[Edaily Starin Choi Hee-jae Reporter] Esther Yeo and Hong Hye-geol, a married couple who have been together for 33 years and both hold Ph.D.s in medicine, shared a glimpse into their daily life since getting back together.

Esther Yeo and Hong Hye-geol appeared on the SBS variety show “Same Bed, Different Dreams 2: You Are My Destiny,” which aired on the 30th of last month.
On the show, host Kim Sook remarked to Esther Yeo, “I hear you’ve achieved annual sales of 4500억. I think you might be the wealthiest couple in the history of ‘Same Bed, Different Dreams.’” In response, Esther Yeo drew attention by saying, “That figure includes all our subsidiaries; I’ll just talk about the parent company. Please correct it to 3000억.”
Seo Jang-hoon remarked, “I heard your cumulative donations over the past 16 years exceed 8 billion won.” Yeo Esther replied, “It’s exactly 82 billion won. The statistics for the first half of this year aren’t finalized yet, so I’ll talk about that later.”
Yeo Esther said, “We’ve been living apart on and off for the past five years. Due to menopause, I would snap at my husband for no reason, and our relationship deteriorated.” Her husband, Hong Hye-geol, also added, “I was very exhausted back then as well.” Yeo Esther had previously confessed to suffering from depression.
Hong Hye-geol said, “It was more serious than I thought. My wife had been having too many negative thoughts,” adding, “She underwent general anesthesia 28 times. She received electroconvulsive therapy.”
Regarding electroconvulsive therapy, Yeo Esther explained, “You have to be hospitalized when medication doesn’t work even after a long period of treatment.” She continued, “It involves applying electrical shocks to the head. While it resets the brain, it also causes some memory loss. After undergoing the treatment 28 times, I completely lost all memories of someone I had briefly dated.”

Hong Hye-geol revealed that as Yeo Esther’s depression worsened, he naturally reconciled with his wife while living with her in Seoul. Hong Hye-geol said, “We can make an official announcement. Our separation ended last August.”
Subsequently, the couple’s daily life in Jeju was revealed. Hong Hye-geol owned seven high-end bicycles alone. The combined price of the seven bikes was in the 70 million won range.
Hong Hye-geol revealed that the source of the funds was his wife. Yeo Esther said, “My husband looks like someone born into a very wealthy family. I don’t know how spending money like that comes so naturally to him.”
Hong Hye-geol joked, “My wife earns well, doesn’t she? Where else would I go to make money?” adding, “I’ll beat Jang Hang-jun, Do Kyung-wan, and Lee Sang-soon hands down. I’m not jealous in the slightest.”
Yeo Esther remarked, “I haven’t earned a single won from my husband’s YouTube channel.” In response, Hong Hye-geol quipped, “My wife’s company supports me with 180 million won every month—as a form of charity for the underprivileged,” adding, “There are 25 million men in this country, and I’m one of them,” which drew laughter.
Hong Hye-geol also turned to his wife and said, “We’re going to run a shelter for stray dogs on Jeju Island. I’m begging you—please turn a profit,” adding with a brazen attitude, “We need a lot of people to care for the stray dogs. We have to make more than our current net profit. Being number one in the industry isn’t enough—we have to do even better. Expand overseas and earn dollars.”