report, covered by allkpop, claimed the split was tied to a disagreement over having children (allkpop) — a claim neither party confirmed.
• Children: neither parent had children from the marriage (allkpop).

Did infidelity or work pressure cause the split?

• No evidence of infidelity has appeared in the coverage reviewed for this article.
• Work schedules were the most common explanation floated in early reports, but neither party made that the official reason.

Why this matters: the verified record is almost empty on motives. The “real reason” for the split is exactly the part that remains unconfirmed, and it’s the part fans keep searching for.

Song Joong-ki’s relationship timeline at a glance

Eight dates, one pattern: each milestone is public, but the gaps in between are private.

• 2016 — stars in Descendants of the Sun and becomes an international name (CivicPost).
• October 2017 — marries Song Hye-kyo (CivicPost).
• June 2019 — divorce from Song Hye-kyo is finalized (CivicPost).
• Late 2022 — relationship with Katy Louise Saunders surfaces (Wikipedia).
• January 30, 2023 — announces the marriage and the pregnancy (Wikipedia).
• June 2023 — son born (Wikipedia).
• November 2024 — daughter born; HighZium Studio confirms he is a father of two (NDTV).
• 2025 — reports continue to describe the couple as married (Aussie Briefly).

The takeaway: the timeline is the only part of this story that is fully verified.

What’s confirmed vs. what’s still unclear

The pattern: the biography is solid where it counts — marriages, children, dates. The interpretation is what keeps shifting, and that’s exactly where the rumors live.

What the official statements said

The reliable source material in this story is thin on purpose: three short official statements carry most of the weight.

HighZium Studio confirmed in January 2023 that Song Joong-ki had completed marriage registration and that the couple was expecting a child.

HighZium Studio statement, as reported by The Korea Times

Song Hye-kyo’s legal representative said in June 2019 that the couple had agreed to divorce amicably, with no further explanation.

Song Hye-kyo’s legal representative, via CivicPost

HighZium Studio’s 2024 announcement confirmed that Song Joong-ki and Katy Louise Saunders had welcomed a daughter.

HighZium Studio statement, via NDTV

The record establishes the what, not the why — which is the single most useful distinction for anyone researching Song Joong-ki’s personal life.

Song Joong-ki’s public life since 2016 has moved from onscreen romance to very real family milestones: a marriage, a divorce, a remarriage, and two children in under a decade. The verified facts are simpler than the headlines — two children with Katy Louise Saunders, a previous marriage to Song Hye-kyo, and no official explanation for the split. For K-drama fans who grew up watching him as the perfect onscreen lead, the choice is clear: trust the agency statements and the established outlets as the baseline, or keep replaying tabloid explanations that the record has never confirmed.

Related reading

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Both profiles trace the same line — marriage, children, and the gap between a celebrity’s public and private record.

For a comprehensive look at his personal milestones, readers can refer to a detailed biography of Song Joong-ki that covers his marriages, divorce, and children in depth.

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